Heracleitus Socrates Plato Aristotle St. Augustine Niccolo Machiavelli Baruch Spinoza Thomas Hobbes John Locke Jean-Jacques Rousseau Adam Smith Immanuel Kant G.W.F. Hegel Thomas Jefferson Alexis de Tocqueville Karl Marx Friedrich Nietzsche John Dewey Hannah Arendt Max Horkheimer Michel Foucault John Rawls Ronald Dworkin Noam Chomsky

Милош Растовић

Professor of Philosophy

Milos Rastovic

E-mail address for contact

Also Sprach Zaratustra

by R. Straus

PAPERS PRESENTED AND TALKS
  • “Spiritual and Heritage Sites of Serbia,” Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Balkan Studies and Center of Thracology, Sophia, Bulgaria, June 10, 2024.
  • “Sovereignty as Territorially Bound and Global Space,” Chaire Géopolitique du risqué, École normale supérieure, Paris, France, May 29, 2024.
  • “New Borders that Change my Life,” The Society of Phenomenology and the Human Sciences (SPHS) and the Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists (ICNAP), Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, May 20-23, 2024.
  • “The USSR and Yugoslavia After 1945: Alliance, Confrontation, Nonalignment, and European Security,” Davis Center, Harvard University, May 7, 2024.
  • “Post-Cold War: European Security Structure Related to Russia,” British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies, Cambridge University, the United Kingdom, April 5-7, 2024.
  • “Russia and European Security After Berlin Wall Fell,” Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, Philadelphia, PA, October 19-20, 2023.
  • “Spiritual and Heritage Sites of Serbia after WWII,” Bulgarian Academy of Sciences & Harvard University, Sophia, Bulgaria, May 29-30, 2023.
  • “The Cold War in Translation: Milovan Djilas in the English Speaking World,” Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University, April 20, 2021.
  • Screening and Discussion about the movie “Tesla Nation” by Zeljko Mirkovic, Harvard College South Slavic Society, Harvard University, November 8, 2019.
  • “Jasenovac: Unspoken Genocides and the Holocaust, 1941 – 1945,” United States Congress, Washington, D.C. November 21, 2019.
  • “The EU Policy-Making: Sovereignty and the Western Balkans,” Council for European Studies at Columbia University, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Puerta de Toledo Campus, Madrid, Spain, June 20-22, 2019 (accepted).
  • “Book Panel on Mitchell Orenstein’s The Lands in Between: Russia vs. the West and the New Politics of Hybrid War,” Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), the 24th World Convention, Harriman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, May 2-4, 2019.
  • “East-West Rivalry in the Balkans: Russia, Southeastern Europe, and NATO/EU,” Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University, October 31, 2018.
  • “Marx’s Environmental Rift in Capitalism,” American Political Science Association (APSA), Boston, MA, August 29 – September 2, 2018.
  • “Church and State in Shaping Russia’s Foreign Policy Towards the Western Balkans,” Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), The ASN 23rd World Convention, Harriman Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, May 3 – 5, 2018.
  • “Religion as an Instrument of Russia’s Soft Power in the Western Balkans,” British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, the United Kingdom, April 13 – 15, 2018.
  • “Russian Political and Economic Strategic Policy Towards the Balkans,” Council for European Studies at Columbia University, 25th International Conference of Europeanists, Chicago, IL, March 28 – 30, 2018 (accepted).
  • “Russian Political and Economic Strategic Policy Towards the Balkans,” British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, the United Kingdom, March 31 – April 2, 2017.
  • “The Relationship between the Serbian-American Diaspora and the Homeland,” The Diaspora Day Conference 2016, University of Singidunum, Belgrade, Serbia, July 7, 2016.
  • “History of Christian Heritage in Kosovo and Metohija,” Duquesne University, May 24, 2016.
  • “Political and Cultural Aspects of the Relationships between Serbian-American Diaspora and the Homeland and Research about Demography,” Tesla’s People Conference, Ethical Society, Philadelphia, PA, July 11, 2015.
  • “A Review of History of Serbian-Americans,” 200 Years of Serbs in America Celebration, Philadelphia, PA, June 28, 2014.
  • “200 Years of History of Serbs in the United States:”
  • St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Cleveland, OH, May 18, 2014.
  • University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, February 24, 2014.
  • St. Lucas Serbian Orthodox Church, Washington, D.C., February 16, 2014.
  • St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, New York, NY, January 12, 2014.
  • St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, Philadelphia, PA, December 1, 2013.
  • “The Process of European ‘Stabilization’ and the ‘Europeanization’ of Serbia,” 44th Annual Convention of the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), Marriott, New Orleans, LA, November 15 – 18, 2012.
  • “The Relationship Between Man and Nature in Marx’s Works”, 2011 Annual Meetings of the Georgia Political Science Association & the Criminal Justice Association of Georgia, The Doubletree Hotel, Savannah, Georgia, November 10-12, 2011.
  • “The Relationship Between Man and Nature in Marx’s Works”, 2011 Annual Conference of The Pacific Northwest Political Science Association (PNPSA), The Renaissance Hotel, Seattle, Washington, October 13-15, 2011.
  • “Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Society in One-Dimensional Man”, 2011 AnnualConference of The Atlantic Provinces Political Science Association (APPSA), Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, September 30 – October 02, 2011 (paper accepted).
  • “The Cosmological Aspect of Nietzsche’s Idea of the Eternal Recurrence of the Same in Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, The Fourth Annual Southeast Philosophy Congress, Clayton State University, Department of Philosophy, Morrow, Georgia, February 18 – 19, 2011.
  • “Kant’s Understanding of Imagination in Critique of Pure Reason”, 2010 Intermountain West Student Philosophy Conference, University of Utah, Department of Philosophy, Salt Lake City, March 11 – 12, 2010.
  • “A Website as a Means of Arousing Interest Towards Philosophy”, Gymnasium, Sombor, Serbia, December 17, 2008.
  • “A Website as a Possibility of Distance Learning”, Technical School Sombor, Serbia, November, 06, 2008.
FILM

“History of the Serb National Federation” (2023)

Screenwriter and Production Manager of the movie “History of the Serb National Federation” (2023) by Zeljko Mirkovic. The movie is about one of the oldest and largest Serbian-American Fraternal Benefit organizations in the United States (1901).

TESLA NATION (2018)

Screenwriter and Production Manager of the movie “Tesla Nation” (2018) by Zeljko Mirkovic. Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences officially qualified “Tesla Nation” for the nomination of the Academy Award Oscar for feature documentary in 2020. The Society of Film Artists of Serbia, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, gave a prestigious award for the best feature documentary 2020.

The World Premiere of the movie was in Kolarac, Belgrade, Serbia on October 27th, 2018. The North American Premiere was at University of Pittsburgh on March 30th, 2019. In addition, the movie was screened in New York in a cinema and the United Nations, Los Angeles, Boston including Harvard University, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Miami as well as in Sidney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, and Adelaide in Australia among others.

Plot Summary:

This movie leads us through the Serbian-American history which spans more than 200 years. Serbian-American history began in a symbolic way with Djordje Sagic aka George Fisher who arrived through the port of Philadelphia at the beginning of the ninetieth century. After him, Serbian immigrants came in several waves and helped shape American history. The movie describes Serbian-American contributions in building the United States and the world and the importance of preserving the Serbian heritage.

Trailer of the “Tesla Nation”

The “Tesla Nation” is archived in the Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Los Angeles, CA; Los Angeles Public Library; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Harvard University Library; Boston Public Library; Princeton University Library; Columbia University Library; Yale University Library; Hilandar Research Library at the Ohio State University; New York University Library (Elmer Holmes Bobst Library); Cornell University Library; Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh; Duquesne University Library; University of Pennsylvania Libraries (Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center); Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University; Milwaukee Public Library; Sitka Public Library; Nashville Public Library; Wyoming State Public Library System; Eugene Public Library, as well as in the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg in Russia; Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Moscow, Russia; Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University, the United Kingdom; Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France, and others.

Awards:

  • Nordic Zoom Award, Special Award for the feature documentary at Balkan New Film Festival 2021, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • The Best Documentary Tesla Nation, Red Dirt Film Festival, Oklahoma, USA (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director) 2021.
  • The Best Actor for the Tesla Nation, Red Dirt Film Festival, Oklahoma, USA (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director) 2021.
  • Qualified for the nomination of the Academy Award Oscar for the feature documentary, Los Angeles, CA, USA (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director) 2020.
  • The Best Documentary 2020, The Society of Film Artists of Serbia (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director).
  • Jury Award, The First Frame Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director) 2020.
  • Grand Prix, Jahorina Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Tesla Nation.” Documentary. (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director) 2019.
  • SNF Spirit Award, Serbian Movie Festival. Pittsburgh, PA, USA (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director) 2019.
  • Nikola Tesla’s World Award. “Tesla Nation.” Documentary. (Producer/Scriptwriter/Director) 2019.

KOLO (2022)

Consultant for the movie “Kolo” (2022).

Trailer of the “Kolo” (2022)

BOOK REVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
SOME OF THE PHILOSOPHERS WHO MOSTLY INFLUENCED ON MY OPINION

Heraclitus

“All things come into being by conflict of opposites, and the sum of things flows like a stream.”

Niccolo Machiavelli

“Where the willingness is great the difficulties cannot be great.”

Thomas Hobbes

“Aristotle in his first book of Politiques affirms as a foundation of the whole politically science, that some men by nature are made worthy to command, others only to serve.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

“There are no eternal facts, as there are no absolute truths.”

Martin Heidegger

“The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking.”

Michel Foucault

“Chance does not speak essentially through words nor can it be seen in their convolution. It is the eruption of language, its sudden appearance. It`s not a night twinkle with stars, an illuminated sleep, nor a drowsy vigil. It is the very edge of consciousness.”

Gilles Deleuze

“The philosopher creates, he does not reflect.”

Contact Me

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    “To make individual uncomfortable, that is my task.”
    Friedrich Nietzsche
    (Nietzsche on Film 1895/1899)

    I received my Diploma from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy in Belgrade, Serbia. My graduate thesis was “Eternal Recurrence of the Same in Nietzsche’s Philosophy”. My teaching experience in philosophy, civic education, and sociology was acquired at Technical High School Sombor, Serbia (2002 – 2009), Agricultural High School in Sombor, Serbia (2005 – 2009), Technical High School in Apatin, Serbia (2004 – 2006), and Technical High School in Odzaci, Serbia (2004 – 2005). In 2011, I received a Master’s Degree from Duquesne University, McAnulty College & Graduate School of Liberal Arts, Department of Philosophy in Pittsburgh, PA. I successfully completed Summer Immersion Program at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), Moscow, Russia (2019) and course work at Harvard University (2022).

    Teaching interests:

    History of Philosophy, especially continental philosophy 19th and 20th Century, History of Political Thought, Social and Political Philosophy, Political Theory, The Comparative Study of Democratic Processes, Comparative Politics (Eastern Europe), Ethnic Conflicts, Social Movements.

    Research interests:

    History of Philosophy (ancient, modern and contemporary), Political Theory and Political Philosophy, History of Political Thought, Comparative Politics (Eastern Europe), International Relations, The Comparative Study of Democratic Processes, Social Movements, Ethnic Conflicts, Civil War, Human Rights, and Totalitarianism.

    Currently, I am the Founder & President of the American Council for Eastern Europe, and a Scholar-in-Residence at Duquesne University. I worked as the Cultural Outreach Coordinator for the Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA, and contributed to the semi-monthly newspaper American Srbobran in addition to other newspapers and journals. I initiated and organized the Serbian Movie Festival in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and lectures at the University of Pittsburgh and expanded in Washington, D.C, and Boston in 2019. From 2017 – 2020, I attended the National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C.

    Published Academic Articles and Papers

    These are some works in electronic form

    Published Articles

    These are some works in electronic form

    • “Centennial Celebration at Aliquippa’s St. Elijah”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16744, October 1, 2014.
    • “Celebrating 100 Years of Serbian Orthodox Church St. Elijah in Aliquippa, PA”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16742, September 3, 2014 (Serbian).
    • “Celebrating 200 Years of Serbs in America”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16742, September 3, 2014 (English and Serbian).
    • “Обележавање 200 година Срба у Америци,“ Американски Србобран, MMVXIIV, 16741, 20. август 2014. године.
    • “Lecture on Operation Halyard”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16735, May 21, 2014 (English and Serbian).
    • “Fraternalist of the Year”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16733, April 16, 2014.
    • “200 Years of Serbs in the United States”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16733, April 16, 2014 (Serbian).
    • “200 Years of Serbs in the United States”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16731, March 19, 2014 (English and Serbian). „Одржано предавање 200 година Срба у Америци,“ Американски Србобран, MMVXIV, 16731, 19. март 2014. године.
    • „Предавање 200 година Срба у Америци у Вашингтону,“ Американски Србобран, MMVXIV, 16730, 5. март 2014. године.
    • “200 Years of Serbs in the United States”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16728, February 5, 2014.
    • “Building the Tesla Curriculum”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIV, 16728, February 5, 2014 (English and Serbian).
    • „Друга Теслина комеморативна конференција у Њујорку,“ Американски Србобран, MMVXII, 16729, 5. фебруар 2014. године.
    • “Trubaci – Trumpeters of Serbia”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIII, 167726, December 18, 2013 (English and Serbian).
    • “Serbia: Country of Trumpeters,” National Television of Serbia, November 22, 2013 (Serbian).
    • „Србија: Земља трубача,“ Американски Србобран, MMVXIII, 16725, 4. децембар 2013. године.
    • „Откривен споменик Његошу у Андрићграду,“ Американски Србобран, MMVXIII, 167726, 18. децембар 2013. године.
    • “67th SNF Bowling Tournament”, American Srbobran, MMVXIII, 16723, November 6, 2013 (Serbian).
    • “Unveiled Nikola Tesla Monument in Long Island, New York”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIII, 16722, October 16, 2013.
    • “A Passenger Through the Ice Ages: Milutin Milankovitch (1879 – 1958),” Serb World U.S.A., Vol. XXX, no. 1, September/October 2013: 36 – 39.
    • “Three Serbian Day 2013 – Cultural Event of the Year”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIII, 16717, August 7, 2013 (Serbian).
    • “Преписка патриота – неистомишљеника,“ American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIII, 16709, April 3, 2013.
    • „Путник кроз време и простор,“ Планета (Planet), бр. 56, Београд (Belgrade), Србија (Serbia), март/април 2013. године (March/April 2013): стр. 28 – 29.
    • “Why Tesla Matters”, American Srbobran, Vol. MMVXIII, 16705, February 6, 2013.