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Our Annual Conference 2026 “Spatial Turns in Ukrainian Studies”

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Our Annual Conference “Spatial Turns in Ukrainian Studies” on 21-22 September 2026 in Regensburg brought together over 30 participants from Ukraine, Germany, Canada, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. It provided an important platform for international exchange on the current state and future of Ukrainian studies.

Participants and organizing team of the Annual Conference 2026 “Spatial Turns in Ukrainian Studies”

The conference had two main goals: critical reflection on Ukrainian studies and knowledge production during wartime, and discussion of politically and scientifically relevant trends and topics related to Ukraine.

From left to right: Udo Hebel (President of the University of Regensburg); Nataliia Chernopashchenko (Embassy of Ukraine in Germany); Guido Hausmann (Denkraum Ukraine; IOS Regensburg, Germany); Mirja Lecke (Denkraum Ukraine; University of Regensburg, Germany)
Roundtable discussion “Ukrainian Studies in International Dialogue”. From left to right: Mirja Lecke (Denkraum Ukraine; University of Regensburg, Germany), Susann Worschech (European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder); KIU Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Frankfurt (Oder) – Berlin, Germany), Olena Palko (URIS Basel, Switzerland), Natalia Khanenko-Friesen (CIUS Edmonton, University of Alberta, Canada), Martin Paulsen (University of Bergen and Ukrainett, Norway), Guido Hausmann (Denkraum Ukraine; IOS Regensburg, Germany)

The important issue of international networks in the sphere of Ukrainian studies was addressed during the roundtable discussion “Ukrainian Studies in International Dialogue” featuring  Mirja Lecke (Denkraum Ukraine; University of Regensburg, Germany), Guido Hausmann (Denkraum Ukraine; IOS Regensburg, Germany), Natalia Khanenko-Friesen (CIUS Edmonton, University of Alberta, Canada), Olena Palko (URIS Basel, Switzerland), Susann Worschech (European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder); KIU Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Frankfurt (Oder) – Berlin, Germany) and Martin Paulsen (University of Bergen and Ukrainett, Norway). The participants considered how Ukraine centers and academic networks can support research and cooperation during wartime, despite challenges in securing institutional funding.

Roundtable discussion “Knowledge Transfer about Ukraine: Successes and Failures”. From left to right: Oksana Ovsiiuk (Ukraina Moderna, Ukraine), Claudia Dathe (European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany), Franziska Davies (Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam, Germany)

During the roundtable discussion “Knowledge Transfer about Ukraine: Successes and Failures”, Oleksandr Zabirko (Denkraum Ukraine; University of Regensburg, Germany), Claudia Dathe (European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany), Oksana Ovsiiuk (Ukraina Moderna, Ukraine) and Franziska Davies (Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam, Germany) examined the issue of transfer and dissemination of knowledge about Ukraine, highlighting both successful approaches and its challenges.

Other panels of the conference focused on knowledge production about Ukraine, presenting new research and developments in the field. Topics included intellectual biographies in Ukrainian studies, Black Sea and Carpathian regional studies, war and knowledge production, and minority studies.

Panel “The Construction of a Field: Intellectual Biographies in Ukrainian Studies”. From left to right: Olga Zaitseva-Herz (Fellow of Denkraum Ukraine), Oksana Yurkova (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine), Gennadii Korolov (Mieroszewski Centre, Poland)
Panel “The Construction of a Field: Intellectual Biographies in Ukrainian Studies”. From left to right: Polina Barvinska (South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky, Ukraine; University of Regensburg, Germany), Alessandro Achilli (University of Cagliari, Italy)
Panel “War and Knowledge Production on Ukraine”. From left to right: Andreas Umland (European Policy Institute Kyiv, Ukraine; Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Sweden), Ulf Brunnbauer (Denkraum Ukraine; IOS Regensburg, Germany), Natalia Khanenko-Friesen (CIUS University of Alberta, Canada)
Panel “War and Knowledge Production on Ukraine”. From left to right: Yuliya Yurchuk (Södertörn University, Sweden), Olena Romanova (West University of Timisoara, Romania), Valeriya Korablyova (Charles University, Czech Republic)
Panel “Regions in Conflict and Entanglement: Carpathian-Ukraine, Hungary and Ukraine”. From left to right: Dmytro Tuzhansky (Embassy of Ukraine in Hungary), Csilla Fedinec (Centre for Social Sciences, Hungary), Myroslava Lendel (National University of Uzhhorod, Ukraine)
Panel “Conflict and Regional Entanglement in Black Sea Studies“. From left to right: Oleksandr Fisun (Fellow of Denkraum Ukraine; V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine), Stefan Rohdewald (University of Leipzig, Germany), Mihai Sebe (European Institute of Romania; University of Bucharest, Romania)
Panel “The Future of Minority Studies“. From left to right: Yevhenii Tkachenko (Yaroslav Mudriy National Law University, Ukraine), Elmira Ablyalimova-Chyigoz (Fellow of Denkraum Ukraine; Borys Hrinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, Ukraine), Olena Palko (URIS Basel, Switzerland), Kateryna Chuyeva (Fellow of Denkraum Ukraine), Guido Hausmann (Denkraum Ukraine; IOS Regensburg, Germany)

We are thankful to all our speakers for their insightful contributions, exciting inputs, and active participation in the discussions. 

The full program of the conference is available under the link.

The conference was organized by “Denkraum Ukraine” / “Think Space Ukraine” at the University of Regensburg, financed by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) through the funds from the Federal Foreign Office (AA), and Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS).