Staff
On leave for the 2026-27 academic year.
Jovana Lazić is an historian whose research and teaching interests focus on belligerent occupation and the social and cultural history of the First World War; urban history; and the Habsburg Empire, the Balkans and Yugoslavia. She is author of several book chapters and articles on gender and war and the Habsburg-occupied Serbian capital of Belgrade during World War I. A graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and recipient of a diplome from Sciences Po-Paris, she received her PhD from Yale University. Jovana came to Stanford in 2006 to teach in the History Department and joined CREEES in 2013.
At CREEES, Jovana oversees operations of the Center, advises MA students, and develops and manages programming. She also teaches REEES-related courses on World War I in Eastern Europe and Russia and on the 19th/early 20th century urban history of Europe’s continental empires as well as the Global 101: Critical Issues in Global Affairs.
Mary Grace Mylod-Vargas earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where she also served in the senior role of Co-Chair of Cal Poly’s Open House – admitted students weekend attended by thousands – training and supervising student leaders in event planning, communications, and organizational logistics.
Upon graduation, Mary Grace spent a year in Prague, Czechia where she taught English, immersed herself in the history and culture of the region, and traveled as much as possible. At CREEES, Mary Grace coordinates event planning and logistics as well as Center communications.
Karla Oeler is an Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies in the Department of Art & Art History whose research focuses on Soviet and Russian film history; her publications include articles on Sergei Parajanov, Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Dead House and reviews of contemporary Russian films. Oeler's current book project offers an in-depth study of Eisenstein, and her work has appeared in numerous forums such as Slavic Review, Cinema Journal, and The Journal of Visual Culture. Utilizing the multi-faceted nature of an area studies center like CREEES, Oeler is committed to facilitating and enriching cross-discipline interactions between scholars, thus furthering the nuance and depth of scholarship on this complex, influential, and ever-changing region. She sees the dynamism of CREEES-affiliated faculty and students as a key strength and opportunity, and her central goal as faculty director is to find ways to support all faculty, scholars, and students in their REEES-related projects. In addition to collaboration across faculty and departments, Oeler is dedicated to growing the REES minor, furthering language learning opportunities and mentoring the CREEES M.A. cohort and to evolve the M.A. curriculum.
John Turman completed his PhD in Philosophy at Stanford University, where his research focused on relationships between the concepts of mind, knowledge, and ability. Before joining CREEES, John was a Lecturer in the Civic, Liberal, and Global Education (COLLEGE) program at Stanford. While a COLLEGE Lecturer, he provided administrative and curricular support to Stanford's Academic Residential Co-curriculum program, a VPUE initiative to connect students with faculty and academic staff outside the classroom. At CREEES, John supports the CREEES M.A. students, as well as undergraduate and graduate student affiliates and visiting scholars.