The lecture discusses how communist regimes in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria sought to reshape Muslim communities through gendered interventions. Based on my forthcoming book, it explores policies that targeted Muslim clothing, religious practices, and identities, revealing how Muslim populations resisted, complied, and adapted to authoritarian ideas of modernity.

The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Michigan is proud to launch a new lecture series spotlighting the rich multicultural and multilingual traditions of the regions we study and teach.

The series challenges the field’s longstanding Slavic-centric focus by highlighting historically understudied communities that, by default—as seen in the very term “Slavic studies” as a common synonym for Eastern European regional studies—have too often been overlooked or excluded. Distinguished scholars will present on these cultures’ histories, languages, and artistic contributions.

This is a hybrid event, please register here: https://myumi.ch/rAxPn