Prior to my academic life, I lived in Moscow, Russia for three years and my father’s side of the family is Czech. Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, 2022 has compelled me to gain a greater understanding of Ukraine’s history and culture, the role of Russian disinformation and narratives in contemporary politics, and Ukraine’s understanding of its own multi-faceted civic identity and how that identity has been and continues to be formed.
My new Substack extension of Hermeneutical Movements will be focused in a more public intellectual direction. (This blog will continue to feature hermeneutical book plugs/spotlights, relevant “calls for papers,” etc. as it has since its inception. However, I will also crosspost essays from my Substack that have hermeneutical themes.
As a philosopher whose work has consistently engaged social, political, and ethical issues, I feel a responsibility to speak out against the war crimes and atrocities that the Russian regime is committing against Ukrainian civilians and soldiers. In addition, I have also become increasingly concerned about the state of our American democracy and plan to address questions and concerns related to the American political landscape. Given my philosophical interests in culture, art, and sociopolitical identity formation, my Substack posts will take up these subjects as well but, as noted above, in a more public intellectual vein.
Yesterday, I posted an (overly long) reflection on a letter correspondence between Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan and American poet Reginald Dwayne Betts. If these topics interest you, please sign up for a free subscription to my Substack version of Hermeneutical Movements.
