Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian

In the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures students can explore the languages, cultures, literatures, and cinemas of the Slavic and East European nations. The faculty have lived, traveled, and studied in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing a wealth of lived experience and academic expertise to their teaching. Most classes are small, fostering collegiality and access to instructors for focused engagement. Many of the students who pursue a major in our department spend time abroad during their undergraduate career.

Before the break-up of Yugoslavia, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) was typically known as Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian. When the new countries formed, the language came to be known as Croatian in Croatia, Serbian in Serbia, Montenegrin in Montenegro, and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This language is written in two alphabets, Latin and Cyrillic.

The BCS language courses cover four of the seven primary languages spoken in these countries: Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian. The remaining three languages are Albanian, spoken in Kosova; Macedonian, spoken in North Macedonia; and Slovenian, spoken in Slovenia. Courses in this program examine the cultures of all of these regions.

Because of its recent history, this region is identified by many people with the wars of Yugoslav succession. Obscured by such traumatic associations is a region rich in history and natural wonders. Western, Byzantine, and Islamic influences merge in everyday life, producing exceptional examples of art, architecture, literature, film, and music.

Students with prior knowledge of BCS should arrange to take a proficiency test by contacting iuslavic@iu.edu.