Studia Generalia: War as identity-making process – evidence from the arts
Ukrainian sociologist Oleksandra Nenko gives a lecture on how artists can depict reality anew and support the identity-making process for those who suffer from the crisis.
The context of war creates a limit situation when people are collectively facing existential trauma. Although the situation is difficult, psychological and emotional resources appear that can empower people, in particular, by finding new ways of communicating, bonding, and relating. There is a shared scholarly understanding that the arts are the frontier of meaning-making and emotional reflection in the situation when former discursive waymarks are lost, value systems are broken and former identities undergo crisis. Led by their “intuitive cognition” artists are depicting reality anew and support the identity-making process for those who suffer crises. New heroes and symbols are illustrated, basic concepts, such as “home”, “border”, “life”, “death”, “humanity”, “love”, “good”, “evil”, are rethought, new binary oppositions are enforced as well as new ethical dilemmas are addressed. In her talk, Oleksandra Nenko addresses these conceptual questions as well as gives evidence from her research concerning artists who have a clear anti-war position and vision.
About the speaker
Oleksandra Nenko holds a PhD in Sociology from Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, is currently visiting researcher at CERADA in Uniarts Helsinki. Oleksandra has served as associate professor teaching applied research of urban social life, public spaces analysis, and participatory design at the Institute for Design and Urban Studies, ITMO University, and is head of nomadic international Quality of Urban Life Laboratory. She coordinates the “Creativity, Communities and Public Spaces” research area at the Center for German and European Studies, St. Petersburg State University – Bielefeld University. In 2015–2018 Oleksandra curated ARTS4CITY – an international multidisciplinary project aimed at developing urban culture, localized in St. Petersburg. She authors over 30 publications on the topics of urban cultural and artistic initiatives and creative industries, subjective perception of urban space and subjective quality of urban life, participatory, and emotional mapping.
Signing up
Please register, if you wish to follow the lecture online on Zoom. All registered online participants will receive the zoom link on the 21st of September. Please note that you do not have to register for the event, if you join the lecture on-site at the Theatre Academy Auditorium 1.
The context of war creates a limit situation when people are collectively facing existential trauma. Although the situation is difficult, psychological and emotional resources appear that can empower people, in particular, by finding new ways of communicating, bonding, and relating. There is a shared scholarly understanding that the arts are the frontier of meaning-making and emotional reflection in the situation when former discursive waymarks are lost, value systems are broken and former identities undergo crisis. Led by their “intuitive cognition” artists are depicting reality anew and support the identity-making process for those who suffer crises. New heroes and symbols are illustrated, basic concepts, such as “home”, “border”, “life”, “death”, “humanity”, “love”, “good”, “evil”, are rethought, new binary oppositions are enforced as well as new ethical dilemmas are addressed. In her talk, Oleksandra Nenko addresses these conceptual questions as well as gives evidence from her research concerning artists who have a clear anti-war position and vision.
About the speaker
Oleksandra Nenko holds a PhD in Sociology from Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University, is currently visiting researcher at CERADA in Uniarts Helsinki. Oleksandra has served as associate professor teaching applied research of urban social life, public spaces analysis, and participatory design at the Institute for Design and Urban Studies, ITMO University, and is head of nomadic international Quality of Urban Life Laboratory. She coordinates the “Creativity, Communities and Public Spaces” research area at the Center for German and European Studies, St. Petersburg State University – Bielefeld University. In 2015–2018 Oleksandra curated ARTS4CITY – an international multidisciplinary project aimed at developing urban culture, localized in St. Petersburg. She authors over 30 publications on the topics of urban cultural and artistic initiatives and creative industries, subjective perception of urban space and subjective quality of urban life, participatory, and emotional mapping.
Signing up
Please register, if you wish to follow the lecture online on Zoom. All registered online participants will receive the zoom link on the 21st of September. Please note that you do not have to register for the event, if you join the lecture on-site at the Theatre Academy Auditorium 1.