Nationalism Studies
The Nationalism Studies Department was established by CEU with the aim of
engaging students in empirical and theoretical study of issues of nationalism
and self-determination; problems of state-formation, ethnic conflict and
minority protection; and the related theme of globalization. Drawing upon the
uniquely supranational milieu of CEU, the program encourages a critical and
non-sectarian study of nationalism.
Students are encouraged to engage in interdisciplinary study of nationalism, a
subject that is inherently and fundamentally interdisciplinary. For this reason,
the international teaching staff has been assembled to represent a wide range of
disciplinary expertise relevant to the study of nationalism, including history,
social theory, economics, legal studies, sociology, anthropology, international
relations, and political science. The program offers a wide selection of courses
that provide a complex theoretical grounding in problems associated with
nationhood and nationalism, combined with advanced training in the methodology
of applied social science. Additional courses focus on placing problems of
nationalism in the context of economic and political transition, as well as
constitution-building in post-1989 Central and Eastern Europe, with a
comparative outlook on regime transitions outside the region. For more
information visit the
National Studies Department and its course offerings or
download/print Department brochure.
Selected Areas of Research
Research areas for the Nationalism Studies Program include: Comparative politics and democratic theory; democracy and transnational politics; analytical resources in the study of ethnicity and nationalism; nationalist politics and everyday experience of ethnicity; problems of self-determination and international minority protection; transnational citizenship; minority identities; preudice; "internationalization" of minority rights; the interaction of globalizing discourses with local traditions and practices of ethnic co-existence; anti-Semitism; sociology of post-Holocaust Jewry; nationalism and politics in Southeastern Europe; impact of nationality conflicts on the development of Central European Jewry; Romani historical memory; languages of identity among the Hungarian Diaspora in Romania, Serbia and Slovakia; religious conversion and apostasy in the late Ottoman Empire.
Special Projects/Programs
Jewish Studies Project JSP
The Jewish Studies Project offers a specialization in Jewish Studies for students
in the Nationalism Studies Program in conjunction with the Department of
History. The Jewish Studies Project at Central European University has
helped revitalize the study of Jewish history, culture and society in a
region where these topics were long considered taboo. Student can choose
from one course taught by permanent CEU faculty as well as a wide range
of courses taught by visiting professors from Israel, North America and
Western Europe. Additionally, the project also runs a lecture series,
sponsors conferences and publishes a yearbook.
