UOHA Conference
International Conference UOHA-2026
“Testimony Across History”
10-11 August 2026 | Uzhhorod, Ukraine
In 2026, the Ukrainian Oral History Association celebrates the 20th anniversary of its founding. The anniversary conference “Testimony Across History” offers an opportunity to reflect on the accumulated experience of oral history scholarship in Ukraine, to analyze established approaches, critically assess their possibilities and limitations, and to reconsider testimony as a form of historical knowledge within a broader temporal perspective.
Over the past two decades, a professional oral history community has emerged in Ukraine, fostering theoretical debates, developing methodological standards, and advancing diverse practices of working with testimonies. At the same time, research emphases have shifted — from collecting and documenting individual narratives to examining the conditions of their production, the positionality of the researcher, and the interpretation of oral testimonies as historical sources.
The conference invites participants to critically reflect on the trajectory of oral history in Ukraine over these twenty years: what has been achieved, which approaches have proven productive, where limitations have become evident, and how understandings of testimony, the role of the researcher, and the boundaries between event, lived experience, and narrative representation have evolved.
A dedicated thematic block will focus on working with unfinished and conflictual pasts. Experiences of historical rupture — political transformations, violence, crises — intensify questions concerning the limits of testimony, silence, fragmentation, self-censorship, and interpretative responsibility. Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine presents a radically contemporary and profoundly complex case, demanding particular methodological precision, ethical sensitivity, and awareness of the researcher’s responsibility in recording, interpreting, and publicly presenting testimonies.
We invite scholars who work with testimonies and engage with theoretical, methodological, and historical questions of oral history.
Suggested thematic areas:
- Testimony as a historical source and research process
- Event, experience, and narrative in different historical periods
- Researcher positionality and the co-creation of testimony
- Working with unfinished and conflictual pasts
- Silence, fragmentation, and the unspoken in oral history
- Ethical and methodological challenges of oral history
Applications for participation will be accepted until 25 April 2026 (inclusive). To apply, please complete the Google form.
Participants will be selected on a competitive basis. Preference will be given to members of the Ukrainian Oral History Association (become a member). Travel within Ukraine, accommodation, and meals will be covered by the conference organizers.
Working languages: Ukrainian and English.
The International Conference UOHA-2026 “Testimony Across History” is organized in partnership with the Summer Institute WWSI 2026 “Beyond Testimony – Silences, Gaps, and Unspoken Memories” (11–14 August 2026). The two events will include joint sessions.
We look forward to receiving your applications!
For inquiries, please contact: uoha.official@gmail.com
Organizers and Partners
Ukrainian Oral History Association
Ukrainian Institute of National Memory
Uzhhorod National University
With the support of and in cooperation with:
Huculak Chair in Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography
Peter and Doris Kule Centre for Ukrainian and Canadian Folklore
Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
University of Alberta
Organizing Committee
Gelinada Grinchenko
Natalia Khanenko-Friesen
Tetiana Pryvalko
Pavlo Lenyo
Oksana Khomiak
Anna Olenenko
Past Conferences
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♦ Uzhhorod 2025 ♦
♦ Call for Papers ♦ ♦ WWSI Program ♦ |
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♦ Uzhhorod 2024 ♦
♦ Call for Papers ♦ |