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Although he is many miles from his native Bosnia, Lafayette junior Jasmin Verem cannot help but turn his attention to the devastation war has wrought in his homeland.
So, in an independent study project, he is attempting to assess the war's impact on individual creativity and artistic expression.
“I wanted to do something different. I'm looking at the fight for ethnic and religious identity and its impact on the arts,” Verem says “I'm searching through books, poems, and paintings for the various artistic expressions of war.”
Verem, an international affairs major, is working with Rado Pribic, professor of foreign languages and literatures and chair of the international affairs program.
Pribic says, “Jasmin is currently researching how writers, particularly poets, are reacting to the horrors of the Bosnian tragedy. He is of Yugoslavian ancestry, which puts him at an advantage. He can also read in the language of the original.
“Jasmin is a very bright and capable student,” Pribic adds. “To identify and to understand the full extent of the situation is difficult for Americans.”
Just as Verem's research uncovers links between war and the arts, it forges a human bridge, too.
“Professor Pribic points me in the right direction to find materials,” he says. “He also helps me decide what to concentrate on.”
Pribic says, “I'm Christian and he's Muslim, and here we are working together on this project.”
Verem is the president of Lafayette's International Students Association and copresident of the club volleyball team. He is a member of the student committee that has provided valuable advice to the administration during the planning and opening of Lafayette's new late-night café, Gilbert's.