UMass Amherst to Present Online Discussion ‘War in Ukraine: Placing the Conflict in Context’

The University of Massachusetts Amherst will present “War in Ukraine: Placing the Conflict in Context,” a public online discussion between various members of the university faculty, Thursday, March 3, at 11:30 a.m.

Moderated by R. Karl Rethemeyer, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the 90-minuteconversation will feature Audrey Altstadt, professor of history, Ina Ganguli, associate professor of economics, Julie Hemment, chair and professor of anthropology, Lauren McCarthy, associate professor of political science and director of legal studies and Paul Musgrave, assistant professor of political science. The panelists will share their perspectives on the evolving situation in Ukraine and answer questions from the audience.

Alstedt’s research areas focus on Soviet history, Soviet nationalities – especially Azerbaijan – and Central Asia.

Ganguli, the associate director of the UMass Computational Social Science Institute, studies labor economics, the economics of science and innovation, international development and economic history. A faculty associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Laboratory for Innovation Science (LISH) at Harvard University, she is a 2018 recipient of the Russian National Prize in Applied Economics, awarded biennially to recognize published research on the Russian economy.

Hemment is an ethnographer who works in post-socialist Russia and is author of the books “Empowering Women in Russia: Aid, NGOs and Activism” and “Youth Politics in Putin’s Russia: Producing Patriots and Entrepreneurs.”

McCarthy’s research focuses on the relationship between law and society in Russia, police and law enforcement institutions, civilian oversight and the issue of human trafficking. She is the author of the book, “Trafficking Justice: How Russian Police Use New Laws, from Crime to Courtroom.”

Musgrave, who is jointly appointed to the UMass Amherst Commonwealth Honors College, studies U.S. foreign policy, international relations theory and how oil revenues change political institutions.

The discussion is co-sponsored by the UMass Amherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, and the Russian, Eurasian and Polish studies program.

Registration for the event, which is free, can be completed via the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences website.