On 17 April, we invite all those interested to take part in a one-day international workshop devoted to the strategies used by the Polish and Ukrainian diasporas within the political and social realities of Manchuria in the first half of the twentieth century.
The workshop will focus on how identity was negotiated, how diaspora communities interacted with imperial authorities, and what everyday life looked like in a region shaped by overlapping Soviet, Chinese, and Japanese influences. Participants will also be presented with the latest research on topics such as Promethean networks, imperial policies toward national minorities, and intercultural practices of daily life.
The workshop will serve as a forum for the exchange of knowledge and interpretations among scholars and participants interested in the history of diasporas and migration, as well as relations between Central and Eastern Europe and East Asia.
📍 Institute of Central Europe (IEŚ), ul. Niecała 5, Lublin
🕘 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Program
09:15–09:30 — Registration
09:30–09:45 — Opening Remarks by Prof. Sławomir Łukasiewicz and Dr. Olga Khomenko on workshop themes: diaspora politics, imperial borderlands, minority policies, and transnational networks
09:45–10:35 | Keynote Lecture & Discussion
09:45–10:15 — Keynote lecture by Prof. Jan Jacek Bruski (Jagiellonian University, Poland)
Promethean Initiatives: Poland, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine (TBC)
10:15–10:35 — Discussion / Q&A (20 min)
10:35–11:00 | Coffee Break
11:00–12:30 | Panel 1
Promethean Networks, Ukrainian Visions, and Diasporic Political Strategies
Chair: Dr. Oleksandr Avramchuk (University of Warsaw)
11:00–11:05 — Chair’s introduction
11:05–11:25 — Mariusz Borysiewicz, MA (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)
Władysław Pelc and the Polish Promethean Movement in Harbin
11:25–11:45 — Dr. Olga Khomenko (University of Oxford)
Stateless Ukrainians under Empire: Diasporic Nation-Building in Manchurian Harbin
11:45–11:50 — Dr. Oleksandr Avramchuk wrapping up the panel
11:50–12:30 — General discussion
12:30-14:00 — Lunch Break
14:00–15:15 | Panel 2
Imperial Policies toward Minorities: Soviet, Chinese, and Japanese
Chair: Prof. Igor Iwo Chabrowski (University of Warsaw)
14:00–14:05 — Chair’s introduction (5 min)
14:05–14:25 — Yoshikawa Hiroaki, MA
(Meisei University, Tokyo / Doshisha University, Kyoto – online)
Mirroring Enthusiasm for Multiethnic Empires: Japanese Soviet Studies and Nationalities Policy in Manchukuo
14:25–14:45 — Prof. Wojciech Skóra (Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Poland)
Polish–Manchukuo Relations and the Manchukuo Consulate in Warsaw
14:45–15:15 — General discussion
15:15–15:45 – Coffee Break
15:45–17:00 | Panel 3
Everyday Life, Religion, and Local Interactions in Manchuria
Chair: Dr. Olga Khomenko (University of Oxford)
15:45–15:50 — Chair’s introduction
15:50–16:10 — Prof. Józef Szymański (Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Poland)
The Mission of the Franciscan Bernardine Fathers in Harbin, 1924–1930
16:10–16:30 — Prof. Igor Iwo Chabrowski (University of Warsaw)
Chinese Perspectives toward Manchuria (TBC)
16:30-16:35 – wrapping up the panel
16:35–17:00 — General discussion
17:00-17:30 – Closing remark by Prof. Sławomir Łukasiewicz and Dr. Olga Khomenko
International Workshop: “Diasporic Strategies under Empire: Polish–Ukrainian Encounters in Manchuria”