Cristian Capotescu is a doctoral student in the Department of History. He earned his M.A. in Modern & East European History from the University of Freiburg in Germany with a study on post-communist political culture in Romania. Cristian joined U-M's history department as a Fulbright scholar in 2011-12 and was the recipient of a doctoral scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes in 2013. Cristian’s research focuses on the cultural, political, and socio-economic effects of transnational human rights regimes from the 1970s to the early 1990s with an emphasis on Romania. His work studies the prevalence of human rights ideas in exile, dissent, global mass media, humanitarian aid, and international NGOs; and explores how the transnational framework of human rights participated in the post-communist transformation in Romania.
Colleen Fitzharris is a dual-degree student in REES and Law. She is interested in issues involving free speech, police misconduct, and juries in Russia and countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States. She intends to examine the impact of juries in these countries, and explore how countries that do not have jury trials can implement the right to jury trial within their legal system. Before beginning her degree, Colleen lived and worked in Moscow.
Eoin Power is a first-year M.A. student in REES. He is interested in the role of national and supranational institutions in democratization, the ethics of humanitarian intervention, and international finance in Southeast Europe and the Balkans. He interned in the public affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana as an undergraduate. Eoin graduated with a B.A. in political science and philosophy from Middlebury.
Pietro Shakarian is a first-year M.A. student in REES. He is interested in expanding knowledge on Armenia in the Soviet and post-Soviet eras in the English language. Specifically, he is interested in examining dissident and civil society movements in Armenia during this period, including the Soviet-era dissident movement, the environmental movement, the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex in Yerevan, and anti-Soviet protest in the Syunik region. He is also interested in the culture of Russia and the former USSR, especially literature and film. Pietro received his B.A. in history at John Caroll University and an M.L.I.S. in special collections and preservation from Kent State University.
