Memory, Identity, and Resistance: The Power of Cultural Expression in Times of Crisis

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

This roundtable examines how folk traditions, visual storytelling, and performance serve as vital forces in preserving cultural memory, asserting identity, and resisting oppression, particularly in wartime and post-colonial contexts. When dominant powers attempt to erase or suppress a culture, creative expression becomes an act of defiance, sustaining collective memory and strengthening resilience. By focusing on Ukraine’s enduring traditions of song, visual art, dance, and documentary cinema, this discussion will explore how these forms have helped communities endure historical trauma, from imperial rule to the ongoing war. Panelists will bring interdisciplinary perspectives on these cultural practices and their role in historical and contemporary struggles for identity. Marika Kuzma will examine the significance of Ukrainian song culture as a vehicle for identity and survival amid cultural erasure. David Gutnik will discuss the role of documentary filmmaking in wartime, analyzing how it preserves history while serving as a medium for bearing witness. Nataliia Bondarenko will explore the digital preservation of naïve art as a means of safeguarding cultural heritage threatened or destroyed by war. Olena Tanchyk will analyze Ukrainian folk dance’s role in reshaping national identity and fostering cultural resilience. These creative practices function as living archives, transmitting history and identity across generations while offering a sense of solidarity and renewal. Special attention will be given to how digital technologies aid in the preservation and dissemination of these traditions in an era of displacement and cultural erasure. Ultimately, this roundtable underscores the power of artistic expression to counter domination, reclaim historical narratives, and shape the future of national and cultural identity.

Sub Unit

• Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts

Chair

• Adnan Dzumhur, UNC at Chapel Hill

Roundtable Speakers

• Nataliia Bondarenko, UNC at Chapel Hill

• David Gutnik, Independent Scholar

• Marika Kuzma, UC Berkeley

• Olena Tanchyk, Arizona State U