Email for registration: war-and-peace@uni-bielefeld.de
Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine has created a substantial overlap between two interdisciplinary fields of expertise that have had little in common for the last thirty years: peace and conflict studies and East European studies in general and Ukrainian studies in particular.
By focusing on the case of Germany, this symposium will critically examine the recent developments in and between peace and conflict studies and East European studies, including different disciplinary approaches, old and new controversies, fruitful encounters and missed opportunities. First, we want to discuss with German and Ukrainian historians, sociologists and political scientists how the professional interest in Ukraine has changed in and between their fields of expertise. Second, we want to draw lessons from the ways in which experts’ voices have co-created German public debates about Ukrainian affairs and which challenges they face when attempting to bring scholarly expertise to highly political debates. Third, in dialogue with experts based in Austria and Switzerland, we want to initiate a comparative debate on the condition of expertise for Eastern Europe in German-speaking countries. Last but not least, by bringing together scholars from Ukraine and German-speaking countries, this event will intensify the existing and create new intellectual ties – both individual and institutional.
Programm
12 October 2023
04.00–04.15 p.m.: Opening by
04.15–06.00 p.m.: Evening Lectures
Guido Hausmann (Regensburg University): “Ukrainian History/Studies in Germany and Beyond: Conjunctures, Traps, Chances”
and
Valeria Korablyova (Charles University, Prague): “Russia's War as an Epistemological Challenge: “Banal Imperialism(s)” in the (Inter-)Disciplinary Knowledge-Production”
Chair: Gabriele Freitag (German Association for East European Studies)
6.00 – 6.15 p.m.: technical break
6.15 – 7.00 p.m.: Q & A with Oleksandra Matviichuk (Center for Civil Liberties, Kyiv) (online)
Chair: Kornelia Kończal (Bielefeld University)
7.15 p.m.: dinner
13 October 2023
09.00–10.30 a.m.: Panel 1. Interdisciplinary Encounters and Entanglements: Academic Perspectives
Both peace and conflict studies and East European studies are interdisciplinary fields. Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine has created a substantial overlap between them. Yet the relationship between these two fields of expertise is much longer. How has it changed over time in German academia? Which gaps and deficits in interdisciplinary dialogue can be identified? To what extent does the absence of peace and conflict studies as an established field of scholarly knowledge in Ukraine shape the German-Ukrainian encounters?
Panel debate with:
Chair: Kornelia Kończal (Bielefeld University)
10.30–11.00 a.m.: Coffee Break
11.00 a.m.–12.30 p.m.: Panel 2. Rethinking Ukrainian Past for a Common European Future
Most conceptions of Europe have been thought of primarily from a Western European perspective, which can essentially be explained by the logic of the European Union’s genesis. Central and Eastern European perspectives have been added in the course of the EU's eastward enlargement, but they have been less able to determine Europe's current constitution and policies. The panel will discuss to what extent the historical experiences of Ukraine and its neighboring states since World War I need to be incorporated into the future shaping of a European community of values and security.
Panel debate with:
Chair: Ricarda Vulpius (University of Münster)
12:30–02.00 p.m.: Lunch Break
02:00–03.30 p.m.: Panel 3. Ukraine in German public debate from 2014 to the present
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised a great deal of public attention towards the past and present of this country. However, German public debates about Ukraine have not been not free from misunderstandings and misconceptions. To what extent have experts co-created the public exchange about Ukrainian affairs – as compared to 2014? Whose voices were (not) listened to and why? How has the very notion of an expert changed since 24 February 2022?
Panel debate with:
Chair: Fabian Baumann (University of Heidelberg)
03.30–04.00 p.m.: Coffee Break
04.00–05.30 p.m.: Panel 4. Rebuilding Ukraine: Perspectives on Peacebuilding and Reconstruction
Rebuilding (post-war-) Ukraine will become a major task, first of all for Ukrainian society and politics, but also for international donors, in particular for the EU and its member states. Rebuilding implies a number of dimensions, including political, security, socio-economic and socio-psychological issues. It is also closely linked to peacebuilding and questions of transitional justice. What are past experiences regarding war-torn societies which need to be reflected for Ukraine? Which key concerns and priorities should be considered? To what extent do perspectives and approaches differ across disciplines and how could a joined research agenda look like?
Panel debate with:
Chair: Ulrich Schneckener (Osnabrück University)
5.30 – 6.00 p.m. concluding remarks by
Programm (PDF, 3.540 kB)
Datum:
12.10. bis 13.10.2023
Ort:
Universität Bielefeld
Gebäude X, 2. OG, A2-103
33615 Bielefeld
Sprache(n):
English
Programm (PDF, 3.540 kB)
Veranstalterin:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Osteuropakunde