On May 27, 2026, an international roundtable will bring together Ukrainian and international scholars to discuss Ukrainian-Jewish historical memory, the traumatic experiences of the 20th century, the politics of memory and contemporary approaches to understanding the past. The discussion will focus on the Holocaust and the Holodomor, the impact of totalitarian propaganda on the formation of historical narratives, postmemory, silence surrounding trauma and the multiculturalism of Kyiv.
The international roundtable «Historical memory: reflections of Ukrainian and Jewish experiences» will be held within the framework of the project «Jewish Heritage in Ukraine: interdisciplinary reflections through the lens of archival documents, culture, history and literature» implemented in partnership with UNESCO and funded by the European Union.
May 27, 2026
6:30-8:30 pm
KMBS Big Space
12/4 Voloska St., Building 7, 4th Floor, Room 401
Registration: https://forms.gle/5PNtci4MEDNnL2yRA
Working language of the event: English. Format: hybrid – in-person and online.
The following international speakers have been invited to participate:
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Myroslav Shkandrij – PhD, Professor of Slavic Studies at the University of Manitoba (Canada), a researcher of Ukrainian-Jewish cultural relations and the history of modernism;
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Amelia Glazer – PhD, Professor of Literature and Jewish Studies at the University of California, San-Diego (USA), a researcher of Ukrainian, Yiddish and the Jewish-Slavic literary interactions;
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Marianne Hirsch – PhD, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University (USA), a researcher of cultural memory, postmemory and visual culture;
- Olga Bertelsen – PhD in History, Professor of International Relations and History, a researcher of Soviet history, mass violence and memory politics in Eastern Europe.
Moderator:
- Roman Vertelnyk – PhD in Philology, Head of the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literary Studies, Senior Researcher of the project.
Discussants:
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Iryna Borysiuk – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literature, coordinator of the research group on literery heritage;
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Olha Poliukhovych - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research, Associate Professor at the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literary Studies, Head and Scientific Director of the project;
- Rostyslav Semkiv – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literature, Senior Researcher of the project.
As well as others representatives of the academic community at NaUKMA.
Programme of the event:
- Opening remarks by the moderator – Roman Vertelnyk
- Presentations by the invited international speakers. Duration of each presentation: up to 20 minutes. Following each international invited speaker’s presentation – open discussion – 10 minutes.
- Concluding open discussion among all participants and the audience
- Closing remarks – Olha Poliukhovych
All publications and events within the framework of the project are funded by the European Union. The content is the sole responsibility of the partner and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.