On February 24, 2022, drawing upon a variety of demonstrably false historical analogies, Vladimir Putin ordered a mass invasion of Ukraine, extending a war that had been ongoing since 2014. Ukrainians have suffered horrific crimes at the hands of the Russian invader, but Ukraine has inspired the world through its remarkable resistance and resilience.

How can an understanding of history help us make sense of this earthshaking event? When we try to understand the present, we always call upon our knowledge of the past in a variety of ways—through a search for origins, through historical causal explanation, through historical analogy and through an exploration of the politicized use and misuse of history by contemporary political and cultural figures. Often we only implicitly draw upon history to understand the present, but how do we explicitly build our base of historical knowledge and use it to understand current events?

In this 12-part speaker series, a dozen professional historians will present the results of their career-long research and explicitly address the question of how they use their knowledge of history to make sense of the war. For details on the full series, visit https://rest.gmu.edu/russia-war-on-ukraine.

Cosponsored by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University (OLLI Mason). 

About OLLI Mason

In celebration of George Mason University’s 50th anniversary, OLLI Mason is pleased to collaborate with George Mason University’s Program in Russian and Eurasian Studies to provide the interactive course Russia’s War on Ukraine in Historical Perspective.

OLLI Mason provides intellectual and cultural experiences to curious individuals. Learn more at OLLI.gmu.edu.

Invite

This program is appropriate for ages 18+. Register at https://rest.gmu.edu/russia-war-on-ukraine. An individualized zoom link will be sent to you. 

YouTube channel where all Speaker Series Events will be simulcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQQWW747jYQpIY30_Fm29xg.