Conference • New Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Holodomor

In collaboration with the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, the Ukrainian Association of North Carolina, and with support from the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium and the Ukrainian Studies Fund, the UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies is hosting an international scholarly conference in commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the 1932-33 Holodomor in Ukraine. The conference will spotlight new interdisciplinary research on the Holodomor within the context of other man-made famines.

Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer-Prize winning historian and author of Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine, will present the keynote address (via Skype) at the opening of the conference on Friday evening. Other participants include: Dr. Sarah Cameron (University of Maryland-College Park), Dr. Serhii Cipko (University of Alberta), Dr. Nataliia Levchuk (Ukrainian Institute of Demography), Prof. George O. Liber (University of Alabama-Birmingham), Prof. L.H. Lumey (Columbia University), Dr. Natalya Naumenko (Northwestern University), Dr. Vitalii Ogiienko (Ukrainian Institute of National Memory), and Dr. Arturas Rozenas (New York University). In addition, Valentina Kuryliw, Director of Education at the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) in Toronto, will conduct a workshop on the Holodomor for middle and high school teachers.

This event is part of the CSEEES Spotlight on Ukraine Initiative to promote Ukrainian studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5 • Room 1005, FedEx Global Education Center

05:30 PM • Inauguration
05:45 PM • Keynote address by Anne Applebaum (Skype)
 
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6 • (all panels will take place in Room 4003)

09:30 – 11:00 AM • Panel 1: Historical Background of the 1932-1933 Famine
Chair: Don van Atta (UNC-Chapel Hill)
George Liber, University of Alabama at Birmingham
“The Origins of the Holodomor: The Soviet Domestic and International Context”
Oleh Wolowyna, Univ. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Holodomor Losses by Nationality and the Surge in Mortality in 1933: Two Little-Known Aspects of the Holodomor”
Discussant: Donald J. Raleigh (UNC-Chapel Hill)

11:30 AM – 01:30 PM • Panel 2: Regional Dynamics of the 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine
Chair: Will Zang (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Nataliia Levchuk, Institute of Demography and Social Studies, Ukraine
“What is Behind the Regional Variation in Holodomor Losses in Ukraine: The Role of Grain
Procurement and Collectivization”
Arturas Rozenas, New York University
“Mass Repression and Political Loyalty: Evidence from Stalin’s Terror By Hunger”
Natalya Naumenko, Brown University
“The 1933 Soviet Famine”
Discussants: Oleh Wolowyna (UNC-Chapel Hill) & Vitalij Strohush (Elon University)

02:30 – 04:30 PM • Panel 3: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the 1932-1933 Famine
Chair: Klara Peter (UNC-Chapel Hill)
 H. Lumey, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
“Long-Term Impact of Exposure to the Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933 During Gestation on Type 2 Diabetes at Later Age”
Vitalii Ogiienko, Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, Ukraine
“Defining the Holodomor Trauma: Definitions and Methodological Approaches”
Serhii Cipko, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, Canada
“Western Responses to the Holodomor: The Cases of Canada and the U.S.”
Discussants: Denis Makonchuk (Independent Scholar) and Bob Jenkins (UNC-Chapel Hill)

05:00 – 06:30 PM • Panel 4: The 1932-1933 Famine in Comparative Perspective
Chair: Oleh Wolowyna (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Sarah Cameron, Univ. of Maryland-College Park
“The Kazakh Famine and the Ukrainian Famine: A Comparison”
Discussant: Eren Tasar (Univ. of N. Carolina)
Roundtable:
Ukraine and China: L. H. Lumey (Columbia University)
Ukraine and Russia: Nataliia Levchuk (Ukrainian Institute of Demography) & Natalya Naumenko (Brown University)

07:00 – 8:30 PM Reception hosted by the Ukrainian Association of North Carolina
 
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7 • Room 4003
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM • Roundtable: Research on the Holodomor by Different Disciplines
Moderator: Louis Porter (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Participants: L.H. Lumey; Nataliia Levchuk; Natalya Naumenko; George Liber; Serhii Cipko; Sarah Cameron; Valerii Ogiienko; Valenteina Kuryliv; and Oleh Wolowyna

Saturday, October 6 (parallel to the conference) • Room 1005
10:00 AM – 01:00 PM ­• Teacher Workshop: “Food As a Weapon in Man-Made Famines: Examining the Holodomor in Ukraine as a Case Study”
Facilitator: Valentina Kuryliw, Holodomor Research and Education Consortium, Toronto, Canada

This event is free, but space is limited and RSVP is required. Lunch will be provided to participants. Please register here.