Anthropology of Catastrophe. Wartime Testimonies from Ukraine
Presentation by Olena Sobolieva, University of Basel, Oksana Ovsiiuk, Université de Fribourg and Yulia Buyskykh, German Historical Institute in Warsaw
There are a lot of ethnographic research going on in Ukraine right now that capture different levels of social life: volunteering, frontline life, the aftermath of the war. Cycles of interviews with various figures, volunteers, and professionals are also being recorded in many Ukrainian media outlets. This project is one of these many and focuses on the experiences of scholars living through the war in their own country. The project “In the Thunderstorm of War” is an online collection of interviews with professional historians, anthropologists, and ethnologists who found themselves at the centre of current historical events. In the new reality, these people put on military uniforms or joined the ranks of volunteers, finding themselves under occupation, and being subjected toing enemy fire. Interviews are available in English, French, and German. These interviews contain many opinions about the mission and purpose of academics in wartime conditions.The main question our heroes ask themselves is this: “ Is it possible to influence the world only with knowledge?” To conduct and translate these interviews was a considerable personal challenge for our team because of many shared connections; these people are our colleagues, we have worked with some for years, and shared research projects with others. We have conducted fieldwork with others still in some of the Ukrainian regions currently under attack.
This project seeks to give Ukrainian academics a voice at a time when their professional opportunities are limited by the war. It aims to make their unique experiences and reflections visible beyond the borders of Ukraine. The project seeks to weave the individual experiences of Ukrainian scholars into the overarching Ukrainian narrative of war’s tragedy, of resistance, and of resilience.
The project “In the Thunderstorm of War” was created by the website “Ukraina Moderna” in cooperation with the NGO “The Center of Applied Anthropology” as part of the Lysiak- Rudnytsky Ukrainian Studies Programme held by the Ukrainian Institute and Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation with financial support from the International Renaissance Foundation.
