ANTH 425/JSISA 427 (Anthropology of the Post-Soviet States)
Anthropology of Ukraine: Social Change and Decolonization
Mural on ruins of Irpin theater, July 2023
Mon. & Wed. 10:30-12:20
Loew Hall room 202
Prof. Laada Bilaniuk (she)
bilaniuk@uw.edu Denny Hall M244
Office hours by appointment
Course readings and activities are organized in modules (which will be linked here when spring quarter begins).
Ukraine, geographically the largest country within the European continent, has experienced dramatic changes since it declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Its people have been reinterpreting what it means to be Ukrainian as they contend with the legacies of the Soviet past and the challenges of nation-building, cultural and economic globalization, and war. We will place Ukraine and the former USSR in the broader global context by considering how post-Sovietness is, and is not, also post-colonial, and what that means for the diverse population of Ukraine.
We will begin by considering the cultural impact of the massive Soviet social experiment, with a focus on Soviet ideologies and practices regarding cultural and linguistic diversity. We will then examine the dynamic changes taking place after the fall of Soviet power, as Ukraine developed independent nationhood, fostered global connections, replaced socialist systems with privatization and capitalism, and embarked on campaigns of decolonization (de-Sovietization and de-russification). We will consider how history has been variously reinterpreted and used to define and justify the present; how politics impinge on people's sense of culture, language, identity, and well-being. We will explore how people experience and participate in the construction of social distinctions including gender, ethnicity, indigeneity, race, and citizenship, and how these have been transformed as a result of Russia's war on Ukraine.
Throughout the course, we will consider critically the anthropological methods that we encounter. The course readings will present an array of approaches: participant observation, interviews, surveys, discourse analysis, analysis of material culture, and online research. We will read works by Westerners as well as Ukrainians analyzing their own culture (and scholars and writers whose identities lie between these poles), and explore the impact of anthropological work.
Learning objectives. By the end of this course you should be able to:
- Explain the key goals of Soviet social construction and problems in their implementation in Ukraine
• Explain the causes and impacts of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s declaration of independence
• Compare the concepts of (post)colonialism and (post)Sovietness
• Explain challenges in the shift from a socialized system to a privatized, market-based system in health care - Compare conceptualizations and uses of the terms ethnicity, race, nationality, indigeneity, and biological citizenship in Ukraine
- Identify minority ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups in Ukraine and discuss their relationship to the state
- Explain and provide examples of the politics of representation of racial and ethnic differences in Ukrainian popular culture
- Explain how ideologies of language and use of language have shifted since Ukraine’s independence and the full-scale war
- Explain the motivations and social impact of Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution of Dignity, Russia’s occupation of Crimea, the Donbas War, and Russia’s 2022 full-scale war on Ukraine.
- Analyze media responses to war
Course Requirements and Grading
30% Reading highlights
10% Class discussion participation
30% Research project and presentation
30% Quizzes
The course will be conducted in seminar format, centering mainly on critical discussion of readings, with occasional lectures and films.
Reading highlights (30%) and class participation (10%)
Students are expected to complete the assigned readings before each class for which they are listed, and to participate actively in class discussions. For each class that has assigned readings, students should post a “reading highlight” in the online discussion for that day. A reading highlight discussion post should:
1) identify a passage or key point for each of the readings assigned for a given day that you would like to discuss more, either to understand it better or to criticize it (or both).
2) Explain in a sentence or two what you find interesting, problematic, or warranting further discussion in the passage or key point you selected. Some things to consider include: what underlying assumptions does the author make? What methods were used to gather the information that is the basis for the assertions in the reading? Your post may be a response engaging a previous post by another student.
Occasionally the reading highlight assignment may be modified to a different brief homework related to the readings or films. Class participation will include all-class discussion, as well as discussions in small groups followed by reporting back to the whole class. There will also be brief in-class writings in response to prompts relating to the readings.
Research project (30%)
There are three options for the research project. For all options: You will report on your findings in a written paper, as well as an oral presentation to the class accompanied by visuals such as a PowerPoint. The presentation may be pre-recorded. Undergraduate students write a 5 page paper, and graduate students should conduct a more extensive research project, with a 10 page write-up.
A research project plan is due on the Thursday of week 6, your recorded presentation is due before the Friday of week 9, and the written paper is due at the end of week 10.
Option 1: Website review (write-up and presentation). Choose a website related to Ukraine. The site may be presenting or marketing something, or it can be an official government site or the site of a non-governmental organization. The site may be based in another country, as long as it focuses primarily on something to do with Ukraine (for example: International relations, aid, business, refugees). Write a 5 page (typed, double-spaced) review of the website, examining how the site aims to construct particular identities or value systems, and what ideologies (of rights, health, values) are implicit in the content (images, text) and form (colors, fonts, layout) of the site. Provide the web-address in your paper.
Option 2: Soviet/post-soviet/wartime interview (write-up and presentation). Find someone who has lived in Ukraine for at least 15 years, who is willing to be interviewed about their life and attitudes. This could be a temporary visitor (such as a student or researcher) or someone who has immigrated to the US. Depending on your interviewee, you can focus your interview in various ways. For example, with someone who experienced both Soviet and post-Soviet life, you could find out how they experienced the transition. With someone who emigrated during Soviet/Cold War times, you could ask about their reasons for, and experiences of, emigration, and how their sense of identity has been impacted by the current war (at a distance). With someone who grew up in post-Soviet times, you could find out how they understand the Soviet era, what and how they learned about it, and to what extent Sovietness is still present in their country. For someone who has experienced war in Ukraine (since 2014 in Crimea and the Donbas region, or since 2022 elsewhere), you can focus on its impact. You may choose to focus your interview a subtopic we explores in class, such as health care, environment, or racial and national identities. Write a 5 page (double-spaced) summary of your findings.
Option 3: Ethnographic or literary book review (write-up and presentation). There are many excellent ethnographies of Ukraine dealing with religion, music, protest (and for those of you in med anth, some focus on issues like disabilities, drug use and harm reduction, radiation exposure). There are also many English translations of literary works by Ukrainians that tie in to the themes we explore this quarter. You could choose to read and critically analyze a novel, trying in to the anthropological texts and class discussions, to ask: how does the novel expand, complicate, or disrupt dominant understandings of Ukrainian culture? You would read the novel (and possibly reactions to it) as a way of sounding out potential answers to the central questions posed by this course (what is Ukraine, and who are the Ukrainians?) If the novel looks at Soviet times, how does it portray the goals of Soviet power, how Soviet policies carried out, and what was their impact was on ethnic diversity, citizenship, health, and the environment in Ukraine? If it focuses on post-Soviet times, how does it grapple with post-Sovietness, nation-building, relations with Russia, and/or minority identities? Check with me if you know of a book you want to focus on. Write a 5 page (typed, double-spaced) review of the book.
Quizzes (30%)
There will be 2 quizzes, based on readings, films, and discussion. The quizzes will vary in format, including short answers and essays. The quizzes will be given online, posted in Weeks 4 & 7, due a week after posting.