| Abstract: | Since inter‐ethnic tension and conflict is a potential problem in many parts of east and central Europe, much can be learned from the experience of the Banat region of Romania that is known for its very good inter‐ethnic relations. Efforts to make the study of multi‐ethnicity a part of the university curriculum stimulated the author and a number of other academics at the University of the West in Timi?oara to set up a Center for Comparative East and Central European Studies, a major project of which has been to prepare a multifaceted study of the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the Banat region of Romania. Aspects of this project are described and cited as an example of what can be done elsewhere to link higher education to the furtherance of the aims of civil society, one of which is inter‐ethnic tolerance and peace. |
