Oxford Ukraine Hub
Workshop 7: Ukrainian Cartographies
Ukrainian Cartographies
Friday 8 May 2026
Nissan Theatre, St Antony's College (and online)
While the borders of Ukraine have shifted over centuries, maps of its territory have been produced since the Middle Ages. Far from neutral, these images are inherently political and meaning-making objects as cartography is an ambivalent practice that simultaneously includes and excludes. The contemporary map of Ukraine reflects its post-1991 independence borders, which amidst Russia’s war serves as a potent symbol of national unity and territorial sovereignty.
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Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, new mappings of Ukraine have also emerged, including those most visibly, near-real-time front-line maps tracking military activity, colour-coded to mark occupation and shifting battle lines. Artists have also produced counter-cartographies of Ukraine that expand the definition of what a map can be by including affective artefacts, memories, and speculations. Meanwhile, novel technologies are enabling new modes of cartography that include animation and data-rich mappings that document violence and war crimes. Cartography, then, extends well beyond the mapping of a state’s borders to include a broad suite of practices.
In the final workshop of the Oxford Ukraine Hub, we explore these Ukrainian cartographies. By interrogating and challenging conventional cartographic methods, we ask: How is Ukraine’s territory known, and by whom? How do cartographers, archeologists, political scientists, and wider publics map Ukraine? How might alternative approaches challenge dominant understandings of where and what Ukraine is? And how are cartographic practices used to document war crimes and support Ukraine’s defence?
SCHEDULE
9am - 930am: Welcome coffee
930am - 945am: Introduction from Oxford Ukraine Hub
945am - 12pm: Panel 1: (COUNTER)HEGEMONIC CARTOGRAPHIES
Speakers: Steven Seegel, Kataryna Wolczuk, Marnie Howlett
12pm - 1pm: Lunch break
1pm - 2pm: Panel 2: SPECULATIVE CARTOGRAPHIES
Speaker: Annelys de Vet (Subjective Editions)
2pm - 330pm: Panel 3: (DE)OCCUPATIONAL CARTOGRAPHIES
Speakers: Diana Yehorova, Maksym Rokmaniko
330pm - 4pm: Coffee break
4pm - 5pm: Film screening and director discussion: Where Russia Ends (2024) - Oleksiy Radynski
5pm: Closing speech by Oxford Ukraine Hub