SPRINGFIELD, Ohio 鈥� It may be half a world away on the map, but the Southeastern European nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was the focus of a Wittenberg Uniersity Symposium titled 鈥淧reserving Goodwill In Multi-Cultural Societies: Lessons From Bosnia鈥� on Sunday, Jan. 30.
The conference drew upon an honors class titled 鈥淏osnia-Herzegovina鈥揂n Interdisciplinary Study,鈥� which involves five Wittenberg students majoring in English, psychology, math, sociology and political science, and matches them with five students from the war-torn nation via a private chat room to collaborate on projects. Student presentations and discussions with two natives of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, highlighted the first part of the conference in Bayley Auditorium in the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center. A banquet followed, featuring authentic Bosnian cuisine, music and a demonstration of the process of making Bosnian coffee.
Keith Doubt, professor of sociology and chair of the department, organized the conference and the class. The author of two books on Bosnia-Herzegovina and the sociology of the area during and after the wars of the 1990s, Doubt created the unique course as part of a pilot project. The on-going project utilizes a shared curriculum between 天美传媒影业 and the University of Sarajevo based on class work at Wittenberg and Web-based exchanges with students and faculty at University of Sarajevo.
University of Sarajevo professors, Asim Mujkic, director of the human rights center and professor of sociology, and Dino Abazovic, professor of sociology, have supervised Bosnian students.
Drawing upon different disciplines, the course studies the social history and cultural heritage of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The conference extended those lessons, providing insights into the nation now, nearly a decade after ethnic fighting threatened to tear it completely apart.
鈥淥ne casualty of the war was a collective commitment to celebrating and embracing differences on the part of the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina,鈥� Doubt said. 鈥淭his is a nation with a history of goodwill and tolerance, which is why the war and violence were so utterly tragic.
鈥淭here were many bi-national marriages in the cities of Bosnia-Herzegovina; the war was agitated by people from outside and the traditions, institutions and civic practices that supported multi-culturalism were attacked.鈥�
Doubt鈥檚 book Sociologija Nakon Bosna [Sociology After Bosnia], which was published in 2002 in Sarajevo, examines the sociology of the war. The publication was written with support from a government grant in Bosnia-Herzegevonia.
Adnan Secic, a native of Sarajevo who now lives in Cincinnati, shared his personal experiences during the conference. Secic, who has visited the class in the past, brought firsthand knowledge of life in Bosnia during a time of war.
鈥淗e brings personal experience,鈥� Doubt said. 鈥淗e is appreciative and welcomes the students鈥� endeavor. It鈥檚 good for the students to hear from someone who has been in Bosnia.鈥�
Dragana Kaurin, a Wright State University student who left Sarajevo as a young child but returns each summer to work for non-governmental agencies as a translator, was the other featured individual at the conference. 鈥淪he brings an invaluable peer perspective,鈥� Doubt said.
In addition, one of the translators for American ambassador Richard Holbrook during the 1995 Dayton Peace Talks was present for the conference, again providing valuable insights. That peace conference successfully produced a treaty that ended the four-year-old Balkan War.
鈥淭he task now is to ensure peace, and perhaps the surest way to do this is to arrest the individuals who are indicted for unconscionable war crimes and crimes against humanity,鈥� Doubt said.
