Written by Victoria Miller, a junior from Boston College majoring in International Studies apart of the Spring ‘23 cohort and interning for The European Center for the Study of War and Peace From April 20th to the 23rd, the Spring 23 Cohort traveled to Vukovar. We first visited Jasenovac memorial site, a former concentration camp during World War II. At the concentration camp, 80,000-100,000 ethnic Serbs, Jews, Roma, and political enemies of the Ustaša regime were killed. Many in very brutal ways. While visiting the museum and the concentration camp land, seeing victims' names and photos, we r ..read more

Jill Keegan, junior from Boston College, reflects on her experience of taking an internship with SOLIDARNA, a foundation that works to rebuild villages affected by the earthquake that took place in 2021. Jill connects academic lessons learned during the semester in Croatia with experience of visiting a farm destroyed by an earthquake.  My place in the back of the car was cramped and awkwardly located, diagonal relative to my supervisor and directly behind the CEO of the company, meaning that I had to hunch forward and do a sort of 45-degree-angle-upper-body twist in order to hear the ..read more

written by: Hannah Spangler, Gordon College Fall ‘21 Cohort Choosing a place to study abroad is no small feat. There are so many things to take into consideration. What’s the program? What will you study? Is this country safe? What language do they speak? Will you live with a host family? A dorm? How much is this going to cost? Will you even like this place you’ve never been to? Why should you go? These are just a few of the questions I asked myself and was asked when choosing where I would study abroad. I had never left the United States (except for 6 hours in Juárez Mexico, but I don’t reall ..read more

written by: Katherine Simpson, Gordon College Spring ‘19 cohort Having finished our first class block in Zagreb with a flurry of late-night paper-writing, we were thrilled to be greeted by the clear waters of the Adriatic sea off the island of Vis. Removed from the hustle bustle of Zagreb, we were able to take time to reflect on our experiences in Croatia, to explore related topics through our majors, and to get some sun. Komiža, Vis The other political science stude ..read more

written by: Katherine Simpson, Gordon College Spring ‘19 cohort At Jasenovac concentration camp, between 80,000 and 100,000 ethnic Serbs, Jews and Roma people as well as political enemies of the Ustaša regime were killed. Among the dead, around 20,000 were children. The camp was notable among concentration camps for killings in the most brutal ways—by stabbing, hanging, beating, and exhaustion. The land, however, bears no mark of this. All that remains of the camp is the rail line along the river Sava through which prisoners were transported and an empty field, the buildings having been burne ..read more

As of last week, The Balkans Semester for the Study of War and Peace boasts 72 alumni. Our hope is that the semester has challenged the personal and professional directory of these students toward the life of peace, whatever context they may find themselves in. As a program focused on both academic and practical rigor, we are particularly interested in how our students have carried forth the passion that was encouraged while with our program. These students have spread out across the globe from Bangladesh to the halls of grad schools, affecting peace in their varied lives and work. Our desire ..read more

On March 1st, the 6th Balkans Semester for the Study of War and Peace began with a cohort of 14 students from Gordon College, Messiah College, and Wheaton College. Even though we began with a few weeks of unusual snow and cold, this group has been engaged and excited about their semester (we have not even taken the characteristic 'cohort photo' on the terrace because the weather was so cold)! Thankfully, the weather has turned, the Magnolia tree at the center is touched with pink, and spring officially came.  Standing on th ..read more

Our first iteration of Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in the Balkans wrapped up last week. The graduate-level program is hosted by our Center, in partnership with Boston University’s School of Theology. The program spanned two weeks, but during that short period students traveled to Osijek, Vukovar, Sarajevo, Mostar, and Dubrovnik and listened to a broad spectrum of guest speakers. The program’s specific focus on transitional justice as well as interreligious dialogue allowed for a closer look into peacemaking from the perspective of active peacemakers from each of the Balkans’ larges ..read more

“My past is colored with nationalism. I was somebody who hated other groups in the Balkans... I felt God calling me here to use my past experience- bad experience- to make something new and to work something great” — Luka Djukic Since ECSWP's founding, it has been a goal for our work to include and engage regional students. Finally, in Spring 2017 we had a regional student audit our philosophy course taught by Dr. Taylor, “War & Peace: Philosophical & Theological Perspectives”. Luka Djukic is a student from Novi Sad, Serbia and he was able to join us through our Regional Sch ..read more

At the conclusion of every Balkans Semester for the Study of War and Peace program, we host a conference at which students and faculty fellows present on a topic relating to the conference theme. Last week was our 5th Balkans Semester for the Study of War and Peace conference. This year's theme was "Engaging Violence: an Interdisciplinary Response" and students were asked to respond to the question: "How do we respond to violence?"   Our conference spanned two days with 16 student and five faculty fellow presentations.  Student and faculty presentations were rigorously argued but also--due ..read more