"Calming the Waters? A New History of the Black Sea, 1774-1920s"
Stella Ghervas, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is working on a study challenging the assumption that the Black Sea region is ontologically a playground for competition between nationalisms and frozen conflicts. By examining a period when the sea was “thawed,” she will explore the transformations caused by the influx of new populations, the surge of the economy, the development of cities, and the subsequent effect on populations that were previously settled there. At HURI, Ghervas will work specifically on the aspects of the project that are connected with the coast of modern-day Ukraine, and its immediate vicinities.