Could you please provide an overview of the panel discussion you will be moderating at the international conference? What are the key topics and themes that will be addressed?
At the conference, I’ll be moderating a panel called “Ukrainian Studies and Decolonization of Memory in Times of War” – for no specific reason, simply because I am ready to contribute as a moderator speaking Ukrainian fluently.
Also, I‘ll participate in the discussion “Implementing decolonization today and after the war” to share thoughts on teaching for students originating from or being on the territories that faced different forms of occupation and violent cultural expansion, or other violations of their sovereignty and integrity.
Your background includes extensive fieldwork in various regions, including Ukraine, Romania, and Belarus. How has this diverse ethnographic experience informed your perspective on the decolonization of memory and Ukrainian studies in times of war?
It must be mentioned that I have not conducted any research about Ukraine since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, and memory is not among my main academic interests. As an anthropologist, I can stress that different forms of violence have long been overlooked in so many cases – and the war is a painful reminder of that, yet not the only form of massive violence occurring in the region now. This means we have to admit that forms of violence are diverse, some are more visible than others; particular acts of colonial oppression can‘t make it to the news because they can‘t even be photographed, and a larger debate is needed on how mass media deal with that non-spectacular violence.
Could you share some insights into the challenges and opportunities of conducting research in conflict zones? How do these experiences relate to the broader themes of decolonization and education?
Many social scholars will tell with more competence about conducting research in Ukraine today – and the first example coming to my mind is the project “24.02.22, 5 am: Testimonies from the War” (principal investigators: Dr. Natalia Otrishchenko of the Center for Urban History and Dr. Anna Wylagala from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of Polish Academy of Sciences).
Talking about research in/about post-2020 Belarus, we must be aware that most dictatorships are enemies of both education and knowledge production. It is difficult to explain to a non-Belarusian observer what it means to live in a society where school‘s institutional authority is decreasing rapidly and people have to find alternative ways to educate their children. No doubt that the state school system in Belarusian cases can be and is used as an instrument of colonization, with infiltration of many elements from Russian school programs and ideology. It is thus critically important to make other sources of knowledge available to pupils and students.
Your research project, “Infrastructures in Trouble: Public Transit, Crisis, and Citizens at the Peripheries of Europe,” sounds intriguing. How does this project tie into the broader discussions on decolonization and memory in the context of your work?
This project was finalized in 2018 when I defended my thesis on this topic at the University of Regensburg. It must be said, that decolonization vocabulary was much less present in the studies of Eastern, Central, and South-Eastern Europe back then; the situation is different now because of the full-scale war.
One of your current research focuses is on everyday life during mass repressions, with a particular emphasis on Belarus. Can you elaborate on the significance of studying everyday life in the context of political repression, and what findings or insights have emerged from your research thus far?
It would be naive to think that during mass repressions everything else loses importance to society. In social science, there is a long tradition of studying how people organize their routines in totalitarian regimes – although there are many empirical limitations related to the nature of totalitarianism. As an anthropologist, I see my task as looking into less visible, less discussed aspects of everyday life that nevertheless remain important for life choices made by people.
Since the outbreak of mass repressions in Belarus in 2020, I am focused on a few subjects, such as media use among Belarusians, popular culture, romantic relationships, and, most recently, property of Belarusian citizens (the last topic, sadly, became even more urgent on September 5 this year).
Just yesterday (Sep 6) an article of many was published in Communist and Post-Communist Studies where I discuss the role of psychotherapeutic media discourses and practices in Belarus after the active phase of protest. An article about Belarusian Political Instagram of 2020-2021 is about to appear in Digital Icons soon – and for me, it was important to see how politicization also happened to Ukrainian Instagram in 2022.
On a different note, the context of mass repressions teaches us to re-think the standards and conventions of academic science in relation to the public demand, as well as to reflect on our privileges and vulnerabilities related to our diplomas, bureaucratic situation, civic engagement background, family status and so on. For sure, mass repressions make researchers more precarious – and, unfortunately, this effect knows no state borders.
As a lecturer at European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania, how do you see the role of academic institutions in advancing the decolonization of education and research in Eastern Europe?
Here, I don‘t think I can add something crucial to the ideas formulated in EHU‘s Mission. No doubt, higher education is critical for the formation of young people‘s worldviews, careers, and biographic strategies – and universities, to some degree, are responsible for preserving cultural diversity and disseminating awareness of colonial oppression in the region, as well as for the development of new tools for anti-colonial resistance.
Are there any specific projects or collaborations you are currently involved in that align with the conference’s objectives, and if so, could you share some details about them?
In my belief, decolonization, ideally, should become part of our lifestyle and not just a line in our academic CV. I volunteer in different forms, collaborating with NGOs, as well as creating and promoting art in Belarusian and Ukrainian languages – and I can sincerely recommend spending some time on social media to navigate the body of emancipatory decolonial texts, imagery, music, and other art produced today despite the oppression from empire.
Lastly, could you provide some insights or recommendations for young scholars and researchers interested in studying decolonization, memory, and conflict in Eastern Europe based on your academic journey and experiences?
Learning languages seems an important and underestimated skill to me. Another thing is that research dedicated to non-European contexts can be insightful and help understand more about own countries.