Roundtable: "Social Responsibility and Academic Pursuits: Being a Graduate Student and Russia’s War on Ukraine"

Roundtable: Social Responsibility and Academic Pursuits: Being a Graduate Student and Russia’s War on Ukraine

Friday November 3rd, 2023 | 12pm - 2pm MDT
Room 14-28, Tory Bldg., U of A
(Scholars appearing by Zoom at this in-person event)

Moderator: Dr. Natalia Khanenko-Friesen, Huculak Chair in Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography

Roundtable participants:

Nataliya Bezborodova, PhD Candidate, Anthropology
Olga Zaitseva-Hertz, PhD Candidate, Ethnomusicology
Ivan Shmatko, MA Anthropology, PhD Candidate, Sociology

As graduate students from Ukraine pursuing anthropological and ethnological research at the UAlberta, we find ourselves facing and dealing with multiple realities, both as scholars in Canada and citizens of Ukraine. Engaging in activism and volunteering in response to Russia's war against Ukraine imposes an enormous responsibility on an individual and we are no exception. In our round table, we reflect on the impacts the war has made on us, as well as the Ukrainian society of which we are an integral part. What are the strategies for managing multiple cultural and political realities and navigating the barriers of the war while aiming to achieve successes in both our academic work and volunteer work? How to manage personal productivity in times of crisis? How to maintain a sense of equilibrium while coping with the fact that your world is falling apart? How to remain focused on your studies? These and related questions we will address in our informal presentations through our disciplinary frameworks and perspectives.

This event will be hosted by the Association of Anthropology Graduate Students (AGAS) and the Kule Folklore Centre with the support of the Department of Anthropology, and will be moderated by the Huculak Chair, Dr. Natalia Khanenko-Friesen.

For more information, contact: ukrfolk@ualberta.ca