“Ukraine and Russia: Writing History in the Time of War”

Is it a legitimate undertaking for a historian to write history as it unfolds? What are the challenges, advantages, and disadvantages of such an undertaking? What opportunities might this create or hinder for the work and international collaboration of historians? Penn historian and 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Benjamin Nathans will explore the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian war on academia, the field of European Studies in particular, with Harvard Professor of Ukrainian History Serhii Plokhy. They’ll discuss Plokhy’s fothcoming publication, a collection of essays and interviews titled David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War, as well as a project launched in Ukraine during the war with his participation, The Ukrainian History: A Global Initiative.