40 years of Slovene Language at the University of Nottingham
The 2014-2015 academic year marks 40 years since teaching of the Slovene language began at the University of Nottingham.
On Wednesday 11 March 2015, the University's Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies is hosting an event to celebrate the 40-year anniversary, in collaboration with the Centre for Slovene as a Second/Foreign Language at the Faculty of Arts, the University of Ljubljana, and the Slovenian Embassy in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
We will gather in the afternoon at 4:30 pm in the Senate Chamber (Trent Building) for a rich cultural program, beginning with welcoming remarks by academics from Nottingham and Ljubljana as well as His Excellency Tadej Rupel, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia.
Then we will hear short presentations by lecturers from Ljubljana and Nottingham.
- Dr. Mojca Nidorfer Šiškovič (University of Lubljana) will give a talk on 'Slovene at the University of Nottingham as part of the Slovene at the Foreign Universities Programme'
- Postgraduate research student Olivia Hellewell (University of Nottingham) will speak on 'The Dual, Dictionaries and Many More Reasons to be Cheerful'
- Dr. David Denton (University of Nottingham) will present on 'Luck, ill-luck and the battle for existence: the Life and Works of Ciril Kosmač'
- Dr. Polly McMichael (University of Nottingham) will address 'Kantavtorstvo in Slovenia'.
A reception with Slovene wine and potica, hosted by the Slovene Ambassador, will follow. We will conclude with a concert by the Slovene musician Vlado Kreslin at 7:00 pm.
The University's long association with Eastern European languages and cultures began as far back as 1916 when the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies was founded by a Slovene, Professor Janko Lavrin. Slovene studies were introduced within the department in the academic year 1974-1975 and the ongoing teaching of Slovene language and culture is supported by an agreement between the University of Nottingham and the University of Ljubljana. To date, more than 300 students have studied Slovene at Nottingham. Four decades on, Nottingham remains the only university in the UK where it is possible to study the language.
All are welcome to join us for this event.
More information is available from Maja Rančigaj, Slovene Language Teacher.
View the programme.