Book Launch “The Faraway Sky of Kyiv. Ukrainians in the War” (Lecture by Dr. Olga KHOMENKO)
| Date(s) | Friday, 28 June 2024, 15:30-16:30 |
|---|---|
| Venue |
Zoom Webinar (Register here) |
| Registration | Pre-registration required |
| Language | English |
| Abstract |
On July 25, 2023, Chuo Koron Shinsha published Dr. Komenko’s book, ‘The Faraway Sky of Kyiv. Ukrainians in the War’, offering a unique perspective on the war in Ukraine. This book originated from her experience of the war in Ukraine and stories from family members, friends, and former students. Her motivation to write this book came from being interviewed by Japanese media in early 2022. The questions she was asked lacked general knowledge of Ukrainian history and culture; therefore, she decided not to give any further interviews and to focus on writing in Japanese to provide a voice for Ukrainians instead. For Ukrainians, this war is not only about the current moment that started on February 24 but a point of no return in terms of its shared history with its neighbors. It is a matter of mental separation and reconsidering the 350 years of history since Ukraine’s agreements with Russia in 1654 to become part of the Russian Empire. For the first time, Ukrainians became narrators of their own story and history. The final chapter of this book discusses ideas concerning “peace” and “war” in modern Japan shaped by the Japanese involvement in World War Two and how this historical education has affected the reception of the war in Ukraine in Japan. |
| Program |
Lecture (60 minutes) Olga KHOMENKO (Fellow, Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, Oxford University) |
| Speaker Profile |
Dr. Olga Khomenko holds a PhD in Area Studies, specifically on the history of Japan, from the University of Tokyo (2005), a PhD in world history from the Ukrainian Academy of Science (2013), and an MBA from the Kyiv School of Economics (2017). From 2018 to 2020, she was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Harvard University, USA, at the Ukrainian Research Institute and Davis Center. Her research interests include transnational history, the history of postwar Japan, the history of Japanese business and consumption culture, the history of Ukraine-Japan relations, with a focus on Ukrainians in the Far East and Manchuria under Japanese occupation. Her recent book The Far Eastern Odyssey of Ivan Svit [original Title Далекосхідна одіссея Івана Світа] was published in 2021, by Laurus in Kyiv. As well as her recent Japanese book Ukrainians who crossed the borders [original Title 国境を超えたウクライナ人] was published in February of 2022, by Gunzosha in Tokyo. She is also author of the book of essay called “From Ukraine with love” (original Title「ウクライナから愛を込めて」(2014), as well as co-translator of “Anthology of Modern Ukrainian Literature”(original Title 「現代ウクライナ文学短編集」) into Japanese, both published by Gunzosha in Tokyo. Olga is also serving as a visiting Associate Professor at Faculty of Law, Keio University (Japan), visiting scholar at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan and visiting scholar at the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Vienna, Austria. |
| Organized by | Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo |
| Contact | tokyo.college.event@tc.u-tokyo.ac.jp |
