Nada Petković

Nada Petkovic
Instructional Professor
Foster 415
Office Hours: Mondays/Wednesdays: 2:00 PM- 4:00 PM & By Appointment
773.702.0035
Teaching at UChicago since 2000
Research Interests: Languages and cultures of the Former Yugoslavia, Second language acquisition, Cultural Anthropology, Urban Studies

"Petković’s primary area of interests are the languages and literatures of the Former Yugoslavia, cultural anthropology of the region, and urban studies with a particular interest in recent state and city branding."

Biography

A native of Belgrade, Petković joined the University of Chicago as a Fulbright scholar in the late eighties and prefers to refer to herself as Yugoslav. Her background is in comparative literature and theory of literature at the University of Belgrade, and general and Slavic linguistics at the University of Chicago. Her teaching and research focus on languages and cultures of the Former Yugoslavia, second-language acquisition, cultural anthropology, and urban studies. She has taught and lectured on many topics concerning the rich history of the region and its diverse cultures and traditions, with a particular interest in recent state and city branding. Her projects include the book Balkan EpicSong, History, Modernity, co-authored with Philip V. Bohlman, a textbook/reader, Po naški through Fiction: A Structural Reader of Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian Prose, ‘Idemo dalje’: Intermediate B/C/S teaching materials, and other work on language pedagogy and grammar. Her background in comparative literature inspires her love for literary translation and her translation projects. She is the recipient of numerous grants and honors, including Fulbright and Mellon Foundations, Consortium for Language Teaching and Learning, and the University of Chicago.

  • Petkovic, Nada. “Phantom of the National Theater” translation of the short story by Aleksandar Gatalica in M. Ivanovic, ed. 2020 Belgrade Noir. Brooklyn, NY: Akashic Books.
  • Petkovic, N. “'Po naški' through Fiction: A Structured Reader of Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian Prose.” (manuscript under review for publication)
  • Online database “Aspectual Pairs of Croatian and Serbian Verbs.” 2008.

Previously Taught Courses

  • Spaces of Hope: The City and Its Immigrants (Chicago quarter 2019)
  • (Re)branding the Balkan City: Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb (one-quarter course)
  • Special Topics in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (one-quarter course)
  • Advanced Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian: Language through Fiction (one-quarter course)
  • Advanced Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian: Language through Film (one-quarter course)
  • Advanced Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian: Language through Art and Architecture (one-quarter course)
  • Second-Year Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (three-quarter sequence course)
  • First-Year Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (three-quarter sequence course)