Upcoming Programs
Unissued Diplomas Exhibit
February 24, 2024
This exhibition was created to remind the world about the ongoing war and the price Ukrainians pay daily in their fight for freedom. Unissued Diplomas honors the memory of Ukrainian students who will never graduate because their lives were taken by the Russian invasion.
The Unissued Diplomas exhibition uncovers the stories of 40 Ukrainian students killed in the war. In 2024, it will be held in different institutions worldwide on February 24, which marks the anniversary of the day all Ukraine woke up from explosions.
The Impact of Taiwan's Election in 2024 and Beyond
February 26, 2024
Join the Public Policy Initiative and the Behrend Political Society for a discussion with Dr. Maggie Shum, assistant professor of Political Science, about the impact of Taiwan's election in 2024 and beyond. The event is on Monday, February 26, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Metzgar Lobby.
Previous Programs
20 Days in Mariupol Film Showing
February 20, 2024
A showing of the film 20 Days in Mariupol film was held on campus. This Oscar-nominated documentary by Pulitzer Prize-Winning Ukrainian Journalist Mstyslav Chernov starts at the beginning of the Russian invasion, where a team of Ukrainian journalists who are trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggles to continue their work in documenting the war's atrocities.
Countering Disinformation Through Public Pedagogy
with Dr. David Kahl Jr.
November 8, 2023
Throughout history, people have been persuaded by false messages that communicate ideas that run counter to factual information. Today, those messages are promulgated by powerful groups in society who benefit from their widespread belief. Accordingly, people increasingly fall victim to these messages and adopt post-truth ideologies, privileging belief over fact.
Pedagogies of Post-Truth, the new book Dr. David H. Kahl Jr. edited with Ahmet Atay, an associate professor of communication at the College of Wooster, examines this communicative phenomenon and demonstrates how pedagogy can work to reduce the abundance and effects of post-truth messages. The book shows how a critical communication pedagogy (CCP) perspective can be used to engage in examination and dialogue to recognize and respond to post-truth messages to move toward change.
Moderated by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Chornobyl Nuclear Catastrophe in Ukrainian Art
October 12, 2023
Oksana Semenik, an art historian, journalist, researcher, and creator of the Twitter account Ukrainian Art History, discussed Chornobyl and the Nuclear Catastrophe in Ukrainian Art.
Her texts about Ukrainian contemporary art were published in Ukrainian media, such as Ukrainian Pravda, Lb.ua, Local History, Your Art, Korydor, Vogue Ukraine, Magazyn RTV (Poland), etc.
In 2022, she worked as an assistant curator and researcher at the Zimmerli Museum. Her main research topic was the decolonization of Ukrainian art in the museum collection. She studied art history at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv University and Rutgers (NJ). Her thesis topic is the Image of the Chornobyl catastrophe in Ukrainian art.
Semenik is now working as an independent art historian, writing books about Ukrainian art, and working on a radio program about Ukrainian art history on Radio Culture (a national broadcast company). She is a Fellow scholar at the University of Toronto (Petro-Jacyk Non-Residential Fellowship).
Moderated by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Decolonization of Ukraine, What Does That Mean?
Discussion with Mariam Naiem
September 14, 2023
Mariam Naiem, a Ukrainian of Afghan origin, is an activist and public intellectual who speaks out about the Russian war in Ukraine. She aims to bring an understanding of the colonial and racial aspects and practices of Russian culture concerning Ukraine and other peoples colonized by Russia.
Moderated by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Russia's War on Ukraine, Why U.S. Support is Needed and Warranted
April 5, 2023
Associate Professor Volodymyr Dubovyk from Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University (scholar, security expert, and transatlantic relations specialist) offered insights into the strategic reasons for the U.S. continued support of Ukraine in its fight against the Russian illegal invasion.
Hosted by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
A Conversation with Ukrainian Parliament Member Oleksiy Goncharenko
February 27, 2023
A conversation with Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament. Goncharenko is also a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Vice President of the PACE Committee on Immigration, Refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons.
Moderated by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Russian War in Ukraine and Global Food Crisis
October 24, 2022
A conversation with Dr. Oleg Nivievskyi, an assistant professor and vice-president for economic education at Kyiv School of Economics, Center for Food and Land Use Research.
Hosted by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Digital Archiving of the Russian War in Ukraine
October 20, 2022
A conversation with Dr. Steven Seegel, professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, in residence at the UT Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (UT CREEES). Founder of the "February 24th Archive."
Hosted by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Russian War in Ukraine, Territorial Defense:
The Civilian Army
October 7, 2022
A conversation with Dr. Oleksandr Lukyanenko, associate professor and chair of culture studies at Korolenko Pedagogical University of Poltava and, since February 24, coordinator of the city's territorial defense unit.
Hosted by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Discussion with the Faculty of the Kyiv School of Economics
March 24, 2022
A discussion with world-class scholars who continue to work in the Ukrainian capital under Russian fire. The program included:
- Tymofiy Mylovanov, a president of the Kyiv School of Economics and an adviser to Ukraine's presidential administration
- Tymofii Brik, the head of sociological research at the Kyiv School of Economics
- Anna Bulakh, an expert on international security and technology and a member of the Hybrid Warfare Task Force in Kyiv
- Oleg Nivievskyi, a coordinator of the UaFoodTrade research project, a partnership with the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies
Hosted by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Russian War in Ukraine: A Public Teach-In
March 16, 2022
A public
- Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend - Volodymyr Dubovyk, Ph.D.
Mechnikov National University, Odesa, Ukraine
Putin's War in Ukraine: A Public Teach-In
March 2, 2022
A public
- Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend - Nataliia Kasianenko, Ph.D.
University of California at Fresno
What can you do?
Visit this list of resources from RazomForUkraine.org
NATO in Ukraine
February 17, 2022
A discussion by NATO experts:
- Mark Webber, Ph.D.
University of Birmingham, U.K. - Pierre Lépine, CD, Ph.D.
Royal Military College of Canada - R. James Orr III, J.D., LL.M.
National War College
Moderated by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend
Ukraine in the Spotlight
February 9, 2022
A discussion by Ukrainian experts:
- Elena Besedina, Ph.D.
Kyiv School of Economics - Olena Lennon, Ph.D.
University of New Haven - Nataliia Kasianenko, Ph.D.
California State University at Fresno
Moderated by:
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D.
Penn State Behrend