The AAA is closely watching the outrageous and unprovoked Russian military invasion of Ukraine unfold. We are signing on to statements/letters of support through sister societies and will also soon be announcing a "teach-in" organized by our Society for the Anthropology of Europe, including colleagues from Ukraine. It is important to raise our voices in outrage and call for a cessation of hostilities and to also recognize that many of our colleagues in Russia are strongly opposed to the Putin regime’s actions but would be vulnerable to retribution if they voiced their disagreement. We also recognize the difficulties that Ukrainian people and their diverse international emigrants face as they flee the violence. The broader realities and needs of displacement for the African, South Asian, and other people impacted by this horrid invasion need to be addressed as well. As a scholarly and professional society, we are in a position to raise wider awareness about the cultural, historical, and political context in which this outrageous invasion is occurring, and are opening up our AnthroSource archives to feature articles that are relevant to the events taking place in Ukraine. In addition, we will be pointing people to a number of resources being mobilized to coordinate a humanities and social science data rescue and website crawl to aggregate information online before it is lost. Please watch the AAA All-Member Community for additional information soon, and please hold our Ukrainian colleagues and their families in your thoughts.
Sister Society Statements
- African Studies Association
- American Geophysical Union
- American Historical Association
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- American Physical Society
- American Psychological Association
- Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
- DOE Office of Science letter supporting students/scientists
- European Association of Social Anthropologists
- National Research Foundation of Ukraine
- New University in Exile Consortium
- Optica
- Scholars at Risk
- Shevchenko Scientific Society
- Society for American Archaeology
- Society for the Anthropology of Europe
- The Register of Professional Archaeologist
- USCBS and AIA Statement on Ukraine
- World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA) *also see their petition
- The Association for Political and Legal Anthropology has complied a list of resources for Ukrainian scholars and students in an attempt to create a simple, accessible, and comprehensive list of support services and placements for those in need.
- The Association for the Study of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) contains a number of important resources for helping displaced scholars from Ukraine.
- The American Historical Association has also compiled a list of resources on the history of Ukraine, Russia, and the Cold War and its legacies.
- The National Academies’ International Visitors Office offers assistance for international scientists who are coming to the United States.
- A list of research labs from around the world who are willing to support Ukrainian scientists can be viewed in this Google Spreadsheet.
- The Internet Archive is supporting several preservation efforts including the Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO) initiative.
- National Academies of Science: “NAS Launches Effort to Help Support Ukrainian Researchers as They Relocate to Poland.”
- ESpero (AAA member in Singapore): https://www.worldofkindness.online/blog
- The Council on Anthropology & Education (CAE) recommends you consider these resources as well:
Razom for Ukraine (Together with Ukraine)
Ukraine Under Attack: How To Help
Humanitarian Aid for People with Disabilities in Ukraine
Connect with your local Ukrainian Culture Center to support at a local and global level:
Ukrainian Culture Center Los Angeles
Ukrainian Cultural Center of Rochester
- Society for Cultural Anthropology: Russia's War on Ukraine
- Middle East Institute: Syria's role in Putin's invasion of Ukraine
- Middle East Institute: Ukraine: Tracking Russia's military and cyber campaigns (Podcast)
- NPR: Russian anthropologist calls attention to Russian police action against kids
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Ukraine and the post-Cold War World by Hugh Gusterson
- American Ethnologist Society, Ukraine Crisis (2014):
- The empire strikes back: War without war and occupation without occupation in the Russian sphere of influence by Elizabeth Cullen Dunn and Michael S. Bobick
- The Women’s Squad in Ukraine’s protests: Feminism, nationalism, and militarism on the Maidan by Sarah D. Phillips
- “Fraternal” nations and challenges to sovereignty in Ukraine: The politics of linguistic and religious ties by Catherine Wanner
- AIP: Ukraine crisis throws Russian science partnerships into chaos.
- FAS: “The Nuclear Notebook: How many nuclear weapons does Russia have in 2022?” published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
- Nature: Ukrainian scientists fear for their lives and future amid Russian threat
- Physics World: Russian scientists condemn Ukraine invasion as international projects and meetings thrown into doubt
- Science: A step to nowhere: Russian scientist organizes protest of Ukraine war
- Science Business: EU should sever scientific ties with Russia, says leading German MEP
- Science Business: MIT cuts ties to Russian academic partner over Ukraine War
- Space News: Russia halts Soyuz launches from French Guiana
- The Biden administration’s sanctions on Russia include a focus on various advanced technologies with an exemption for “government space cooperation”
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Grappling with environmental risks in the fog of war
- Atlantic Council: Vladimir Putin’s war to crush Ukraine is part of a long Kremlin tradition
- The Hill: Ukrainians warn — and Russians boast — of eerily familiar famine blackmail
- Empires, Borders and Wards: The Anthropological Take on Events in Ukraine, World Council of Anthropological Associations