Language and Memory: Decolonization, War, and Identity in Contemporary Ukrainian Narratives and Language Use

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel discussion aims to bring together researchers examining the interconnections between language, memory, and identity amidst global and local transformations. These transformations are particularly driven by war, forced migration, and decolonization processes. Participants will explore how language serves as a tool for preserving memory, restoring historical justice through decolonization, creating war narratives, shaping the identities of forced migrants, and facilitating memorialization in the context of conflict. Special attention will focus on Ukraine’s unique experience as a post-colonial and post-conflict society within the following discussion topics: Language Decolonization as a Form of Memory Reconstruction, Linguistic Narratives of War, Language and Memory Among Forced Migrants, and Linguistic Markers of Memory.

Sub Unit

• Anthropology, Cultural Studies

Chair

• Stefanie Eisenhuth, Centre for Contemporary History (Germany)

Papers

• Decolonial Perspectives on Memory: Heritage Language Practices among Ukrainian Migrants in Germany - Viktoriya Sereda, Inst of Ethnology NASU (Ukraine); Nataliya Tsisar, Humboldt U Berlin (Germany)

• War and Linguistic Transformation: The Dynamics of Language Choice Shaping Policy and Memory in Ukraine - Olha Shevchuk-Kliuzheva, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan U (Ukraine)

• World War II Displacement and the Resilience of Ukrainians: Ethnolinguistic Identity in Chicago - Elizabeth A. Peacock, U of Wisconsin-La Crosse

• De-russification of Public Space in Ukraine - Svitlana Melnyk, Indiana U Bloomington

Discussant

• Laada M. Bilaniuk, U of Washington