United We Stand: National consolidation in the case of Ukraine

In what way is the transition from statelessness to statehood transformative for a national community? Does the national identity acquire new properties and the national community a new unity when independence is achieved? And how are both affected by external threats and invasion? What is the role of civic society and religious institutions during such existential moments? The workshop will aim to discuss these questions.

The speakers who represent disciplines such as philosophy, history, sociology, political science, literary criticism, and religious studies will be asked to take Ukraine as their case study, with a particular focus on the moments of birth and rebirth of the Ukrainian nation-state in 1917 and 1991 and the turning points of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014 and 2022. The inclusion of Ukrainian scholars aims to provide an insider’s perspective on how national consolidation can emerge as a consequence of intra-national as well as extra-national factors.

The talks presented will on the one hand offer a theoretical contribution to the study of national identities and communities in the modern era of nation-states. On the other, they will also provide a deeper understanding of the war taking place on the European continent today and the way it might impact the sustainability and integrity of both the Ukrainian state and Europe at large.

The workshop targets students, university staff members, and everyone interested in the questions centred around the concepts of collective identity, nationalism, national communities, Ukrainian national history, and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Programme

Day 1: Thursday 14 November

9:45 – 10:00

Opening remarks

10:00 – 10:45

John Hutchinson (LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics)

Warfare as an Enabler and Disabler of Nation Formation

10:45 – 11:15

Q & A

11:15 – 11:30

Break

11:30 – 12:15

Volodymyr Yermolenko (National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”)

Re-nations: Why the 19th Century Is Back

12:15 – 12:45

Q & A

12:45 – 13:45

Lunch

13:45 – 14:30

Tamara Hundorova (Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)

The “Crisis of Europe” and Discussions on Ukrainian Occidentalism in the DP Camps 1946-1948: A Decolonial Perspective

14:30 – 15:00

Q & A

15:00 – 15:15

Break

15:15 – 16:00

Annika Hvithamar (University of Copenhagen)

From Pluralism to Unity? The Impact of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on National Identity During Conflict

16:00 – 16:30

Q & A


Day 2: Friday 15 November

10:00 – 10:45

John A. Hall (McGill University)

Constructing Ukraine in the Shadows of Empires
10:45 – 11:15 Q & A
11:15 – 11:30 Break
11:30 – 12:15

Vakhtang Kebuladze (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv)

Social Contract and Political Nation in Ukraine
12:15 – 12:45 Q & A
16:30 - 18:15

Panel discussion moderated by Nataliya Popovych (co-founder and chairperson of Ukraine House in Denmark)

Place: Ukraine House in Denmark, Gammel Dok, Strandgade 27B (click here for directions)

Participants: Speakers at the workshop

Sign up

Sign up for the workshop. Deadline for registration: 7 November 2024

Organized in collaboration with PEN Ukraine.