UCS is proud to present the upcoming lecture series Affective Memories: Ukrainian Culture after Euromaidan at the University of Amsterdam. The series is organized in collaboration with dr. Matthias Schwartz (Center for Literary and Cultural Research, Freie Universität Berlin) and is made possible by the generous support of the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture. For a detailed description of the series' theme, see below. Location details to follow. Thursday 1 June 15:30 Dr. Roman Dubasevych, University of Greifswald UvA, Bushuis F2.08B "Maidan Poetry: Is There a Poetics of Revolution?" ATTENTION: this is a double-bill event with a lecture by dr. George Grabowicz (Harvard University) at 17:00. This event is hosted by ARTES in collaboration with UCS. UvA, P.C. Hooft building 6.05 "Clash of Victimhoods: Volhynia 1943 in Polish (and Ukrainian) Memory" The events of ‘Euromaidan’ impacted Ukrainian society in ways that go far beyond its direct political consequences. The so-called “revolution of dignity” that unfolded during the winter of 2013/2014, as well as the incorporation of the Crimean peninsula into the Russian Federation and the escalation of military conflict in Eastern Ukraine that followed it, polarized emotions to an extent unseen since Ukraine gained its independence in 1991. Western values were set against Russian aggression and reforms aiming toward European integration were combined with so-called decommunization laws, outlawing the use of Soviet and communist symbols. As Serhii Zhadan noted in his Luhansk diary in 2014, the conflict provoked the “demons” of politics that, in the shape of “slogans, stereotypes, fears and insults,” “control all our movements.” Three years later, memories of the Euromaidan still provoke strong emotions, but these have gradually evolved, compounded with impatience over sluggish reforms, feelings of frustration, disappointment and lost hopes, and even anger about a revolution “betrayed”. This lecture series takes these bewildered memories as its starting point to reflect on how Euromaidan challenges our notions about Ukrainian culture. How has the political polarization it evoked impacted and continue to impact our conceptualization of socialist as well as post-socialist cultures? To what extent do these memories affect our perception and conception of Soviet Ukraine or particular aspects of it, such as the avant-garde movements of the 1920s? Which methodical approaches (from memory studies, but also postcolonial and media studies) can help us to understand the Ukrainian case better and place it in a broader, comparative perspective? |
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