Member of the Month: Christine Emeran

September 29, 2020

Name: Christine Emeran

Hometown:  St. Louis, MO

Current Position: International Programs Officer, American Council of Learned Societies

Professional Interests: Democracy, civil society development, global social movements, Ukraine/Europe/US

 

Why did you decide to join the Shevchenko Scientific Society?

I was invited to join the Society by a member, Myron Stachiw. He was the former director of the Fulbright Ukraine program when I first made his acquaintance. We have maintained contact and I kept him informed of my professional trajectory since I completed my fieldwork and published its results.

What do you value about membership in the Society? What is your most memorable Society’s event or publication? 

I value the intellectual exchanges and rich contributions of each member deeply involved in Ukrainian culture, history from past to present. One memorable event was to attend a book presentation on feminism authored by Tamara Martsenyuk.  I met her as a graduate student at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and she was invaluable as support for my research and meeting students. It was emotional to see her again nearly 10 years later and to celebrate her accomplishments as a PhD and scholar.

How did your interest in Ukrainian culture and society influence your career path?

It has allowed me to engage in global studies on transnational social movements, including the U.S. and Europe. This perspective grew from my research on the transnational activism present in my studies of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. This research on Ukraine also provided a basis for me to continue to analyze what happens when social movement actors form political parties, which informed research that I conducted on Spain’s Podemos years later. Additionally, Ukraine’s creative strategies of protest was analyzed with anti-globalization movement tactics as an example of the transnational knowledge sharing that takes place in movement making.

What is your current research/work project?

I am working on a democracy project on Ukraine. I have conducted exploratory qualitative research from activists that participated in the Euromaidan protests of dignity in 2014. I am currently analyzing the preliminary responses to publish and pursue collaborations with other researcher to conduct a more comprehensive study.

Additionally, I am studying the 2011 events and their effects 10 years later. I am also working on an article on the Open America protest.

What career advice would you give for new members of the Shevchenko Scientific Society?

A career path is not always direct. There will be detours that will allow you to take another approach and reflect on other aspects, which will enable you to enrich your thinking when once again you return to your original research. My view has expanded greatly from these intellectual exchanges in university communities when living abroad in Ukraine and France/Europe. New ideas and social connections with scholars have been strengthened over time and serve to enrich my thinking and pursuit of knowledge, which includes Ukraine/social movements.