"Queer Focus" brings together more than a dozen experts and scholars across disciplines specializing in the study of Eastern Europe and Eurasia to explore some of the most pressing questions for the field today.
Seven virtual panels, which are free and open to the public, will explore how gendered regimes were constitutive of Russo-centric relationships of power, defining the region and how it is studied, as scholars collectively grapple with what it means to re-examine the current research, teaching and institutional practices. These discussions will explore how a queer studies focus can advance conversations about decolonization in East European and Eurasian Studies and offer a constructive path forward beyond the one-size-fits-all state response in the region.
"As LGBTQ+ folks are living lives that in large parts of Eastern Europe are increasingly precarious, this event series is timely and important," said Philip Gleissner, panel moderator and assistant professor in the Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures. "Bringing together a diverse group of speakers, it sheds light not only on current mechanisms of oppression but also the resilience, creativity and solidarity of a diverse community across borders."
This exciting series is part of an ongoing initiative by the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies and made possible through collaboration among Slavic, Eastern European and Eurasian studies Title VI National Resource Centers at University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, University of Michigan, University of Kansas, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Indiana University, Bloomington, George Washington University, University of California-Berkeley, Arizona State University and The Ohio State University.
“Queer Focus” is part of a larger “In Focus” lecture series which aims to further discussion and education about topics related to race, identity, dis/ability, gender and sexuality in the field of Slavic studies.
Panel 1: State of the Field January 19, 2024, 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Emily Channell-Justice, director, Temerty Program on Contemporary Ukraine, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
Speakers:
- Simone Bellezza, assistant professor of modern history, Department of Social Sciences, University of Naples Federico II
- Tamar Shirinian, assistant professor of anthropology, University of Tennessee Knoxville
- Vladislav Beronja, assistant professor of Slavic and Eurasian studies, University of Texas at Austin
- Jasmina Tumbas, associate professor, Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Buffalo
Panel 2: History and Archives January 26, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Anita Kurimay, associate professor of history, director of gender and sexuality studies, Bryn Mawr College
Speakers:
- Feruza Aripova, visiting scholar, Columbia University
- Kamil Karczewski, fellow, Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University College London
- Irina Roldugina, UCIS postdoctoral fellow, University of Pittsburgh
- Roman Utkin, assistant professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies, Wesleyan University
Panel 3: Arts & Culture February 2, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Philip Gleissner, assistant professor, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, The Ohio State University
Speakers:
- Ramona Dima, associate professor, Center for Gender Studies, University of Stavanger
- Luc Beaudoin, professor of gender and women’s studies, University of Denver
- Maria Engstrom, professor of Russian, Department of Modern Languages, University of Uppsala
- Aleksandra Gajowy, assistant professor of modern and contemporary art, School of Art History and Cultural Policy, University College Dublin
Panel 4: Politics & Law February 16, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Helene Thibault, associate professor of political science, Nazarbayev University
Speakers:
- Katalin Fabian, professor of government and law, Lafayette College
- Jennifer Suchland, associate professor, Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University
- Marianna Muravyeva, professor of law, University of Helsinki
- Piro Rexhepi, independent researcher
Panel 5: Migration March 1, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Alexandra Novitskaya, Title VIII research fellow, Kennan Institute/Woodrow Wilson Center; research affiliate, Robert F. Byrnes Russia and East European Institute, Indiana University
Speakers:
- Randall Rowe, assistant professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies, University of Cincinnati
- Yevgeny Shtorn, doctoral candidate in political, societal, and cultural change, University of Helsinki
- Mariya Levitanus, lecturer in counseling and psychotherapy, University of Edinburgh
- Maryna Shevtsova, FWO senior post-doctoral fellow, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Panel 6: Activism March 15, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Lyosha Gorshkov, director of LGBTQ+ initiatives, Colgate University
Speakers:
- Shota Kincha, staff writer, Open Caucasus Media
- Zhanar Sekerbayeva, co-founder, Kazakhstan’s LGBTQ feminist initiative “Feminita”
- Mohira Suyarkulove, associate professor, Department of International and Comparative Politics, American University of Central Asia
- Tatsiana Shchurko, post-doctoral scholar, Department of Women, Gender, and Sexualities, The Ohio State University
Panel 7: On Ukraine March 22, 2024, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Moderator: Alex Averbuch, post-doctoral fellow, scholar, poet and translator
Speakers:
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Vitaly Chernetsky, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Kansas
- Tamara Hundorova, Professor and Principal Research Scholar, Institute of Literature, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
- Dafna Rachok, PhD Candidate, Indiana University Bloomington
- Sandra Joy Russell, Visiting Lecturer, Gender Studies, Mount Holyoke College
Sponsorship
This series was developed and implemented by the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, and the Center for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies at The Ohio State University with support from the Association for Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies.
Additional financial support has been provided by:
- Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of Kansas
- Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of Michigan
- Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center, Indiana University, Bloomington
- Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
- Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
- Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies, Arizona State University
- Robert F. Byrnes Russian and East European Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington
- Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, The University of Texas at Austin