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'We are appalled to have these false beliefs associated with our campus' : Holodomor, Trigger Warnings, and Free Speech at the University of Alberta

Rudling, Per A. LU (2025) p.192-226
Abstract
When the politically active Ukrainian community in Edmonton, Alberta, gathered in late November 2019 for their annual commemorations of the massive famine that ravished the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1932–33, their rituals followed established patterns. The politically well-connected Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) held its choreographed gatherings in the heart of the province’s political life: the Alberta Legislature and the Edmonton City Hall. A comment, in social media, by a sessional instructor in children’s literature at the University of Alberta would trigger an infected memory conflict, with calls for no-platforming and censoring—a conflict escalated by ethno-nationalist memory... (More)
When the politically active Ukrainian community in Edmonton, Alberta, gathered in late November 2019 for their annual commemorations of the massive famine that ravished the Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1932–33, their rituals followed established patterns. The politically well-connected Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) held its choreographed gatherings in the heart of the province’s political life: the Alberta Legislature and the Edmonton City Hall. A comment, in social media, by a sessional instructor in children’s literature at the University of Alberta would trigger an infected memory conflict, with calls for no-platforming and censoring—a conflict escalated by ethno-nationalist memory actors and taken all the way up to the Premier’s office, national media and the floor of the House of Commons. Who were the actors, and why did the 1932–33 Soviet famine become a political lightening rod in Western Canada almost a century later? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Memory politics, Holodomor, Ukrainian Nationalism, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, Cancel culture, Academic Freedom
host publication
Lessons of History : Learning from Catastrophe and Crisis in Twentieth-Century Europe - Learning from Catastrophe and Crisis in Twentieth-Century Europe
editor
Karlsson, Klas-Göran and Karlsson, Maria
pages
35 pages
publisher
Berghahn Books
ISBN
978-1-83695-017-2
978-1-83695-018-9
DOI
10.1515/9781836950196-013
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d683df25-9e1f-46bf-9c01-ffa8648dbc64
alternative location
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781836950196-013/html?srsltid=AfmBOoouC0zUdJYL3Gf7FyK-3Bm3jWZ-jR04jHr5U9aqxXVR1rfSMKdO
date added to LUP
2022-09-21 22:44:24
date last changed
2025-07-04 14:42:23
@inbook{d683df25-9e1f-46bf-9c01-ffa8648dbc64,
  abstract     = {{When  the  politically  active  Ukrainian  community  in  Edmonton,  Alberta,  gathered  in  late  November  2019  for  their  annual  commemorations  of  the  massive  famine  that  ravished  the  Ukrainian  Soviet  Republic  in  1932–33,  their  rituals  followed  established  patterns.  The  politically  well-connected  Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) held its choreographed gatherings in the heart of the province’s political life: the Alberta Legislature and the Edmonton City Hall.  A comment, in social media, by a sessional instructor in children’s  literature  at  the  University  of  Alberta  would  trigger  an  infected  memory conflict, with calls for no-platforming and censoring—a conflict escalated by ethno-nationalist memory actors and taken all the way up to the Premier’s  office,  national  media  and  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Commons.  Who  were  the  actors,  and  why  did  the  1932–33  Soviet  famine  become  a  political lightening rod in Western Canada almost a century later?}},
  author       = {{Rudling, Per A.}},
  booktitle    = {{Lessons of History : Learning from Catastrophe and Crisis in Twentieth-Century Europe}},
  editor       = {{Karlsson, Klas-Göran and Karlsson, Maria}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-83695-017-2}},
  keywords     = {{Memory politics; Holodomor; Ukrainian Nationalism; Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies; University of Alberta; Cancel culture; Academic Freedom}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{192--226}},
  publisher    = {{Berghahn Books}},
  title        = {{'We are appalled to have these false beliefs associated with our campus' : Holodomor, Trigger Warnings, and Free Speech at the University of Alberta}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781836950196-013}},
  doi          = {{10.1515/9781836950196-013}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}