Guten Tag,

ich möchte Sie gerne auf eine Vortragsreihe aufmerksam machen: Im November 2025 veranstaltet das Leibniz-Forschungsnetzwerk Östliches Europa in Kooperation mit Science at Risk eine öffentliche Vortragsreihe mit Wissenschaftler*innen aus der Ukraine.

Alle Veranstaltungen werden in Präsenz durchgeführt, aber ein Livestream und/oder Videoaufzeichnungen einzelner Vorträge sind geplant und werden auf dem YouTube-Kanal von Science at Risk abrufbar sein: https://www.youtube.com/@ScieRisk

Ich würde mich freuen, wenn Sie auf die Veranstaltungsreihe hinweisen könnten.

PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES WITH RESEARCHERS FROM UKRAINE:

Tuesday, 4 November 2025, 6:00 p.m.
“Social Networks Shaping the Pathways of Odesa Archaeology”
Dr. Anzhelika Kolesnychenko (Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv/The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia)
Venue: Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA), Vortragssaal, Ludwig-Lindenschmit-Forum 1, 55116 Mainz

In this presentation, we will explore a specific perspective on archaeology – viewing it as a social network of researchers and research institutions. This framework allows us to analyse how knowledge is exchanged and how community norms are negotiated. Archaeology in Odesa began with a non-governmental community of researchers, the Odesa Society of History and Antiquities (1839-1919), which functioned as a hub for the exchange of archaeological knowledge on a European scale. This mode of development – anchored in dialogue with colleagues across distances and borders, and persisting despite periods of war, repression, exile, and censorship – has continued to shape the trajectory of Odesa archaeology to this day.

Anzhelika Kolesnychenko’s research interests include the history of archaeology and ancient glass. She graduated from Mechnikov Odessa University and worked at the Odessa Archaeological Museum, then held postdoctoral positions at the University of Bologna and the University of Bordeaux Montaigne. She is currently based at the Institute of Archaeology in Kyiv and is pursuing a postdoctoral research project at the Cyprus Institute.

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Wednesday, 5 November 2025, 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
“The Fortress in the East: Apocalyptic Notes of a Medical Researcher in War Settings”
Dr. Olha Konstantynovska (Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Immunology, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv)
Venue: Research Centre Borstel, Leibniz Lung Centre (RCB), Herrenhaus, Parkallee 1, 23845 Borstel

The talk aims to give a brief overview of the difficulties and joys of staying in one’s home city during the war for a medical specialist who is trying to continue her research projects despite the circumstances. It will address the challenges and solutions involved in conducting clinical trials, organising daily needs, engaging in volunteering projects, and coping with post-traumatic stress disorder as a constant condition. Career development difficulties, the suspension of personal activities, and the destruction of professional connections with colleagues who have left the country will be among the main points. In contrast, the presentation will also highlight the opportunities for international partnerships and the helping hand extended by institutions in EU countries, without which it would not be possible to maintain even a semblance of “normal” life.

Olha Konstantynovska, MD, PhD, with a specialization in pulmonology and tuberculosis, currently leads institutional research projects on TB. Olha completed her training at Kharkiv National Medical University and later at the Kharkiv Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, obtaining a PhD degree in physiology. Her fervour lies in bridging the realms of science and patient care, aiming to enhance diagnostic care for TB patients and extend support to fellow healthcare professionals.

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Thursday, 20 November 2025, 6:00 p.m.
“Urban Life in the Age of Cybernetic Governance: Power and Control in the Socialist City”
Dr. Bohdan Shumylovych (Center for Urban History/Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv)
Venue: Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), Alte Universitätsstraße 19, 55116 Mainz

This talk investigates the socialist conceptualization of the ideal city, with particular attention to the roles of television, radio, and cybernetics in shaping urban governance. It examines how feedback loops, data collection, and predictive planning, which are the core principles of cybernetic thought, operated as instruments of control in state-socialist cities. Using Lviv (Western Ukraine) as a case study, the analysis traces how cybernetic theories informed state visions of efficiency, surveillance, and social order within urban space. By situating these historical practices within contemporary discourses on smart cities and algorithmic governance, the study brings a socialist perspective to current debates on technological mediation and urban control.

Bohdan Shumylovych earned a diploma in Art History from the Lviv Academy of Arts (1993-1999) and a Master’s degree in Modern History from the Central European University (2004-2005). In 2020, he received his PhD from the European University Institute and currently serves as an Associate Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University. In addition to teaching, he conducts research, delivers public lectures, curates thematic exhibitions, and contributes to educational programmes.

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Thursday, 27 November 2025, 4:30 p.m.
“Contemporary Ukrainian Bestseller: Celebrities, Trends and Readership”
Prof. Dr. Sofiya Filonenko (Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv)
Venue: Leibniz Centre for Literary and Cultural Research (ZfL), Pariser Straße 1, 10719 Berlin

Bestselling books that shape public discourse are a recent phenomenon in independent Ukraine that has emerged alongside the development of the post-Soviet book market and more readers reading in Ukrainian. There are many reasons for the success of these books. The historical novel The Black Raven. The Remnant (2009) by Vasyl Shkliar and the non-fiction book The Case of Vasyl Stus (2019) by Vakhtang Kipiani, for example, are linked to political scandals. Adaptations of Western trends and genre traditions have also enjoyed commercial success, as in the case of Illarion Pavliuk’s thriller I See You’re Interested in Darkness (2020). These works become even more popular when adapted for the stage or screen. This presentation will explore the phenomenon of contemporary Ukrainian bestsellers and examine its cultural and social implications.

Sofiya Filonenko is a professor at the Department of Philology of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. She received her doctorate from the T. H. Shevchenko Institute of Literature at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. She specializes in contemporary popular fiction and bestsellers, women’s fiction, and detective fiction. She is Head of the Jury of the International Literary Contest “Koronatsiya Slova” [Coronation of the Word] in the “Novels” category. From 2020 to 2021, she served as a jury member for the Lviv – UNESCO City of Literature Award.

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Further information: https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/research/leibniz-research-networks/central-and-eastern-europe and https://science-at-risk.org/ as well as on the websites of the participating research institutions.

The Leibniz Research Network Central and Eastern Europe has existed since 2015. It brings together more than twenty of the Leibniz Association’s institutes whose multidisciplinary work either focuses on Central and Eastern Europe or deals with the region in projects.

Science at Risk Emergency Office is a project founded by the Academic Network Eastern Europe, akno e.V., that provides support to academics and students that have been affected by the war in Ukraine or by political repression in Belarus and Russia.