Teach-in: Understanding the War in Ukraine

On February 24, Russian troops invaded neighboring Ukraine. A week later, more than a million people had already fled Ukraine, becoming refugees. Russian president Vladimir Putin has engaged his country’s nuclear arsenal, raising the specter of global nuclear war–a prospect unseen in decades. In the social media age, images of the violence, racism, death, and destruction are being broadcast instantaneously, while disinformation and censorship pervade as well.  To help the NIU community better understand the situation, this teach-in will explore the following questions:

• Why did Russia invade Ukraine? And why now?
• What are the humanitarian stakes in this crisis? What are the principled responses from the world community?
• What are the geopolitical stakes in the conflict? What should the U.S. and allies do in response?
• What can we as individual people do? Where do we go for accurate information and analysis? 

Panelists

Andy Bruno (History and ENVS)
Laura Heideman (Sociology and NNGO)
Joanna Kot (World Languages and Cultures
Alex Sosenko (History)
Ches Thurber (Political Science)
Anna Zapolska (Political Science)
 

Moderated by Mark Schuller (Anthropology and NNGO)