UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies

UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies
Established 1915
Founder Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
Director Professor Jan Kubik
Administrative staff
 17[1]
Students 900[2]
Location London, United Kingdom
Campus Urban
Affiliations University College London
Website www.ssees.ucl.ac.uk

The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES /ˈsiːs/) is a school of University College London (UCL) specialised in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia.

The School teaches a wide range of subjects including the history, politics, literature, sociology, economics and languages of the region and is the largest centre for the study and research of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, and Russia in the United Kingdom. It has links with universities both across Europe and globally.[3][4]

History

The School was inaugurated in London in 1915, as a department of King's College London, by Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who later became President of Czechoslovakia. In 1932 the School became an Institute of the University of London, no longer connected to any college.[5]

In 1999 the School merged with University College London (UCL).

Teaching

More than 60 academic staff work at the School, teaching and conducting research in the history, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, culture, literature and languages of the countries of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, and Russia. In 2012/2013 the School had over 200 graduate students studying taught MA degrees or undertaking PhD research. In addition the School has over 600 undergraduate students.

Research

Along with its undergraduate and graduate teaching, the School enjoys an enviable reputation for the quality of its interdisciplinary research. It is a major international centre for training the next generation of regional specialists, through a combination of academic rigour and the skills and knowledge required by employers. It also specialises in analysing and disseminating information about changes in the region, publishing periodicals, papers and books, holding conferences, public lectures, seminars and briefings, and providing experts who can act as advisers to government, the media, and public and private institutions.

Library

Comprising around 357,000 volumes of books, pamphlets and periodicals, the School's library is unique in the UK for the quantity of research material on open access and for the extensive collection of newspapers from the region. Its collections of books, periodicals and archives are consulted by scholars from all over the world, and it has recently developed an important role in the provision of electronic and audio-visual material relating to its area of study.

The library is one of the leading research collections in Britain for the study of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The main fields of interest are the languages, literature, history, politics, economics, geography and bibliography of Russia and the western Republics of the former USSR, Poland, the Czech Lands, Slovakia, former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Austria, Germany, Italy and Albania. Subsidiary fields of interest are the arts in general, demography, ethnography and religion. Material is also collected on the former German Democratic Republic (history, political and economic life), the history of Germany and Austria, the Lusatian Sorbs, and Slavonic and Ugro-Finnic studies in general.

Building

In May 2004 the foundation stone of the School's new building on Taviton Street in Bloomsbury was unveiled by the President of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, in the presence of The Princess Royal, Chancellor of the University of London. The school moved to the building in the summer of 2005 after nearly 90 years at Senate House. Václav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, delivered the keynote address of his visit to the UK at a ceremony to open the building in October 2005. Following Klaus's address, the Princess Royal unveiled the stone to mark the formal opening of the building, on the occasion of the School's 90th anniversary.

The building was designed by award-winning architects Short and Associates. The design of the building aims to be 'environmentally-friendly' not simply through the addition of elements such as solar panels, but by facilitating the passage of cool air around the building and so avoiding the need for air conditioning or other expensive, energy-using solutions – a first for the 'central London heat island'.[6][7]

Notable alumni and staff

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ssees.ac.uk/staffresearch.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.ssees.ac.uk/index.htm
  3. ↑ "SOLIDARITY/Solidarities PROJECT PARTNERS". European Commission. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  4. ↑ http://www.ssees.ucl.ac.uk/
  5. ↑ I. W. Roberts, History of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies 1915-1990 (London: School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, 1991).
  6. ↑ Contractors page for the project.
  7. ↑ For an account of the design see: Short, C.A., Whittle, G., Owarish, M., (2006) "Fire & Smoke Control in Naturally Ventilated Buildings", Building Research & Information, 34 (1), pp. 21–54 and Short, C.A., Lomas K.J., Woods, A., (2004) "Design Strategy for Low Energy Ventilation and Cooling Within an Urban Heat Island", Building Research and Information, 32 (3), May – June, pp. 187–206.
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Coordinates: 51°31′31″N 0°07′54″W / 51.5254°N 0.1316°W / 51.5254; -0.1316

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