Welcome back to the Summer Adventure Series at the SEELC of The Ohio State University!

This Summer has been filled with so many exciting adventures already, and this week we are sharing Lejla Vesković's Summer story! Lejla studies at a Ph.D. student with us at the SEELC and we hope you enjoy the tale of her adventure.

Have an adventure to share? Contact Ernst.150@osu.edu

I am spending my summer in Montenegro, conducting research on the Russian diaspora, while also spending time with family and friends, and enjoying the food, sun, sea, and summer cultural programs.

I want to express my gratitude to the Global Arts and Humanities Special Grants Initiative for providing the “Conflict, Crisis, and Im/mobility” grant that funded my trip.

In June, I attended a lecture by Professor Victor Vakhshtayn on the responsibility of culture as a subject of sociological analysis. The lecture took place in the Cultural Center Auditorium in Budva and was organized by the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences (FLAS). FLAS is the first state-accredited Russian “university in exile” and the first liberal arts model of education in the Balkans. It was established by former professors from the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences (MSEES, or Shaninka) in Montenegro in 2022, following the war in Ukraine, censorship of liberal arts programs, and Russia’s withdrawal from the Bologna Process. Starting in September 2024, students can enroll in a three-year FLAS bachelor’s program in English and receive international diplomas in six offered majors: Art History, Cross-Cultural Linguistics, Digital Humanities, Media Studies and Journalism, New Political Science, Social Theory, and Sociological Research. For more information, you can visit their website at https://liberalarts.me.

From July 1-7, I attended FLAS Beach University “Perception of Reality: Sociology of Game and Fantasy” in Donje Lastve, taught by Professor Vakhshtayn. During the course, we studied texts by Alfred Schutz, William James, Erving Goffman, and Gregory Bateson, and engaged in debates on sociological topics against the stunning backdrop of the Mediterranean. I thoroughly enjoyed observing Professor Vakhshtayn's teaching methods and his intellectual and lively discussions with the students.

On July 14, I visited the opening of a solo exhibition in the Montenegro European Art Community of the renowned street artist Philippenzo, known for his anti-war graffiti works “Izrossilovanie,” “Swan Lake,” “Twenty,” and “Bayu-Bai.” 

Philippenzo is an exiled artist who is currently on the wanted list and facing persecution for his artistic activism under the charges of “vandalism motivated by political hatred.”

On July 11, I attended a conference organized by the Association of Montenegrin Publishers. At the conference, prominent writers, historians, and journalists discussed the impact of the anti-war movement on politics and culture in Montenegro between 1991 and 2001 and promoted the anthology “Literature Against the War.”  The anthology contains prose and poetry texts of notable Montenegrin writers, such as Marko Vešović, Vitomir Vito Nikolić, Husein Bašić, Sreten Asanović, Jovan Nikolaidis and others, who raised their voices against the war in the 1990s despite the threats from the authorities and criminal organizations. 

During my stay in Montenegro, I also visited numerous museums, galleries, and festivals. I especially enjoyed the International Festival of Tambura Orchestras and the launch of the 23rd issue of the journal “Kod” dedicated to the promotion of culture, literature, and science of the Montenegrin minorities, both of which took place in my hometown Bijelo Polje. 

Apart from working on research, I made sure to enjoy the summer by spending time with my family. I took a quick break from the Beach University to hang out with my brother in Tivat.

Montenegro experienced exceptionally high temperatures this summer. I found it refreshing to cool off in the fountain when I couldn't be by the sea. ☺

The summer has been wonderful so far. I hope to spend the rest of it at Ada Bojana before the start of the new semester, which I am already looking forward to.