The ASN 22nd World Convention in New York discussed IDPs issues in Ukraine

Annually held in the spring in New York City, the Association for the Study of Nationalities’ World Convention brings together scholars from around the world to examine and push forward research on issues of Nationalism, Ethnicity, Violence, Conflict, Economic Development and many other topics. This year the ASN 22nd World Convention, which took place on 4-6 May 2017 at the Harriman Institute, Columbia University, brought together over 600 scholars from 49 counters. Without doubts recent events in Ukraine continue to attract attention of many scholars. At the Convent Ukrainian issues were addressed at 22 panels/round tables, 5 book presentations and 5 film screenings. Among the main hot topics, that were in scholars’ focus were nationalism and identity shifts, changes in historical memory, civic activism, military conflict in Donbas, and displaced people.

Victoria Sereda, member of our research team, gave a talk on History and Identity in Ukrainian Society after Maidan as a part of her research within MAPA project – Digital Atlas of Ukraine.

Among the most challenging papers devoted to Ukrainian refugees were Gwendolyn Sasse “Identities and the war in Ukraine: Surveying the Displaced and the Inhabitants of Donbass” round table “Identities in Times of Conflict in Ukraine”, Alina Zubkovych “The Transformation of the Crimean Tatar Image Representation in the Context of Post-Maidan Ukraine: Analysis of Visual Culture” at the panel “Artistic Representations of identity and trauma in Ukraine and Russia” and Anna Kutkina, Olga Mun and Mariia Vitrukh “Negotiating Student Narratives and Academic’s Professional Identity in Rimes of Displacement: Case Study of Three Displaced Universities in Ukraine” at the panel “Consequences of War, Prospects for Peace in Ukraine”.

The was also a screening of the film The Displaced Ukrainians (UK, 2017, 105 min.) commissioned by Gwendolyn Sasse, Director of the Centre for East European and Studies (ZOIS) in Berlin, Germany. This documentary was made by artist Mark Neville, who travelling through the country documents Ukrainians who have been displaced by the occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbas.