Central and Southeast European Studies (CSEES)

The faculty/graduate student reading group focusing on Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Caucasus was founded in 2002. Under the leadership of Andrew Wachtel, this seminar brings together some 30 colleagues from multiple schools six times each academic year. For each meeting during the academic year, the Buffett Center puts together a reading packet, which forms the basis for a discussion led by a facilitator drawn either from the Northwestern faculty or from outside the university. The goal of these seminars is not be a gathering of academic specialists on a given topic but rather to allow specialists from a variety of fields to recognize how the problems of Eastern Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus overlap with their own research interests. Over the years, this seminar has led a number of faculty members to create new courses based on what they have learned as well as to revise existing courses. Even more importantly, it has built up such a strong faculty and graduate student constituency for research and teaching on this region.