VU Invites to an International Congress on Ukrainian History

On 15-17 September, Vilnius University (VU) will host the international congress "Rethinking Ukraine and Europe: New Challenges for Historians", which will bring together more than 150 scholars from different countries for a unique debate on Ukrainian history. The event will also feature a special keynote addressed by Robert I. Frost, a renowned British historian, Professor at the University of Aberdeen, and author of an influential book on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

"The war that Russia has started in Ukraine has made us think about many things in a new perspective. But above all, it has led us to take a broader look at Ukraine, to understand its place in Europe and the world. A new approach cannot be adapted without rethinking Ukraine's history. Despite its territorial and demographic size and relatively central location, Ukraine has for too long been seen as a periphery in the eastern part of Europe, and its history and identity have been of interest only to a small number of specialists," says the Rector of VU, historian Prof. Rimvydas Petrauskas.

Rector Prof. R. Petrauskas, the Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, and the Dean of the VU Faculty of History Assoc. Prof. Loreta Skurvydaitė will welcome the guests of the event. The main aim of the Congress is to discuss the creation of a new narrative of the history of Ukraine and the whole region of Central Eastern Europe.
During the congress discussions about how we should rethink and reinterpret Ukrainian history from a transnational perspective and in the broader context of European and world history, to what extent should we rethink the themes and sub-themes of Ukrainian studies that have been established for at least 30 years, and to what extent should we rebuild our national politics and culture of memory in the region of Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, and Poland so that it can become more transnational, will take place.

The opening keynote speech "The Past in the Present: Rethinking Ukraine, Europe and the Role of the Nation-State in the Global Age" will be given by the distinguished British historian Robert I. Frost. Professor Frost is a Fellow of the British Academy (2016), the Royal Society of Edinburgh (2020), and the Polish Academy of Sciences and Arts (2020). His fields of interest are history of Eastern and Northern Europe from the 14th to the 18th century. In addition to the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, his research focuses on the history of warfare, the Polish-Lithuanian monarchy under the Vasa dynasty (1587-1668), and the history of noble society and culture. He was awarded the Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania in 2020 and the Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Republic of Poland in 2021.

Participants will also have the opportunity to find out about fellowship programs and meet representatives of foundations supporting international projects in the field of historical research. They will also be able to participate in thematic panel discussions and find potential partners for new collaborative research.

The International Congress "Rethinking Ukraine and Europe: New Challenges for Historians" will take place on 15-17 September at the VU Theatre Hall (Universiteto str. 3). The event starts at 9 a.m. The event languages are Ukrainian and English.

For more information and the programme click here.