Curriculum Vitae

Current Office and Course Information

Professor David Doellinger teaches East European/Russian, modern German and world history at Western Oregon University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2002. His dissertation, entitled “From Prayers to Protests: The Impact of Religious-Based Dissent on the Emergence of Civil Society in Slovakia and the GDR,” examines how religious institutions supported initiatives critical of the state in Eastern Europe from the Second World War to the collapse of communism in 1989. His professional interests include East European social movements, twentieth-century European history, European intellectual history and the history of the Balkans.

As an undergraduate student at Valparaiso University, Professor Doellinger participated in a study abroad program in Cambridge, England. It was this experience in Europe that inspired his future studies in history: “The study abroad experience was an important turning point in my life. I enjoyed the challenge of encountering other cultures, and I gained a whole new perspective on the world and what I wanted to do with my life. I remember that I decided to change my major to history while backpacking in Switzerland.” During his semester abroad, Professor Doellinger had the chance to travel to Prague and Budapest, which sparked his interest in Eastern Europe. After earning his B.A., he accepted a position to teach English and history at a Gymnasium (high school) in Czechoslovakia during the 1992/1993 academic year. “It was an exciting time to be in East Europe. Midway through the academic year, I experienced the Velvet Divorce as Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That year I also realized how much I enjoyed teaching.” At the end of the school year he returned to the United States to begin graduate school.

For more information contact Professor Doellinger at doellind@wou.edu