The Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS)

Throughout history, the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe have served as a meeting place for different peoples, languages, political systems and religions. However, in the history of 20th century Europe the area has typically been a borderland between East and West, and the Cold War division of the continent effectively hampered contact and communication between the two parts. The demise of the BerlinWall and the collapse of the Soviet Union marked a turning point, after which active contact was developed.  Striving for a united Europe once more became a realistic project.

The Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe provide a rich source of information for studies into sociopolitical, cultural, economic, and ecological change. However, studies of this borderland between East andWest require language skills and knowledge about culture and history that are rare today. This is where BEEGS comes in.

 

BEEGS

BEEGS started in 2000, and was created in order to bridge a perceived gap of knowledge between the Scandinavian countries and other countries and cultures around the Baltic Sea and its environment. The focus of the research activities of BEEGS is on the Baltic and East European area. The school serves to re-integrate the experience of these countries and cultures into the corpus of humanities and social sciences, through a multidisciplinary approach.

 

Since spring 2005 BEEGS is part of the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies, CBEES. The main aim of CBEES is to coordinate research and postgraduate studies in the Baltic Sea Region and Eastern Europe, organize conferences and seminars and invite guest researchers. The research centre is also aimed to be a meeting place for different research activities within the University College and activities in other research environments and in the wider community.

 

BEEGS is financed by a grant from the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies (Östersjöstiftelsen). The school is run in co-operation with Stockholm University, and other Swedish universities, where the doctoral candidates are formally registered.