We invite you to participate in the Fourth International Research Conference, “War, Science, and Emotions: Temporal Perspectives of Oral History Sources,” which will take place on February 20–21, 2026, in Chernihiv, in a hybrid format.
The conference aims to provide a platform for interdisciplinary discussion on the collection, preservation, interpretation, and scholarly use of oral history sources in periods of profound social crisis, including wars, genocides, mass repression, and forced migration. Particular attention will be paid to the temporal dimensions of oral history, specifically how emotional emphases, narrative strategies, modes of expression, and interpretive frameworks of oral testimonies evolve over time.
Discussions will focus on experiences of documenting and interpreting oral history sources related to the Holodomor of 1932–1933, World War II, post-war traumatic events, as well as contemporary oral narratives of the Russian–Ukrainian war. A comparative analysis of Ukrainian and international experiences will help identify shared challenges and differences in working with oral history sources and memories of crisis periods, as well as reveal universal and local models for studying everyday life during wartime in the context of an ongoing historical event.
The conference welcomes historians, ethnologists, anthropologists, sociologists, cultural studies scholars, folklorists, psychologists, archivists, museum professionals, memory studies researchers, and all others engaged in working with oral history materials related to wars and other historical crises.
The main topics of the conference include:
The conference’s working languages are Ukrainian and English.
A scientific collection based on the conference results is planned. Recommendations for publication formats will be sent in the next informational message.
The deadline for conference applications is February 10, 2026.
We invite you to join the discussion of current issues by completing the online application form: https://forms.gle/oZo1fbS9QuQns4p2A
Contact Information
📧 warc.ua@gmail.com (Chernihiv Research Center for the Anthropology of War)
📞 +380 66 724 54 23 — Svitlana Makhovska (Event Coordinator)
We look forward to your participation and to a productive professional dialogue.
Organizers
Chernihiv City Council
Department of Culture and Tourism of Chernihiv City Council
Chernihiv Research Center for the Anthropology of War
Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Ukrainian Oral History Association
“Northern Cultural Capital” NGO
Documenting Ukraine Project
Institute for Human Sciences