Wayne S. Vucinich
Encyclopedia
Wayne S. Vucinich was an American
historian
and professor
and a founding father of Russian
and East European scholarship after World War II
.
. He attended his early education in Herzegovina and Los Angeles
. He attended the University of California, Berkeley
, earning a M.A. in East European history in 1936. He continued to pursue his doctoral studies between 1936 and 1941, also studying at Charles University in Prague
.
After graduating, Vucinich joined the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) and worked as an analyst for the Balkans
and the Soviet Union
during the Second World War. In the course of his assignments, he visited London
, Bari
and Sofia
. In 1946, after working in the State Department for a year, he accepted an offer to teach in Stanford
's History Department, where he remained until his formal retirement in 1978.
From 1972 to 1985, Vucinich was director of the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies. He also taught at Stanford's overseas campuses in Florence
, Beutelsbach
and Vienna
. In 1977, he was appointed to Robert and Florence McDonnell Professor of Eastern European Studies at Stanford, a chair first established for Vucinich. He held it for many years after his formal retirement in 1978. Among his students were David Kennedy
and Norman Naimark
.
In his teaching and research, Vucinich covered a broad area of history, encompassing general European history, modern history
, history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy
, the Balkans, Ottoman and Byzantine history, and nationalities of the Soviet Union
.
From 1981 to 1982, he served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
, which established the Vucinich Book Prize in his honor in 1982. The Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize is awarded annually for the most important contribution to Russian, Eurasian, and East European studies in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences published English in the United States in the previous calendar year.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and a founding father of Russian
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and East European scholarship after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Life
Vucinich was born into a family of emigrants originating from Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. He attended his early education in Herzegovina and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. He attended the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, earning a M.A. in East European history in 1936. He continued to pursue his doctoral studies between 1936 and 1941, also studying at Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
.
After graduating, Vucinich joined the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS) and worked as an analyst for the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the Second World War. In the course of his assignments, he visited London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
and Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
. In 1946, after working in the State Department for a year, he accepted an offer to teach in Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
's History Department, where he remained until his formal retirement in 1978.
From 1972 to 1985, Vucinich was director of the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies. He also taught at Stanford's overseas campuses in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Beutelsbach
Beutelsbach
Beutelsbach is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany....
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. In 1977, he was appointed to Robert and Florence McDonnell Professor of Eastern European Studies at Stanford, a chair first established for Vucinich. He held it for many years after his formal retirement in 1978. Among his students were David Kennedy
David M. Kennedy (historian)
David M. Kennedy is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning historian specializing in American history. He is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History at Stanford University and the Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West...
and Norman Naimark
Norman Naimark
Norman M. Naimark is an American historian, and author who specializes in modern Eastern European history, and genocide and ethnic cleansing in the region....
.
In his teaching and research, Vucinich covered a broad area of history, encompassing general European history, modern history
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
, history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the Balkans, Ottoman and Byzantine history, and nationalities of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
From 1981 to 1982, he served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
The Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies is a scholarly society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about the former Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe...
, which established the Vucinich Book Prize in his honor in 1982. The Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize is awarded annually for the most important contribution to Russian, Eurasian, and East European studies in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences published English in the United States in the previous calendar year.
Selected works
- Serbian foreign policy 1903-1909. Thesis (M.A.), University of California, Berkeley 1936.
- Serbian foreign policy, 1903-1908. Thesis (Ph.D.) University of California, Berkeley 1941.
- The Second World War and beyond. 1949.
- Yugoslavs of the Moslem faith. 1949.
- Serbia between East and West; the events of 1903-1908. Stanford University Press, Stanford 1954.
- Yugoslavs in California. Los Angeles 1960.
- The Ottoman Empire, its record and legacy. Van Nostrand, Princeton, N.J. 1965.
- The peasant in nineteenth-century Russia: a conference on the Russian peasant in the nineteenth century. Stanford 1966.
- Contemporary Yugoslavia; twenty years of Socialist experiment. (With Jozo Tomasevich; Stanford University.; et al.) University of California Press, Berkeley 1969.
- Russia and Asia; essays on the influence of Russia on the Asian peoples. Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. ©1972.
- Eastern Europe. Ginn, Lexington, Mass. 1973.
- Croatian illyrism; its background and genesis. 1975.
- A study in social survival: the katun in Bileća Rudine. University of Denver, Graduate School of International Studies, Denver ©1975.
- Nation and ideology: essays in honour of Wayne S. Vucinich. (With Ivo BanacIvo Banac-External links:*...
.) East European monographs, Boulder; Columbia U.P. (distr.) New York, 1981. - The First Serbian uprising, 1804-1813. Social Science Monographs; New York. Distributed by Columbia University Press, Boulder 1982.
- At the brink of war and peace: the Tito-Stalin split in a historic perspective. Social Science Monographs, Brooklyn College Press, New York. Distributed by Columbia University Press, 1982.
- Kosovo: legacy of a medieval battle. (With Thomas Allan Emmert.) University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. 1991.
- Ivo Andric revisited: the bridge still stands. International and Area Studies, Berkeley, ©1995.
- Memoirs of my childhood in Yugoslavia. (With Larry Wolff.) Society for the Promotion of Science and Scholarship, Palo Alto, Calif. ©2007.