(Beyond) Nationalism and Xenophobia in Central and Eastern Europe

Spring 2026

A country by the Black Sea, Romania bridges Western Europe with the Balkans and the Middle East, with Russia and Ukraine. A space of increasing geopolitical interest, Romania is also a place with a fascinating and tumultuous history in which diverse cultures encountered, inspired, and challenged each other throughout time. Despite its still vibrant ethnic diversity and variegated traditions, Romanian society and politics are still confronted, as everywhere in the world today, with strong nationalistic and xenophobic values and attitudes. The OCS program will explore the socio-cultural and political factors that contribute to nationalism and xenophobia in Romania and in the larger area of Eastern and Central Europe, as well as the promise that social and cultural diversity in this part of the world might bear for the development of cosmopolitan sensibilities in the citizens.

The capital of Romania, Bucharest provides an ideal location for the program. The city’s history brings together a diverse cluster of influences: Western, Ottoman/Balkan, Russian, and Soviet. We will use the complexity and the tensions of Bucharest to explore the complex ways in which society, culture, and politics interact with each other in the process of nation-building. We will also travel inside and outside Romania. We will explore the Romanian region of Transylvania and will stop in several of its beautiful cities. One of them is Cluj, a major academic city in the Western part of Romania, with a significant Hungarian minority. Another city is Sibiu, in the Southern part of Transylvania, a place that still retains the memory of its strong German presence throughout history. Last but not least we will add a hint of ‘the Balkans’ to our experience. We will spend several days in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and a week in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here we will visit the capital, Sarajevo, and the charming city of Mostar, which has, unfortunately, such a tragic history.

I am a native of Romania. I came of age during the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu. In December 1989, when Ceauşescu’s regime came to an end, I was 25 years old. The world finally opened for me. I was able to study abroad. In 1997 I joined the newly created Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bucharest. In the same year, I met my husband, Stefan. In 2000, I came to live in the United States. I went back to graduate school, to get a second Ph.D., this time in Government.

My life was in deep ways traversed by at least two transitions: from communism to free market and democracy and from Europe to the Unites States. I continue to live between countries and continents. No wonder that one of my favorite courses I teach at Carleton is Strangers, Foreigners, and Exiles. Another one is Cosmopolitanism.

I am sad and deeply worried to see today’s world shrinking, the result of the growing nationalism and xenophobia. I see my OCS Program to Romania as an attempt, small, but powerful and significant, to keep worlds united, to keep transitions in my life meaningfully together, to keep borders, of all kinds, as open as possible, to prevent the erection of new walls. In the deepest way, my OCS Program is an attempt to connect the personal with the academic in my life, in ways that enrich both.

Mihaela Czobor-Lupp

Learning Goals

To understand the complex relationship between politics, on the one hand, and society and culture, on the other hand, in the processes of nation-building in Eastern and Central Europe, particularly, in countries such as Romania, Serbia, Hungary, and Ukraine
To get a sense of the role that cultural representations can play in either increasing xenophobia or in generating a sense of solidarity with strangers and foreigners
To acquire, through direct immersion in the Romanian and Serbian cultures as well as classroom experiences, a comprehension of the factors that account for tribal nationalism and xenophobia in Eastern and Central Europe
To develop an appreciation of the role that civil society can play in the formation of European and cosmopolitan sensibilities, thus empowering its members to fight the effects of (tribal) nationalism and xenophobia
To gain an awareness of the plight of minorities and immigrants in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as of the challenges that both the state and society face in dealing with these groups
To critically read and learn about thinkers who do not belong to the Western canon of political theory and philosophy
To view oneself and the world from a different perspective, which cannot be easily and conveniently reduced to only one culture or tradition

Prerequisites

Students who will have sophomore, junior, or senior status in the 2025-26 academic year and can demonstrate interest in the study of European history, politics, and society – particularly, in Eastern and Central Europe. Applicants should also be highly motivated to seek out new experiences and display respect, curiosity, and humility towards others.

Course of Study

The courses all count towards the Political Science Major.

POSC 294: Perceptions of Otherness in Modern Eastern and Central Europe (6 credits)

Is nationalism fundamentally flawed in its inclusionary capacity? Can the same power of imagination to bring strangers together, which made nation-building possible, be deployed for inventing post-national forms of solidarity? The course will explore representations of strangers and foreigners in Central and Eastern Europe, throughout the 19th and 20th century, with a special focus on Roma and Jews. The aim will be to understand how these representations will work to legitimize different forms of exclusionary politics. An important part of the course will explore the role that exiled and displaced people can play in reimagining identities on a cosmopolitan level.

Instructor: Mihaela Czobor-Lupp

POSC 295: Nation-Building in Central and Eastern Europe between Politics and Art (6 credits)

The state and its cultural politics played a pivotal role in building the Romanian nation. The first part of the course will analyze the difficulties of nation-building in modern Romania, with a special emphasis on the incapacity of Romanian liberalism to prevent the rise of extreme right wing politics. The second part will explore different images of Romanian national identity that art provided both during the communist regime and in the post-1989 decades, also in a comparative perspective with Hungary, Bulgaria, and Serbia. The course will include visits to galleries, architectural sites and neighborhoods in Bucharest and its surroundings.

Instructor: Local Faculty

POSC 296: Challenges to the Nation-State in Eastern and Central Europe: Immigrants and Minorities (6 credits)

How do democracies react when confronted with massive bodies of immigrants? Do the problems that Eastern and Central European countries face in dealing with immigrants reflect deeper challenges to their capacity of thinking of the nation along inclusionary lines? We will explore the legal and political issues that EU countries and their societies, particularly, in Eastern and Central Europe, face when confronted with a migration crisis. Then we will look at Roma’s history of exploitation and injustice in Eastern and Central Europe. The course will include visits with community groups and NGOs, as well as encounters with minority rights activists.

Instructor: Local Faculty

Excursions

The majority of lectures, discussions, site visits, and guest speakers will take place in Bucharest. In addition, students will enjoy visits to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia; Mostar and Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and two Romanian cities: Cluj, a major academic city in northwestern Romania and the unofficial capital of Transylvania, which still has a significant Hungarian minority, and Sibiu, a vibrant and innovative city in southern Transylvania, the site of one of the oldest universities in Romania and a place of rich German history.