Academics in the Balkans

Fall: August 5–November 18 | Spring: February 25–June 8 

Dates Subject to change

By approaching these themes from multiple perspectives, we aim to provide students with an encompassing foundation and a broad range of tools for understanding and dealing with conflict and for promoting peace, whether in their daily lives or through further specialized work in peacemaking and reconciliation. 

Curriculum

Courses will be taught in both the city of Zagreb and on the island of Vis. The semester includes an “applied classroom” journey through Eastern Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia, where some of the heaviest fightings took place and people are still struggling to find a way toward a peaceful and multiethnic future. Internships are available.

Conference

Course IV is followed by a conference/workshop week centered on one of the themes students have been introduced to during the semester. The conference speakers include visiting faculty members, local and international scholars whose work is relevant to the proposed theme and the students themselves who make final presentations.

Spring 2025 Courses

Course I
BAL315 Introduction to the Balkans: History, Culture, Politics and Religion (4 credits)
Lead instructor: Petra Belkovic Taylor
This course will serve as a broad introduction to the history and culture of the Balkans with special attention to recent events and tensions of political and religious significance. The course will feature a series of guest lectures by local cultural, political, religious and literary figures and will involve regular excursions to points of interest both within Zagreb and in the surrounding areas. Fulfills Social Science core for Gordon College students as well as Shalom requirement.

Course II
BAL140 War and Peace through Literature (4 credits)
Instructor: Petra Belkovic Taylor
This course will trace phenomena related to the life of people in wartime. We will read ancient, medieval and modern texts dealing with major wars of the region (Trojan War, Ottoman conquests, WWI and WWII and the most recent war in the 1990s). We will also reflect on the lives of soldiers by reading literature from wars in which the United States was involved (Civil War, WWII, Afghanistan). Fulfills core literature requirements for Gordon students.

Course III
BAL338 War and Peace: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives (4 credits)
Instructor: James Taylor
Provides a broad understanding of war and peace through three main components: 1) theories of just war and pacifism; 2) changing conceptions of war and peace in the Western philosophical tradition; 3) theologically informed responses to recent warfare in the Balkans, with the goal of a distinctively Christian response to war, peace and reconciliation. Fulfills core philosophy requirement for Gordon students and elective credit for Philosophy, Political Science, and Peace and Conflict Studies.

Course IV
BAL349 Religion and International Affairs (4 credits)
Instructor: Ruth Melkonian-Hoover
Focuses on contemporary relationships between religion and public life internationally, recognizing religion’s contribution to conflict and oppression and to positive political change. Compares church-state relationships; analyzes relationship of religion to conflict, cooperation, society and diplomacy; surveys religion and politics in multiple regions; and reviews theories of religion’s role in society.

Fall 2025 Courses

Course I
BAL315 Introduction to the Balkans: History, Culture, Politics and Religion (4 credits)
Lead instructor: Petra Belkovic Taylor
This course will serve as a broad introduction to the history and culture of the Balkans with special attention to recent events and tensions of political and religious significance. The course will feature a series of guest lectures by local cultural, political, religious and literary figures and will involve regular excursions to points of interest both within Zagreb and in the surrounding areas. Fulfills Social Science core for Gordon College students as well as Shalom requirement.

Course II
BAL140 War and Peace through Literature (4 credits)
Instructor: Petra Belkovic Taylor
This course will trace phenomena related to the life of people in wartime. We will read ancient, medieval and modern texts dealing with major wars of the region (Trojan War, Ottoman conquests, WWI and WWII and the most recent war in the 1990s). We will also reflect on the lives of soldiers by reading literature from wars in which the United States was involved (Civil War, WWII, Afghanistan). Fulfills core literature requirements for Gordon students.

Course III
BAL338 War and Peace: Philosophical and Theological Perspectives (4 credits)
Instructor: James Taylor
Provides a broad understanding of war and peace through three main components: 1) theories of just war and pacifism; 2) changing conceptions of war and peace in the Western philosophical tradition; 3) theologically informed responses to recent warfare in the Balkans, with the goal of a distinctively Christian response to war, peace and reconciliation. Fulfills core philosophy requirement for Gordon students and elective credit for Philosophy, Political Science, and Peace and Conflict Studies.

Course IV
BAL 371 - Violence and Peacemaking in the Bible  (4 credits)
Instructor: Joanna Kline
This course will explore biblical texts (primarily from the Old Testament) about human and divine violence and peacemaking. We will interpret these biblical texts in their historical and literary contexts, evaluate ancient and modern approaches to divine violence, and work toward constructing ethical readings of Scripture that have relevance for resolving conflict and bringing about peace in the world today.