In 2019, a Trilateral Working Group of Ukrainian, Russian and Swiss historians was created in Geneva. The project is coordinated by the University of Geneva and financially supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Its goal is to deepen understanding of the history of Ukraine and Russia. The Trilateral Group offers a platform for joint reflection on the conflicts of memory in Russia and Ukraine that have emerged since the collapse of the USSR in 1991 and have gained momentum after 2014.
One of the aims of the Working Group is to create a platform for joint research projects among young historians from both countries. For this purpose, the Trilateral Working Group is launching a call for applications for Ukrainian-Russian Joint Research Projects of young historians (Master students and PhD candidates in history). The aim of this call is to grant financial and academic support to winning research projects on general topics. To promote joint research, the Trilateral Group will form bilateral research teams of advanced students and young researchers on the basis of individual applications.
Applicants are invited to submit their proposals on one of the following three main topics:
1) Image of the “Other”
The “Other” embodies a set of intertwined cultural, ethnic, gender, social, religious stereotypes created in the 18th and 19th centuries. They have continuously been redrafted and reinvented throughout the “age of extremes” starting with World War I. Intensive instrumental use and misuse of the image of the “Other” have been common to political discourse throughout history and are still conveyed by public figures. The aim of this research topic is to question and deconstruct stereotyped images of the “Other” in Ukraine and Russia. Special attention should be paid to the evolution, throughout history, of the image of the “Other” in the Russian-Ukrainian context, as well as its use in political narratives. The impact of these stereotyped images in different eras should also be investigated as part of this research topic.
2) Migration, mobility, exile
Throughout history Eastern European societies were highly mobile, namely in Russia and Ukraine. The reasons for people to be on the move were manifold: political change, war, national or ethnic conflicts, work migration, poverty, education opportunities or fleeing. Due to modernization, urbanization and industrialisation there was inner migration from the countryside to new factories in urban areas in the 1880s. During the Soviet period, there was forced migration to the Gulag camps and domestic labor migration to new construction sites e.g. in Siberia. Different kinds of migration processes (circular, labor, forced etc.) can also be found nowadays. Migration can be related to ambitions and positive outcomes such as personal and/or host country development. Yet, it can also be perceived as the negative consequence of conflict, violence or the lack of employment. Questions such as legal and political frameworks, individual experience, the impact of mobility on the country or society of departure or arrival, as well as the historicization of mobility in the field of migration theories should be researched and discussed.
3) Historiography and memory politics
The creation of historical narratives and of national historical memory in modern Russia and Ukraine is based on many explicit and implicit assumptions associated with both different assessments of the past and languages to describe it. National historiographies are based on distinct conceptualizations of time and space. Historians deal with a wide range of events, facts, interpretations and explanations of the past. The ways of handling this material, of constructing historical narratives, as well as new historical myths and images depending on changing interests and power structures, are fascinating topics for scientific research. In addition, memory policies should be analysed and compared in the context of contemporary political Russian and Ukrainian culture.
Two workshops of the Trilateral Working Group are planned in Geneva in December 2020 and in June 2021 with Russian, Ukrainian and Swiss historians working on the topics mentioned above.
Financial support
Successful applicants will be awarded a grant of CHF 3’000 for each research team to support their bilateral research project. They will be invited to present the results of their research at the session of the Trilateral Working Group in June 2021 in Geneva.
Selection criteria
Six candidates – i.e. two for each main topic – will be selected by the scientific jury based on individual applications. The Trilateral Working Group will act as the jury and will create three bilateral Ukrainian-Russian teams comprised of one young Russian and Ukrainian historian, meaning one team for each of the main topics mentioned above.
Selection will be based on the following criteria:
- Clearly formulated research project in one of the three main topics (2 pages maximum)
- Innovative approach
- Acceptance to work in a bilateral team
- Work sample (e.g. university paper, article, presentation)
- List of publications (if possible)
- Academic record
In addition to individual applications, candidates can also apply as a team (composed of one Russian and one Ukrainian citizen).
Submission and deadlines
Applications including (1) the research project, (2) CV, (3) motivation letter, (4) a work sample and (5) a list of publications (if possible) must be sent to [email protected] until 25 September 2020.
Applications must be submitted in English.
Eligibility: Russian and Ukrainian Master students and PhD Candidates in history enrolled in an institution of higher education in Ukraine or Russia.
