The Slavic Connexion

The Slavic Connexion

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The Slavic Connexion episodes

  • It's Complicated: North Macedonia, Historiography, and Indigenous Nations

    In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Keith Brown, a distinguished anthropologist from Arizona State University's Melikian Center. Dr. Brown takes us on a deep dive into the rich and often contentious history of Macedonia, exploring the complexities of historiography and the narratives that shape our understanding of the Balkan region. Join us as Dr. Brown shares his unique journey into the study of Macedonia, revealing how personal and historical narratives intertwine in the pursuit of knowledge.


    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Keith Brown is the Director of the Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies, and Professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies at Arizona State University. During 2021-22 he was on research leave as a Core Fellow at the Collegium for Advanced Studies at the University of Helsinki. He holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago and a BA in classics from Oxford University. His work focuses on history, culture and politics in the Western Balkans, with a particular emphasis on 20th century Macedonia. He has spent extended time in the region, and his published works include The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation (Princeton University Press, 2003) and Loyal Unto Death: Trust and Terror in Revolutionary Macedonia (Indiana University Press, 2013).
    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 02, 2023 at the ASEEES Convention in Philadelphia.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!


    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Host/Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp

    Host/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce

    Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)

    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)

    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar

    Production Assistant: Faith VanVleet

    Production Assistant: Eliza Fisher

    SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Alex Productions, Blue Dot Sessions)

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    39 min
  • Metaphor to Direct: The History of Russian New Drama

    On this episode, Nick speaks with Susanna Weygandt a scholar studying performance theories of Russian and East European theater. She discusses the work of Anatoly Vasiliev, famed Russian theater director for the Moscow School of Dramatic Arts. Thanks for listening!

    ABOUT THE GUEST:

    Elena Susanna Weygandt analyzes and documents performance theories indigenous to Russia and East Europe that have not yet been documented. She draws on methods of interview and ethnography as well as digital display in her research on contemporary topics. In her soon-to-be published book with the University of Wisconsin Press, From Metaphor to Direct Speech: Drama and Performance Theory in Contemporary Russia, she identifies the main writers and performance theories of the vibrant movement, Novaia Drama, and situates this pioneering literature in the contemporary Russian literary canon, the Performance Studies field, and within Post-Soviet studies.  The New Dramatists assert that it is precisely in the theatre, with its inherent form of critique and reflection provided by the stage, where the contemporary moment of the present can be held at arm's length away, which creates enough of a distance from the present for a historical perspective about it to emerge. This research has shaped her into a scholar and teacher of visual language, the body, feminist art, gender, exhibition on digital platforms, and all genres of documentary and realism in Russian and East European literature. Her publications on these topics of cultural history in Russia and East Europe from 1953 to the present appear in The Russian Review, Studies in Russian and Soviet Cinema, TDR: The Drama Review, Apparatus: Film, Media, and Digital Cultures in Central and Eastern Europe, and in a co-edited anthology published by Columbia UP. She received her training in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Princeton (PhD 2015; Graduate Certificate in History of Science 2015). At Sewanee: The University of the South she teaches all levels of Russian in the Russian Department and her joint affiliation in the Humanities Program.
    https://new.sewanee.edu/programs-of-study/russian/faculty-staff/susanna-weygandt/

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!


    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Eliza Fisher
    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Assistant Producer/Videographer: Basil Fedun
    Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet
    Host/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Crowander, Dlay)

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    40 min
  • Words Without Bars: Russian Prison Literature & the Encyclopedia of the Dog

    On this episode, José Vergara (Bryn Mawr College) delves into the challenges and rewards of teaching literature in a carceral setting and his continued exploration of novels born behind bars. From the haunting prose of incarcerated writers to the innovative realms of digital humanities, Vergara shares his many projects such as the Encyclopedia of the Dog (https://encyclopediaofthedog.com/) based on the iconic novel "Between Dog and Wolf" by Sasha Sokolov, and the Reactor Room, an immersive Chernobyl Exhibition (https://digitalscholarship.brynmawr.edu/reactor-room/). Thanks for listening!


    ABOUT THE GUEST

    José Vergara is assistant professor of Russian at Bryn Mawr College. In addition to his work as a scholar and teacher, he enjoys collaborating with others to advance and support Slavic Studies and the Humanities. He has organized numerous guest lectures, a teach-in on the centennial of the October Revolution, and a symposium on the state of Russian Studies today. As advisor to the Swarthmore Project for East European Studies (SPEER), he has worked with students to develop conversations on campus about the region and its culture and politics. Visit his personal website for more on his teaching, research, events, and upcoming projects: https://josevergara.net/


    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 1, 2023 during the 2023 ASEEES Convention at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!


    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Host/Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher

    Host/Editorial Director: Sam Parrish

    Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)

    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)

    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar

    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp

    Assistant Producer/Videographer: Basil Fedun

    Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet

    Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Crowander, Dlay)

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    33 min
  • "Dynasty Divided: A Family History of Russian and Ukrainian Nationalism"

    On this episode, Misha and Cullan speak with Fabian Baumann, a research associate at the University of Heidelberg, whose latest book Dynasty Divided (2023, NIU Press) uniquely approaches the nuanced history of Ukrainian and Russian nationalism through a prominent Kievan family of journalists, scholars, and politicians. Thanks for listening!


    ABOUT THE BOOK

    From Cornell University Press: Dynasty Divided uses the story of a prominent Kievan family of journalists, scholars, and politicians to analyze the emergence of rivaling nationalisms in nineteenth-century Ukraine, the most pivotal borderland of the Russian Empire. The Shul'gins identified as Russians and defended the tsarist autocracy; the Shul'hyns identified as Ukrainians and supported peasant-oriented socialism. Fabian Baumann shows how these men and women consciously chose a political position and only then began their self-fashioning as members of a national community, defying the notion of nationalism as a direct consequence of ethnicity.

    Baumann asks what made individuals into determined nationalists in the first place, revealing the close link to private lives, including intimate family dramas and scandals. He looks at how nationalism emerged from domestic spaces, and how women played an important (if often invisible) role in fin-de-siècle politics. Dynasty Divided explains how nineteenth-century Kievans cultivated their national self-images and how, by the twentieth century, Ukraine steered away from Russia. The two branches of this family of Russian nationalists and Ukrainian nationalists epitomize the struggles for modern Ukraine.

    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 1, 2023 at the 2023 ASEEES Convention in Philadelphia. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!


    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Assistant EP/Host: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Associate Producer/Host: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar
    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Assistant Producer: Basil Fedun
    Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher
    Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet
    Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce
    SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Alex Productions)

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.

    Special Guest: Fabian Baumann.

    35 min
  • Cyber Crime & Punishment in the Context of the Russo-Ukrainian War

    On this episode, Kseniya Yurtayeva joins Taylor and Basil to discuss her work on cyberaggression, hybrid warfare, and the difficulty of creating and enforcing cyber law in the midst of a global conflict.

    ABOUT THE GUEST:

    Kseniya Yurtayeva holds a PhD in criminal law, criminology and criminal-executive law and is a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan with support from the Weiser Diplomacy Center. Her current scientific interests focus on cyberaggression as a method applied in contemporary warfare and on engaging post-truth for impediment administration of international justice. Yurtayeva teaches the course “Theory of Hybrid Conflicts in the Context of Russia-Ukraine War” in CREES . Yurtayeva is an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs. She holds a PhD degree in criminal law, criminology and criminal-executive law from State Research Institute at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and an LLM degree in international and comparative law from Chicago-Kent College of Law. The topic of her PhD thesis is “The Place of Commission of Crimes of International Character.” She also teaches courses in criminal law, criminology and cybercrime prosecution. Professor Yurtayeva is a certified trainer at the National School of Judges of Ukraine and developed a course in cybersecurity and human rights in cyberspace for the judiciary candidates.

    Department of Defense Disclaimer: The views and opinions presented herein are those of the speakers and do not represent the views of the US Army or the Department of Defense.

    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 1, 2023 at the ASEEES Convention held in the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!

    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Host/Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Host/Assistant Prodcuer: Basil Fedun
    Assistant EP/Host: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar
    Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher
    Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet
    Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce
    SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, AlexProductions, Aldous Ichnite)

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.

    Special Guest: Kseniya Yurtayeva.

    39 min
  • Liberty After Liberalism: Post-Maidan Transformations in Ukrainian Media

    On this episode, Taras Fedirko from the University of Glasgow joins us on the Forty Acres to share the multilayered story of post-Soviet media in Ukraine and its dramatic transformations from Kravchuk to Zelenskyy.

    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Dr. Taras Fedirko is a Lecturer in Organized Crime and Corruption at the University of Glasgow. His current research focuses on the political economy of war in Ukraine since 2014, with a particular interest in the transformative effects of war, e.g. in the new elites and political alliances that emerged from the war in Donbas and are currently leading the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Check out his website: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/tarasfedirko/

    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on April 15, 2024 at the William C. Powers Student Activity Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!

    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Assistant EP/Host: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar
    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Assistant Producer: Basil Fedun
    Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher
    Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet
    Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce
    SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish
    Audio Editor I: Ben Geraci

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Audiorezout, Beat Mekanik, Alex Productions, Ketsa

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.

    Special Guest: Taras Fedirko.

    58 min
  • Through American Eyes: Citizen Diplomacy and the Post-Soviet Market Economy

    On this episode, attorney and business consultant Daniel Satinsky shares about his new book, which tells the story of American participation in the dismantling of the Soviet economy and the creation of the Russian market economy in the 1990s. Creating the Post-Soviet Russian Market Economy: Through American Eyes is based on more than 100 interviews with citizen diplomats, entrepreneurs, bankers, consultants, and aid program administrators active in Russia in those years. The book chronicles the real-life experiences of these Americans as they participated in building new sectors of the post-Soviet Russian economy in finance, investment, stock trading, real estate, restaurants, public relations, law, and media (television, radio, newspapers, and movies) at a time of historically unprecedented collaboration and interaction between Russians and Americans.

    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Daniel Satinsky is an attorney, business consultant, and independent scholar. He first visited the USSR in 1984 and was active in business there and in Russia from 1990 to 2014. He is the co-author of "Hammer and Silicon: The Soviet Diaspora in the U.S. Innovation Economy" (2018). He is also former president of the board of the U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England (1998-2014) and a Davis Center associate. He holds a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and a JD from Northeastern University Law School.

    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on February 16, 2024 via Zoom.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!

    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Host/Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Host/Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce
    Assistant Producer: Basil Fedun
    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar
    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher
    Assistant Producer: Katherine Birch
    Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet
    SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by kaleidoplasm, Holizna, Crowander, Blue Dot Sessions, Ketsa, Eazy)

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.

    Special Guest: Daniel Satinsky.

    52 min
  • Reporting in "Relative Unfreedom": A Conversation with Pjotr Sauer of The Guardian

    On this episode, Pjotr Sauer shares his firsthand experiences and reflections on reporting on Russia both before February 24, 2022 from within the country and then after, reporting from outside of the country. He elaborates on the difficulties for all journalists in navigating the challenges and constraints in Russia and expands on the plight of his friend and colleague Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street journalist who has been officially imprisoned by Russian authorities for one year as of March 29, 2024. Thank you for listening!


    ABOUT THE GUEST
    Pjotr Sauer is a Russia affairs correspondent for the Guardian. His work can also be found in The Moscow Times, The Telegraph and Het Parool. He has been a guest on the BBC, NOS, Al Jazeera, among other outlets. He is on Twitter @pjotrsauer.

    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 09, 2023 via Zoom.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!


    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Guest Host/Producer: Anton Shingarev
    Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar
    Assistant Producer: Basil Fedun
    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Production Assistant: Faith VanVleet
    Production Assistant: Eliza Fisher
    Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce
    SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Charlie Harper, Damiano Baldoni, Alex Productions

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.

    Special Guest: Pjotr Sauer.

    31 min
  • Haunted Empire: Power, Trauma, & the Uncanny in Russian Imperial Gothic Literature

    On this episode, Valeria Sobol of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaigne talks with us about her 2000 book "Haunted Empire." Dr. Sobol guides us through the tapestries of Imperial Russia, where crumbling estates and eerie figures cast long shadows over the pages of history. Drawing on her meticulous research and profound insights, she unveils the intricate interplay between Gothic motifs and the imperial legacy, offering a captivating exploration of power, trauma, and the uncanny in Russian literature.

    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Valeria Sobol is Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of Febris Erotica and a coeditor of Interpreting Emotions in Russia and Eastern Europe. Check out her book Haunted Empire on the Cornell Press website: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501770104/haunted-empire/#bookTabs=2.

    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 15, 2023 via Zoom.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!

    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Host/Assistant Producer: Eliza Fisher
    Host/Editorial Director: Sam Parrish
    Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar
    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Assistant Producer/Videographer: Basil Fedun
    Social Media Manager: Faith VanVleet
    Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce

    Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Audiorezout, Beat Mekanik, Damiano Baldoni, Alex Productions)

    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.

    Special Guest: Valeria Sobol.

    48 min
  • Ukraine and the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections with Terrell Jermaine Starr

    On this episode, independent journalist Terrell Jermaine Starr shares his experiences covering Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022 and explaining to Americans the importance of the nation for global security, democracy, and humanity broadly. "We all need to be invested in each other's safety and security... Ukraine is the exact place I feel that I need to be to tell the story of how we can be better human beings to one another, and that's what my journalism is about."

    The #Connexions Experts speaker series is dedicated to providing accessible and engaging discussions for a general audience on critical issues pertaining to media, technology, and information globally.

    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Detroit native Terrell Jermaine Starr is an independent American journalist widely known for his coverage of the current Russian invasion of Ukraine. He is the founder and host of Black Diplomats, a weekly podcast reporting on foreign affairs and Eastern European politics. A former Fulbright grantee, Terrell is currently a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center. Conversant in Russian, Ukrainian, and Georgian, he is a recognized authority on Ukraine-U.S. relations, Georgian politics, Central Asia, and American democracy. Visit his website https://terrellstarr.com/ and follow him on Twitter @terrelljstarr.

    PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on March 6, 2024 at The University of Texas at Austin.

    If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch!

    PRODUCTION CREDITS

    Assistant EP: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy)
    Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana)
    Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar
    Assistant Producer: Basil Fedun
    Assistant Producer: Taylor Helmcamp
    Production Assistant: Faith VanVleet
    Production Assistant: Eliza Fisher
    Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce
    SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish
    Main Theme by Charlie Harper
    Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com

    DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin.

    35 min

About The Slavic Connexion

From the publisher's feed

An international chat show on the politics, history, current events, and peoples of the Slavic world, sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin's Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian…