SIUE Professor Honored by Ukrainian Government

SIUE Professor Honored by Ukrainian Government

August 14, 2024, 4:15 PM

The Ukrainian government recognized Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Sophia Wilson, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Political Science, at an academic diplomacy event titled "The U.S.-Ukraine Partnership in Education: Stronger Together," held in the District of Columbia on July 10, during the NATO summit.

Wilson was honored, "for leadership in the study and research of Ukrainian Studies in the United States of America," and was presented an award signed by Ukraine's Minister of Education and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The event, held at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, was organized by the Office of H.E. Oksana Markarova, Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA. The program included presentations from the First Lady of Ukraine Mrs. Olena Zelenska, senior representatives of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, the President of the U.S. Academy of Sciences Dr. Marcia McNutt, and U.S. and Ukrainian academics.

Wilson took time to answer a few questions about the experience.

Congratulations on this honor, Dr. Wilson. Please tell us how you heard the news and what it meant to you.

It was a complete surprise! I was truly honored to be invited to such an outstanding event and was very excited to hear from the First Lady of Ukraine, Mrs. Olena Zelenska. Receiving an award alongside other scholars who study Ukraine, and whom I deeply respect, was very humbling. Being a scholar of Ukraine in a time of war, when the country is under attack, has been an uncanny experience: learning daily of bombing, destruction, massacres and other war crimes committed by Russian forces is heart-wrenching, but this deep sadness is always eclipsed by the need to inform others about the war, and teach about Ukraine.

What part of your work led to this award?

For several years I've studied the democratic (Maidan) revolution that took place in Ukraine in 2013-14. More recently, I've focused on Russian genocidal propaganda and the war crimes committed by Russian forces, and organizing and participating in a number of academic panels on the topic. As president of the American Association for Ukrainian Studies, I help organize national committees whose work is to analyze and select awards for the best book, article, graduate paper in Ukrainian studies and translation monograph from Ukrainian language. I also lead other initiatives to help promote scholarship on Ukraine, and help emerging scholars and those displaced by the war, to navigate the world of academia.

Please tell us about your history. Did you live in Ukraine? If so, how did you arrive in the United States?

I grew up in the beautiful Ukrainian town of Uzhhorod - surrounded by old castles and the stunning Carpathian Mountains. I immigrated to the U.S. in the 1990s, heading to Utah State University for my BA and MA degrees, and then earning a PhD at the University of Washington.

What is the state of Ukrainian studies when it comes to the curriculum in the educational system in the United States? How far have we come and how far do we have left to go?

Unfortunately, Ukrainian studies are underdeveloped in the U.S. For example, very few students who enter my classroom have ever heard of Holodomor: the Stalin-orchestrated famine to crush anti-Soviet resistance in Ukraine, which led to at least 4 million people starving to death in the 1930s - these events are not taught in high schools. Oddly, even during the Cold War the account of Ukraine's history was dictated by Russia's imperialistic narrative - from the misleading story of Kyivan Rus, to World War II, to Soviet totalitarianism. Most people in the U.S. are unaware, for example, that over six million Ukrainians fought against the Nazis - the victories in the Eastern front are unfairly attributed to the 'Russians' (the interchangeable use of terms Soviet and Russian in the West aided the Russian narrative). There is a long road ahead of us for many of the vital facts in Ukraine's history to become a more common knowledge, and the contribution of Ukrainian culture to become more acknowledged.

Incorporating more Ukrainian studies in the curriculum is a passion of yours. How has SIUE supported your goals?

Teaching SIUE students has been a blast! The University is supportive of faculty to develop new courses and adjust curriculum to incorporate current world events. I've been teaching a course on Eastern European politics for years, but was also able to offer several times an Honors course on Ukraine - where we discuss the country's history and society from the perspective of multiple disciplines. I also incorporate the study of war crimes and genocide in my Law and Society courses, and violence against women in my Women and Global Politics course (incorporating the new data on Russian atrocities as one of the case studies).

PHOTOS: Sophia Wilson, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Political Science; Wilson honored at "The U.S.-Ukraine Partnership in Education: Stronger Together" in Washington