“Beyond the Fortress: Emotional Components of Group Resilience in the Context of the War in Ukraine’’ – WOLS 2025

The sixth edition of the Winter (Online) Lecture Series on Europe (WOLS 2025) will take place at the University of Luxembourg from 1 to 17 December 2025 in connection with the courses “History of European integration (1919-1993)” (MAHEC-142) and “Economic and social history of Europe after 1945: concepts, processes, actors” (MAHEC-63) from the Master in European Contemporary History, and the course “Democratic transitions in Central and Eastern Europe” (BCE-EU-301-04) from the Bachelor in European Cultures.

The aim is to give students on these programs, as well as the wider academic community at the University of Luxembourg, the opportunity to find out about the history and workings of the European institutions in Luxembourg from new and unconventional angles and to discuss some of the milestones in contemporary European history with people who were involved in or witnessed these events. Each session (in English, with a Q&A session in French and English) will be streamed via Webex and will include a presentation by a speaker followed by a discussion with the audience and the opportunity to ask questions.

The lectures, which are also open to the wider public, are run in conjunction with Europe Direct at the University of Luxembourg (ED-UNILU) – a competitive European public history project co-funded by the European Union (2021-2025) –, the Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs at the University of Luxembourg (RSI) – a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (JMCE) for the study of European integration and the European Union –, which also financially supports the lectures, and several other partners including: the European University Institute (EUI) (Florence, Italy), Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the EUI Florence, Florence School of Transnational Governance (Florence, Italy), University of Padova (Italy), Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland), Europa Experience Luxembourg, Chamber of Commerce Luxembourg, Entreprise Europe Network Luxembourg, European School Luxembourg I – Kirchberg.

The conference will be in English.

Chair and discussant: Dr Elena DANESCU

Guest lecturer: Prof. Małgorzata ZACHARA-SZYMAŃSKA

Short biographies:

Małgorzata ZACHARA-SZYMAŃSKA is a Professor of International Relations at Jagiellonian University in Krakow and was a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. Her research focuses on social change, environmental sustainability, global governance, and political leadership. She is the author of Global Political Leadership: In Search of Synergy (Routledge, 2023) and To Grow or Not to Grow: Evolution of the Economic Paradigm as a Response to Climate Disruption (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), and editor of Poland in Transatlantic Relations after 1989: Miracle Fair (Cambridge Scholars, 2017). A public academic, she contributes to print and online media, radio, and television, and co-produces the Wolna Amerykanka podcast with Vogue Magazine.

Elena DANESCU is a Research Scientist at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH). She is a member in the Contemporary European History research group and is accredited to supervise PhD candidates within the Doctoral School in Humanities and Social Sciences. Her research, teaching and publications focuses on contemporary European history, European integration, EMU, history of economic thought, oral history, the role of women in diplomacy. She is an elected member of: the University Council (2018-2023 and 2023-2028), the Board of the Fondation du Mérite européen and the Council of the Fondation Jean Monnet pour l’Europe. She’s also in charge of Europe Direct University of Luxembourg – a competitive public history project co-funded by the European Union (2021-2025) and a founding fellow of the Robert Schuman Initiative for European Affairs. In 2020, she was awarded the Fernand Braudel Senior Fellowship at the European University Institute (EUI), and in 2024, she received a Jean Monnet Fellowship at he Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCS) for the interdisciplinary research project “The Female Face of the EU.”

Abstract:

The issue of resilience, which enables nations to respond effectively to security threats, is most often discussed in terms of resources and behavioral protocols (preparedness). This lecture will focus on the emotional components of resilience, which are crucial for the effective use of accumulated resources and collective knowledge in critical situations. Drawing on data related to the beliefs of fighting Ukrainians and Poles actively responding to the refugee crisis in 2022, the talk will explore the importance of emotions (compassion, sense of community, pride, or fatigue) as factors shaping the dynamics of resilience.

• Register here

Attend the conference via Webex: https://unilu.webex.com/unilu/j.php?MTID=md51f734eb45cc80df078c3f4789071bb

Conference given in the framework of the 2025 edition of Winter (Online) Lecture Series on Europe.

_{Photo ©Prof. Małgorzata ZACHARA-SZYMAŃSKA}