Jelena Runić

Basic Information
Hometown

Belgrade, Serbia

Host University
Indiana University Bloomington
Area of Study

Linguistics

(with a special emphasis on the syntax of Balkan languages within the generative framework)

Current Position
Teaching Assistant of Romanian Language and Literature
Current Institution

Department of Romanian Language and Literature, Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

Year Spent in the U.S.

2004-2005

American Experience
Tell us about your time in the U.S.

To be perfectly honest, I worked most of the time, as I realized that was the right moment encountering a very positive academic environment. Therefore, the year spent on JFDP Program was the most successful one from the professional point of view. I gave about 20 presentations on different topics at conferences and elsewhere on and off campus, taught 4 courses part-time (Serbian/Croatian for different levels, as well as Romanian), participated in several workshops, and organized many extra-curricular activities for undergraduate and graduate students. As for my personal research, I got an extraordinar insight into generative grammar which helped me think more critically and inspired me to write many research papers and to complete MA thesis very quickly after I got back from the States.

In order not to be a complete nerd, I found time to meet with my friends on a regular basis and we had a wonderful time.
How was your internship experience?

Very diverse as I did 2 internships which included 3 completely different activities at the same time. I was working for Slavica, the most prestigious publishing house for Slavic Studies in the U.S. , which resulted in updating and posting an article on materials for teaching Russian on the web. At the same time I taught Romanian in the Summer Workshop of Slavic and East European Languages (SWSEEL), which gave me the opportunity to get acquainted with a notion of a summer school in the U.S. Finally, within the extra-curricular activities at the SWSEEL, I gave classes of Balkan dances, which resulted in a Talent Show that SWSEEL-ers warmly accepted.

What were your impressions of the U.S.?

Wonderful country for working and studying.

As for having fun, I still highly appreciate the Balkans.

Looking Ahead
What are you working on now?

I am working on several linguistic papers for conferences and journals as well as on a textbook on Romanian phonetics and phonology for Serbian learners.

What are your plans for the future?

My first plan is to publish materials from the conference that Dr. Julijana Vuco and I organized in April 2006 with the help of American Councils and ECA. Second, I will develop a new course in the fall (The Morphosyntax of Romanian), and, third, I will start working on my PhD dissertation.

Interests

Balkan Syntax, Slavic Syntax, Syntactic Theories, SLA within the generative framework

Contact Information

jelenarunic@yahoo.com