Inaugural CEREES Lecture
Monday 30 October, 18:00-20:00
Uilleam Blacker ‘The Many Voices of Ukraine: A multicultural literary space in the context of empire and war’
Venue: Montagu Lecture Theatre, Graduate Centre (GC601), Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road London E1 4NS
Book here: Eventbrite
About the Lecture:
CEREES is delighted to invite you to our inaugural lecture on ‘The Many Voices of Ukraine.’
Today, as in the past, Ukrainian culture is one of the main targets of Russian imperialist aggression, with museums and monuments destroyed or damaged, artworks stolen or lost forever, and people tortured and executed for wearing blue and yellow ribbons. This organised and coordinated destruction of the Ukrainian culture is not unforeseen, but, argues Blacker, continues a centuries-old tradition of oppression and a systematic obliteration of the Ukrainian language and culture throughout the Soviet Union and the Russian empire. In the face of ongoing aggression, Blacker’s latest research puts a spotlight on the rich, multicultural and multi-layered literary and cultural heritage of Ukraine.
Connected to one of CEREES’s major research themes for 2023-24, the lecture will encourage participants to consider: ‘Where does Ukraine sit in our ‘mental map’ of Europe and European culture?’ ‘Likewise, where does Belarus and Eastern Europe sit?’ ‘And how has the composition of that ‘mental map’ been affected by Russian imperialism?’
About the Speaker:
Uilleam Blacker is Associate Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies at UCL SSEES. He is the author of Memory, the City and the Legacy of World War II in East Central Europe: Ghosts of Others (2019) and co-author of Remembering Katyn (2012). His current research, which is funded by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship, explores Ukraine as a multi-lingual literary landscape in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is also a translator of Ukrainian literature and has published translations in, among others, The White Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Words Without Borders and London Review of Books.
Event outline:
Welcome, by Andy Willimott (QMUL) – 18:00
Lecture – 18:05
Discussion, chaired by Natalya Chernyshova (QMUL) – 18:50
Drinks reception, meet the speaker – 19:10
Shape the Conversation
To join our mailing list, participate in our programme of events, or find out how we can support your research, please contact hss-cerees@qmul.ac.uk