28th Annual Undergraduate Colloquium on Russian and Eurasian Studies

mountains of slovakia
Scott Robert/Natural World Slovakia
–
Conference
Series
Special event
Event Format
In person
Address
S020 Belfer Case Study Room, CGIS South, 1730 Cambridge Street
Register

The Davis Center has hosted the annual Undergraduate Colloquium on Russian and Eurasian Studies since 1996, when Kathryn W. Davis first committed her support to showcase work in the field by students from Harvard, Wellesley, and Wheaton colleges. Undergraduate speakers will present their research findings and engage in lively Q&A sessions with an audience of fellow students, faculty, family, and friends. We invite you to join us in celebrating undergraduate research and engagement in the region. 

UPDATE: Congratulations to Sofia Melnychuck of Harvard College (’26) on winning this year’s Davis Memorial Prize for Undergraduate Research! 

Opening Remarks: 1:00-1:15 p.m.

Panel I: 1:15-2:45 p.m.

Chair: Thomas F. Remington, Visiting Professor of Government, Harvard University

Eytan Goldstein, Harvard College (2025): "A Contested Past for a Common Future: Moldova, Ukraine, and the Legacy of Empire"
Kaela Ellis, Harvard College (2024): "Democracy and De Facto States"
Tessa Conrardy, Harvard College (2024): "From 'Independent' to 'Opposition': Russia’s War in Ukraine and Role Discourse Among Russian Journalists in Exile" 
Maia Hollins-Kirk, Harvard College (2024): "Is Blue-Yellow Washing the New Greenwashing? Understanding US Corporate Reactions to International Conflict: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and Forced Uyghur Labor in Xinjiang China"
Nini Sikharulidze, Harvard College (2025): "Escalating Humanitarian Crisis: Russian 'Creeping Occupation' and Kidnapping of Georgian Citizens at the Annexation Borders"
Julia Gavel, Harvard College (2024), "Mortality in the Former Soviet Union Between 2000 and 2019"

Panel II: 3:00-4:00 p.m.

Chair: Thomas P. Hodge, Professor of Russian, Wellesley College

Annie Mulvaney and Will Witherspoon, Wheaton College (2026): "Counterintuitive Imagery in Russian Film and Folklore”
Marty Martinage, Wellesley College (2024): "Reading Lolita at Beardsley College" 
Elizabeth Ray, Wellesley College (2024): "Better Left Unspoken: Silence in 'Mumu' and the Novels of Ivan Turgenev" 
Eneda Kulla, Harvard College (2023): "Memories and Legend-Building of Vladimír Boudník in Bohumil Hrabal’s The Gentle Barbarian”

Panel III: 4:15-5:30 p.m.

Chair: Tom Dolack, Senior Professor of the Practice of Russian, Wheaton College

Ričards Umbraško, Harvard College (2025): "Dis(b)ordered Lives: Time, History, and Identity in the Baltic Borderlands."
Sofia Melnychuck, Harvard College (2026): "Voices That Shape Lithuanian Nationality: Quantifying Rhetorical Choices in Songs of the Lithuanian Song Festivals"
Sam Trottier, Harvard College (2024): "Prague's Jižní Město: The Manufacture and Life of the Socialist Club"
Sophia Charles, Harvard College (2024): "En Route: Russian Diasporas in the 1940s-1950s Northern China"
Adrian Dietrich Hallak, Wheaton College (2024): "Challenges of Learning Russian and Other Slavic Languages"
 

Field
International Relations
Location
Baltic States
Central Asia
Czech Republic
Eastern Europe
Former Soviet Union
Russian Federation
Ukraine
Time Period
20th century
Present Day

Accessibility

The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact us at 617-495-4037 or daviscenter@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance if possible. Please note that the Davis Center will make every effort to secure services but that services are subject to availability.