As an organization that promotes research on gender and marginalized groups in Russia, the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia, AWSS supports work that will create a more equitable and humane world through our scholarship, teaching, service, and ways of life. It is in this spirit that we have issued a series of letters in response to developments in our field and beyond that concern not only the scholars we represent, but also our students, colleagues, and institutions. Around the world, the social conditions for those who identify as women or LGBTQIA are inextricably tied with race, socioeconomic status, and social location. Thus, we have an interest in making a commitment to challenging sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist, classist, and ableist structures that reproduce injustice. On this page you will find our statements on these issues in response to current events or developments in our field.
AWSS Statement in Support of the University of Oregon’s Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Program (REEES)
The Association for Women in Slavic Studies strongly urges the University of Oregon leaders to preserve and support the research and teaching in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. As Russia’s war against Ukraine is well into its fourth year, causing disturbing repercussions throughout Europe and beyond, this is a region of key concern in US matters of biosecurity and political, economic, and cultural conflict. Knowledge of the history, culture, and languages of this region is essential for American students and Oregonians; and the faculty teaching in this field at UO are among the finest in the world. We call on you to reverse your decisions to close the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Program (REEES) and to lay off tenured and career teaching faculty, and instead to fulfill the University of Oregon's mission statement that the University is devoted “to educating the whole person, and to fostering the next generation of transformational leaders and informed participants in the global community.”
Statement From the Board in Response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
The Association for Women in Slavic Studies (AWSS) continues to deplore and to condemn Russia’s horrific and ongoing war on Ukraine. Our institutional mission remains unchanged. AWSS is dedicated to promoting research and teaching in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, and to the support of scholars who identify as women or LGBTQIA. We are committed to the study of this multinational, multi-confessional, and multiethnic region across various disciplines and support all scholars who wish to improve the general public’s understanding of women, gender, and sexuality and are committed to challenging sexist, homophobic, transphobic, racist, classist, ableist, and ageist structures that reproduce injustice.
AWSS recognizes that funds for scholarship and research in our field have for many years often been disproportionately allocated to the study of Russia and the Russian imperial project. We believe that it is necessary also to allocate funds in support of scholarship on the diverse communities (national, ethnic, or otherwise defined) that at one time or another have been part of Eastern European, Russian, or Soviet imperial space. AWSS will continue to prioritize its own funding to support those scholars who are at the greatest risk and who share our mission.