Lviv and the "Return to Europe" after 1991

Since 1991, Ukraine has developed closer relations with the European Union. However, in recent years, the discussion on formal EU-Ukraine relations has become rather stale. Instead, this talk proposed an alternative perspective that looks at wider conceptions of "Europe" in Ukraine (with comparison to Poland). For this, Annabelle Chapman used a case study of the city of Lviv. This allowed an interdisciplinary approach to the question of "Europe", drawing on the insights of political and historical myth, cultural georgraphy and urban history.

The presentation explored the following issues:

• What is the "return to Europe", and how has it been described in Ukraine and Poland after 1991? The researcher is interested in the "return to Europe" in a historical or cultural sense, rather than only in terms of EU-integration.
• How have Ukrainian writers and intellectuals placed Lviv (and Galicia) within post-1991 Europe?
• What have the main narratives in Lviv been since 1991? Could Lviv become a "Europeanising city" for Ukraine?

The main point of the presentation was that this is not directly a talk about politics/EU-Ukraine relations (Association Agreement, enlargement). Instead, Annabelle Chapman presented the cultural/anthropoligical dimension, using concepts of "political/historical myth" and narratives.

Credits

Сover Image: Tadeusz Rolke