Contested Memory and Resistance to Neocolonialism in Ukraine’s Culture I

Session Submission Type: Panel

Affiliate Organization: Ukraine Decolonial Studies Network

Brief Description

This panel focuses on how colonial memory, the legacies of colonialism, and anti-colonial resistance have been addressed in Ukrainian culture following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and how this experience of postcolonial transformation has further impacted Ukrainian resistance during Russia’s neocolonial war against Ukraine. The presentations encompass topics ranging from visual art to film and feminist discourses, from television to music and fashion, and trace changes within these fields.
The session will explore key questions: How has memory been contested, and how have colonial legacies been recombined during the postcolonial stage between 1991 and 2014? How did the subsequent decolonial turn occur, and what was its influence on the topics in question? How has the resistance to Russia’s war of aggression since 2022 further fostered the production of decolonial, independent epistemology, alongside the simultaneous anachronistic resurgence of anti-colonial narratives? What is the evolving role of historical knowledge and interdisciplinary inquiry in these processes?

Sub Unit

• Anthropology, Cultural Studies

Chair

• Oksana Nesterenko, Union College

Papers

• Neocolonialism, Memory, and Cultural Resistance: Ukrainian Art under Attack - Svitlana Biedarieva, Independent Scholar

• Ukrainian Cinema Post-2022: Haunting Pasts and Insistent Presents - Masha Shpolberg, Bard College

• Decolonising Laughter: Ukrainian Bloggers’ Revision of Humour and Cultural Memory. - Kateryna Yeremieieva, Ludwig-Maximilians-U Munich (Germany)

Discussant

• Ksenia Kiriya, Independent Scholar