Welcome Professor Marko Babić, the 2025 Slavic Fulbright Scholar from Poland to OSU!

In the cross-listed course Polish/International Studies 5196, Prof. Babić and students will explore "Poland, Central Europe, and the Balkans: Identity, Nationalism, and Geopolitics." The course is interdisciplinary in approach, focusing on contemporary political, geopolitical, and cultural problems of Poland, Central European countries, and the Balkans.

Prof. Babić comes to Ohio State to teach in an American institution for the first time—but he brings experience as a foreign exchange student. First in the U.S. as a high school senior in a school just outside Chicago, Marko Babić hails from the former Yugoslavia but has been in Poland for many years, where he is Head of Eurasian Studies at the University of Warsaw Faculty of Political Science and International Studies. Having been a visiting professor at many European Universities, including Portugal, France, Serbia, Hungary, Macedonia, Russia, this is Prof. Babić’s first time teaching in the U.S.

Polish/IntStu 5196 starts with an introduction to the political, social, historical, and cultural context of the region. Students will then delve into problems of nationalism, identity and identity politics in the region. Later the course will focus on various problems of transition and integration processes in the region, ending with important issues such as geopolitics.

Prof. Babić loves to teach using the Socratic method, and since the course is designed to welcome students regardless of their background, he will necessarily incorporate elements of lecture, but he hopes to find a common language with students to discuss the material, including assigned readings, in depth. Upon completion of the course students will know and understand the principal problems of regional politics and geopolitics, and how those problems influence contemporary social and political life as well as European integration. Students will also be able to identify and discuss political and axiological issues.

As Marko Babić has described his academic interests:

From the very beginning of my academic career, I have focused on Poland, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and the Balkans in terms of their geopolitical location, state-building processes, ethnic conflicts, and identity, including determinants such as history and religion. I have always been fascinated by these phenomena because they have a fundamental impact on political processes and politics. In a broader context, my research also focuses on political philosophy, cultural anthropology and sociology in their theoretical and normative dimensions.

Consider joining Marko Babić to learn more about these relevant contemporary and historical processes in Polish 5196 / International Studies 5196 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:10-12:30 in Hagerty Hall 186!

POLISH 5196-10 LEC (35697), POLISH 5196-10 LEC (35698) or INTSTDS 5196-0010 LEC (35714)