Slavic and East European Languages
Study Abroad
AATSEEL held a webinar on March 15th, 2022, on current issues in study abroad and programs available for students.
Please allow a few seconds for the video to load, then click the box above to play.
AATSEEL enjoys sustained relationships with many study abroad providers specializing in regions where Slavic and East European languages are spoken.
American Councils for International Education
Learn Russian in the European Union / Daugavpils University
SRAS: Study, Research, and Custom Programs Abroad
To be added to this list as a study abroad provider, please email us.
AATSEEL's Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion offers the following list of resources for faculty to consider when advising students of diverse identities on study abroad:
Funding and Networking Opportunities
Black Bread, a New York-based professional network of Black Russian-speakers
Diversity Abroad, an organization supporting educators, policy makers, and students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds
Fund for Education Abroad, a funding organizing focused on serving underrepresented students
USAID Donald Payne Fellowship, a graduate fellowship intended to foster future careers of the Foreign Service of the United States, encouraging applications from those in underrepresented groups and those with financial need, administered by Howard University
Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship, a graduate fellowship intended to promote diversity and excellence in the Foreign Service of the United States, administered by Howard University
Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program, a graduate fellowship intended to promote diversity and excellence in the Foreign Service of the United States administered by Howard University
Q*ASEEES, Society for the Promotion of LGBTQ Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Minority Accounts of Experiences Abroad
Text Resources
Elif Batuman, The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2010), on the experiences of a Turkish-American scholar in Russia and Uzbekistan. [See also her article “Reading Racist Literature" in The New Yorker, from April 13, 2015.] (Turkish American, Russia, Uzbekistan)
Eliot Borenstein. Sending Our Gay Students to Russia, NYU Jordan Center All the Russias Blog, August 6, 2013. (Russia, LGBT)
Emily Couch. Uzbekistan was my first solo travel destination. Here’s what the trip taught me. (October 25, 2019);
Emily Couch. I’m a 21st Century British East Asian. Here’s Why I Appreciate the Racial Representation in Soviet art. (July 2, 2019)
Emily Couch. Eurasia Studies Has A Diversity Problem. Here’s Why That Needs to Change. (June 9, 2019) (Russia, Uzbekistan, British East Asian, Russia)
Dmitry Kuzmin. “On the Moscow Metro and Being Gay." Trans. Alexei Bayer. Words Without Borders, 2013. See also Kuzmin’s 2013 interview, Poet Dmitry Kuzmin on the Anti-Gay Government Campaign in Russia (Russia, LGBT)
Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz. (2013). “Race, Diversity, and Our Students in Russia” Jordan Russia Center, New York University. (Russia, Race, African American, Latina)
Amarilis Lugo de Fabritz.“Teaching Martian”. AATSEEL Newsletter, October 2015, pp. 8-9. (Russia, Race, African American, Latina)
Ernestine Lyons. “Being Black in Russia". 2015 (Russia, African American)
Loretta Maria Perera.“A Brown Man in Russia: Lessons Learned on the Trans-Siberian,"The Moscow Times, Nov. 2, 2019 (Russia, Indian American, South Asian Singaporean) [See also Vijay Menon, A Brown Man in Russia: Lessons Learned on the Trans-Siberian, London:Glagoslav: 2018; as well as Jinyi Chu, (Book Review) “Vijay Menon. A Brown Man in Russia: Lessons Learned on the Trans-Siberian. London: Glagoslav Publications, 2018." Slavic and East European Journal, vol. 62, no.4, 2018, pp. 739-740.)]
Michael Mariner. . New Eastern Europe, July 4, 2013 (Poland, African American)
Millyollie, "These Images Demonstrate the True Diversity of Russian Society, and the Challenges Still Faced by Minorities". The Calvert Journal, August 21, 2019. (Russia, Various Identities)
Justin Ong, “Hateful stares, police pressure, and ‘go back to China’: the Singaporeans making a living in Russia". Channel News Asia, June 24, 2018 (Russia, East and South Asian Singaporean)
Onieka Raymond, “Are Russians racist towards black people? My experience" (includes YouTube video) (Russia, Black, Afro Canadian)
Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon. “A Voice from the Slavic Studies Edge: On Being a Black Woman in the Field”NewsNet, August 2020. (Ukraine, African American)
Amber Hernandez Strong."Race and Racism in Kosovo: An Afro-Latina American Woman's Perspective"Prishtina Insight, July 21, 2017 (Kosovo, Afro Latina, Muslim)
Kristin Torres. “Making Russian Matter".AATSEEL Newsletter, October 2015, pp. 10-11. (Russia, Latina)
Amber Casandra Walden. “I Expected Many Things".AATSEEL Newsletter, October 2015, p. 9. (Russia, African American)
Agnieszka Wądołowska. "Stop calling me Murzyn": Black Lives Matter sparks linguistic debate in Poland" (Poland, Afro Polish)
Cecil Leigh Wilson. “Can You Be Nonbinary in Russian?"Slavic and East European Blog, The Ohio State University (2018) (Russia, LGBT)
Jennifer Wilson.“Is Slavic Ready for Minorities?"NYU Jordan Center All the Russias, July 21, 2014 (Russia, Slavic, African American)
Amelia Zatari.“Racism in Russia. Stories of Prejudice". BBC, June 17, 2020. (Russia, Black, African and Afro Russian)
SRAS Resources for Minority Students Abroad, a blog highlighting students of various identities describing their experiences abroad in a range of SEEES target countries (Various Locations, Various Identities)
Audio and Video Resources
Emanuele Berry, Black in the USSR, a segment of This American Life, interview with Afro-Russian journalist Yelena Khanga about her experience (Russia, Afro Russian)
Vijay Menon. “Lessons Learned on the Trans-Siberian (TedX Duke) (Russia, Indian American)
Sergey Mezentsev, Sam, Washington, Black Lives Matter, Being Black in Russian, Racism (YouTube podcast interview in Russian on the above topics) (Russia, Afro Russian, Afro Brazilian) (notes: in fast, colloquial Russian, using a goofy “talk radio" style, so instructors will want to preview any sections they choose to share with students to make sure the content and level are appropriate for their needs; timestamps for specific topics linked in the comments)
My Life in Russia, a video series from Russia Beyond the Headlines featuring foreigners and people of color (Russia, Various identities) (note: Russia Beyond the Headlines is a Russian state-owned multilingual publication.)
Information About Ethnic Violence and Homophobia in the Target Region
Russia
Natalia Yudina, “Criminal Activity of the Ultra-Right. Hate Crimes and Counteraction to them in 2019". SOVA Center for Information and Analysis and Monitoring ksenofobskikh nastroenii 2019 g.," Levada Center
General
International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, “State-Sponsored Homophobia Report 2019: Global Legislation Overview Update"