The international congress "Rethinking Ukraine and Europe: New Challenges for Historians" will be held in Vilnius on September 15-17, 2023. More than 100 historians from different countries will take part in the event.
Participation in the Congress provides an opportunity to learn about grant programmes and meet representatives of Foundations that sponsor international projects in the field of historical research. Engage in thematic panel discussions and find potential partners for possible new joint research.
The main goal of the Congress is to discuss the development of a new narrative on the history of Ukraine and the entire Central-Eastern European region.
The Theatre Hall of Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius
The Theatre Hall of Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius
Chair Loreta Skurvydaitė (Vilnius)
Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, speaker of the Seimas
Rimvydas Petrauskas, rector of Vilnius University
Alvydas Nikžentaitis, director of the Lithuanian Institute of History
The Theatre Hall of Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius
Chair Igor Kąkolewski (Berlin / Olsztyn)
Robert I. Frost (Aberdeen), The Past in the Present: Rethinking Ukraine, Europe and the Role of the Nation-State in the Global Age
The Theatre Hall of Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius
Chair Miloš Řezník (Warsaw)
RESEARCH COUNCIL OF LITHUANIA
Introduced by Laura Kostelnickienė
NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTRE, POLAND
Introduced by Magdalena Dobrzańska-Bzowska
GERMAN RESEARCH FOUNDATION (DFG)
Introduced by Annina Lottermann and Stephanie Laß
BELARUS-UKRAINE BUREAU OF KONRAD-ADENAUER FOUNDATION
Introduced by Jakob Wöllenstein
MAX WEBER FOUNDATION
Introduced by Harald Rosenbach
Section
Totalitarian Regimes and Their Legacies: the Politics of History and Memory
Room 218, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair Gintarė Malinauskaitė (Vilnius)
Speakers
Section
Documentation of Russian Crimes in the War Against Ukraine
Room 330, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Funding for this panel is provided by the Pilecki-Institut Berlin and Lemkin Center of Pilecki Institute in Warsaw
The situation of Ukrainian prisoners and hostages - victims of war crimes - will be discussed in this panel by family members of prisoners and hostages in Russian captivity, including those imprisoned before February 24, 2022 in Crimea and Donbass.
Moderation: Monika Andruszewska (Warsaw) and Mateusz Fałkowski (Berlin)
Part 1: Case Studies: Crimes Against Civilians, 2014–2023
Petro Vygivskyi (Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin)
Izabella Piekh (Ukrainian Movement of hostage's families „Return Home“)
Kateryna Ohiievska (Chernihiv, „Civilians in Captivity“ Association)
Tetyana Katrychenko (Kyiv, The Media Initiative for Human Rights)
Part 2: Civilians as Russian Hostages. Gathering Testimonies and Documenting Crimes: Challenges at Work
Speakers
Monika Andruszewska (Warsaw, Lemkin Center)
Tetyana Katrychenko (Kyiv, The Media Initiative for Human Rights)
Iryna Dovhan (Donetsk / Warsaw, Global Network of Victims and Survivors to End Wartime Sexual Violence)
Kateryna Leontiewa (Kharkiv / Warsaw, Lemkin Center)
Roman Ofitsynskiy, (Uzhhorod) Особливості воєнних злочинів Росії проти України від 24 лютого 2022 року донині
Section
Between History and Memory: Presentation of New International Projects on History of the ULB (Ukraine-Lithuania-Belarus) Region
Room 331, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair Miloš Řezník (Warsaw) and Igor Kąkolewski (Berlin / Olsztyn)
Speakers
Section
Do We Need a New Kind of Military History?
Room 214, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chairs Mindaugas Šapoka (Vilnius), Тарас Пшеничний (Kyiv)
Speakers
Section
Russian-Ukrainian War and the Narrative Change in Jewish Studies / Jewish Identity
Room 217, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair Semion Goldin (Jerusalem)
Speakers
Break
Chairs Jurgita Verbickienė (Vilnius), Semion Goldin (Jerusalem)
Speakers
Section
Empire / Imperialism and Nation Building in the Regional Prism of Ukraine: Case Studies from Southern Ukraine and Slobozhanshchyna
Room 332, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair Guido Hausmann (Regensburg)
Discussant Polina Barvinska (Odesa / Regensburg)
Speakers
The Theatre Hall of Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius
Chair Jakob Wöllenstein
UKRAINIAN CULTURAL FOUNDATION
Introduced by Vladislav Berkovsky
DAAD: GERMAN ACADEMIC EXCHANGE SERVICE
Introduced by N.N.
GERDA HENKEL FOUNDATION
Introduced by Thomas Podranski
FOUNDATION FOR GERMAN-POLISH COOPERATION
Introduced by Cornelius Ochmann
VIADRINA CENTRE OF POLISH AND UKRAINIAN STUDIES
Introduced by Eduard Mühle
Section
Destructions of Museums, Archives and Cultural Heritage Sites in Ukraine by the Russian Federation
Room 330, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chairs Olga Ryabchenko (Kharkiv / Cambridge) and Павло Шидловський (Kyiv)
Speakers
Section
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Early Modern Period: New Trends in Contemporary Historiography
Room 218, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chairs Alfredas Bumblauskas (Vilnius), Michał Kopczyński (Warsaw), Генадзь Сагановіч (Grodna / Warsaw), Igor Kąkolewski (Berlin / Olsztyn)
Speakers
Section
Urban History
Room 217, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair and discussant Elżbieta Kwiecińska (Warsaw)
Speakers
Section
Dissolution of the USSR, Russian Expansionism, and Pro-Russian Separatism in Eastern Europe, 1988–2022
Room 214, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair Andrei Kazakevich (Vilnius)
Speakers
Section
How to Teach the History of Ukraine and the Ukraine-Lithuania-Belarus Region? Old And New Textbooks on the History of the Region
Room 331, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Funding for this panel is provided by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute
Chairs and discussants Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg (Giessen), Marcin Wiatr (Braunschweig)
Presentations
Panel discussion
How to teach the history of Ukraine and the Ukraine-Lithuania-Belarus region? Old and New Textbooks on the History of the Region
Chair Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg (Giessen)
Participants
Section
Appropriation and Blind Spots. Cultural Heritage in a Conflict
Room 332, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Funding for this panel is provided by the Northeast Institute in Lüneburg (Germany)
Chair and discussant Katja Bernhardt (Lüneburg)
KEYNOTE LECTURE
Katarzyna Murawska-Muthesius (London)
Imagining Kyivan Rus Then and Now
Speakers
Project presentations
Panel discussion
Making the Blind Spots Visible. Necessity and Potentials of a Critical Revision of Cultural Heritage Historiography
Chairs Katja Bernhardt, Dmytro Myeshkov
Discussants Waldemar Deluga, Victoria Kolesnikova, Katarzyna Murawska-Muthesius, Stsiapan Stureika, Anna Yanenko, Denis Yashii
The Theatre Hall of Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius
Do Ukraine and East Central Europe Have a History?
Moderation Darius Staliūnas (Vilnius)
Discussants
Anke Hilbrenner (Düsseldorf), Jan Malicki (Warsaw), Olena Palko (Basel), Andrii Portnov (Frankfurt / Oder), Irena Vaišvilaitė (Vilnius)
The Theatre Hall of Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius
Historia i polityka zagraniczna. Jak należy rozwiązywać konflikty?
Moderation Rimvydas Valatka (Vilnius)
Discussants
Anton Drobovych (Kyiv), Grzegorz Motyka (Warsaw), Alvydas Nikžentaitis (Vilnius)
Section
Russian-Ukrainian Conflicts (Wars) and Historical Memory
Room 218, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair and discussant Andrii Portnov (Frankfurt / Oder)
Speakers
Section
Soviet Repressions: Causes, Scope, Consequences
Room 330, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chairs Taras Pshenichnyi (Kyiv), Arūnas Streikus (Vilnius)
Speakers
Section
Emerging National Central Eastern Europe. The ‘First Independences’ (1917–1921) and Later Times
Room 331, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair and discussant Roman Wysocki (Lublin)
Speakers
Section
The Ukrainian Black Sea Frontier in the Context of the Russian Aggression Against Ukraine: a Historical Retrospective
Room 332, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chair Hans-Jürgen Bömelburg
Discussant Andrzej Gliwa (Warsaw)
Speakers
Section
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania: a Multiperspective Approach
Room 217, Universiteto str. 7, Vilnius
Chairsand discussants Jurgita Verbickienė (Vilnius), Jolita Sarcevičienė (Vilnius)
Speakers
Section
Empires and Nation-Building
Room 214, Universitetostr. 7, Vilnius
Chair Olena Palko (Basel)
Speakers
Break
Chair Vytautas Petronis (Vilnius)
Speakers
This Congress has received funding from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMT, agreement No. S-MOR-23-16); the Lithuanian Government, German Historical Institute in Warsaw, Center for Historical Research in Berlin of Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania
Department of History University of Aberdeen (UK)
Profesor Robert I. Frost born and brought up in Edinburgh, Robert I. Frost was educated at St Andrews University (1980), the Jagiellonian University, Kraków (1981), and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London (1990).
He joined the History Department of Kings College London as a lecturer in 1987, became a Reader in 2000, and served for three years as Head of the Department of History from 2001. In 2004, Professor Frost was appointed to a chair in Early Modern History at the University of Aberdeen, and to the Headship of the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy (until 2009). Since 2013, Professor Frost has held the Burnett Fletcher Chair of History at Aberdeen.
In 2009, Robert I. Frost was awarded a three-year Research Chair by the British Academy and the Wolfson Foundation to write a history of the Polish-Lithuanian union. Oxford University Press published the first volume of this study in 2015: The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania, volume 1: The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, 1385–1569. Volume 1 was awarded the Pro Historia Polonorum prize in 2017 for the best work on Polish History published by a foreign author between 2012 and 2017. He was awarded a three-year Leverhulme Major Fellowship (2016–2019) to work on volume 2, The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Republic, 1569-1648, which is nearing completion.
In 2020, Robert I. Frost was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania, and in 2021 the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. He is a Fellow of the British Academy (2016), the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2020), and the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020).
He is interested in the history of eastern and northern Europe from the 14th to the 18th century. Apart from the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, his main research interests focus on the history of warfare in the Polish-Lithuanian monarchy under the Vasa dynasty (1587–1668), and in noble society and culture.
Professor Robert I. Frost | The School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History | The University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk)
Robert I. Frost - Google Scholar
The Past in the Present:
Rethinking Ukraine, Europe and the Role of the Nation-State in the Global Age.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and the courageous resistance of the Ukrainian people in defence of their right of self-determination raise fundamental questions about the current direction of historical scholarship. Ukrainians are fighting not just for their homeland, but also to preserve the nationhood that Putin denies them. Their struggle reminds us of the continuing significance and popular resonance of the idea of the nation and national identity. That idea seems self-evident for the peoples of the successor-states of the Polish-Lithuanian Union. Long years of foreign rule after 1772/1795 and the traumatic experiences of the twentieth century in eastern Europe have ensured that belief in the fundamental significance of the nation is shared by Ukranians, Poles, Lithuanians, and, as the protests against Lukashenka's dictatorship in 2020–2021 demonstrated, by Belarusians. Yet despite the obsession of modern scholarship with identity, nations are out of fashion. Instead, grand ideas of global history, transnational history, borderlands and liminality dominate the field. This lecture will consider the long history of the relationship between the nation and political forms in eastern Europe, the changing contexts in which nations have interacted, and ask if the age of the nation-state, once seen as the telos of political modernity, is passing.
Call for proposals – International Congress "Rethinking Ukraine and Europe: New Challenges for Historians"
Dear potential participants,
We invite historians to apply for participation in the International Congress “Rethinking Ukraine and Europe: New Challenges for Historians”, which will be held on September 15-17, 2023, in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The main goal of the Congress is to discuss a new narrative of the history of Ukraine and the entire Central and Eastern European region. The two conference days will include thematic panel discussions, presentations of grant programmes for historical research, and networking.
For speakers of panel discussions, as well as participants from Ukraine, the organizers can cover the following expenses: accommodation (three nights in a hotel in Vilnius, September 15-17), travel (train and bus tickets), and meals during the congress. There is also a possibility of partial coverage of expenses for participants from other countries.
Please fill out the form by May 15, 2023 (inclusive). Participation in the Congress is on a competitive basis, and the results of the competition will be communicated to you by e-mail by June 1, 2023.
3 Universiteto str., LT-01513 Vilnius