Belarusian Diaspora and Exiled Civil Society: Re-establishment, Old and New Divides

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

The panel opens space for discussion about the moments of empowerment, (re)establishment, and (re)invention but also the deep struggles Belarusian diaspora communities and civil society in exile are experiencing after the 2020 uprising and with the beginning of the Russian full-scale war in Ukraine. Speakers share their research, teaching, and community-building initiatives that shed light on how geographically diverse Belarusian diaspora communities in exile (Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Georgia, and the US) cope with displacement, generational divides, changing international policies and regional environments by building and sustaining trans-local organizing and cultural programs.

Sub Unit

• Anthropology, Cultural Studies

Chair

• Natasha Kadlec, Harvard U

Papers

• Exiled Belarusian Civil Society in the Context of War in Ukraine - Tatsiana Chulitskaya, Vilnius U (Lithuania)

• The Belarusian Diaspora in the US, San Francisco - Nadzeya Norton, Association of Belarusians in America

Discussant

• Natallia Hardziyenka, Belarusian Institute of Arts and Sciences (New York)

Session Manager

• Benedict Edward DeDominicis, Catholic U of Korea (South Korea)