The Hal Smith Lecture Series of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding
Featuring Sarah A. Topol of the New York Times Magazine, political scientist Maria Repnikova, and cultural analyst Sasha Razor
Moderated by freelance writer Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow
What are the most important things to keep in mind when trying to understand women's experiences during the wars that affected Eastern Europe in the past and the fighting that is going on there now? Are there special ways that women engage with memories of wartime and distinctive things about the roles they play in struggles for peace? These are the kind of issues that the panelists will discuss, drawing on a range of different sorts of expertise and types of engagements with the countries of the region.
Sarah A. Topol is a journalist whose writings have dealt with many parts of the world, including Eastern European countries such as Georgia and Belarus. Her prize-winning long form piece on the experiences of a Russian deserter and his wife, to which the New York Times Magazine devoted an entire issue, was published in 2024.
Maria Repnikova is an Associate Professor in Global Communication at Georgia State University. Originally from Latvia, she has published widely on Russian and Chinese media, and her public-facing essay include a Dissent Magazine article on her dialogue with her grandmother on Russia’s engagement in wars.
Sasha Razor holds a PhD from UCLA and teaches at UC Santa Barbara. She has written on many issues associated with women's experiences in her native Belarus and she has published in periodicals such as the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow is a Board Member of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding. She has written about many topics, including issues associated with gender. Her work has appeared in magazines such as The New Yorker, and she is the author of a recent book on environmental issues.
This panel is sponsored by the UCI Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, cosponsored by UCI Illuminations, the History Department & the Forum for the Academy and the Public.