Where: Bunche Hall, Rm 10383
When: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 from 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM
Join the Center for European and Russian Studies for their quarterly Graduate Student Lecture by Natasha Bluth (PhD candidate in Sociology Department) and Mixer, open to all UCLA students, staff and faculty. The lecture by Natasha Bluth (Department of Sociology) is entitled “War, Migration, and Asymmetrical Gender Transformations in Ukrainian Households” and will include a presentation, time for Q&A, culminating in an informal mixer for students of all disciplines with an interest in Europe and/or Russia. This event is cosponsored by the UCLA Department of Sociology and UCLA Center for the Study of Women | Streisand Center and will be held in Bunche Hall Room 10383 on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 4:15 pm.
Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine has generated profound demographic shifts in Ukrainian society and the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. These dynamics are also deeply gendered: international protection policies and Ukrainian mobilization laws have facilitated the mass displacement of Ukrainian women and children while restricting the mobility of men. Drawing on fieldwork with Ukrainian families in Krakow, Poland, and Ukraine, between 2022 and 2025, this talk explores how these gendered processes are shaping three dimensions of household life: wartime migratory decision-making, marital relations, and coming-of-age experiences for young adults. I show that while war and displacement tighten traditional gender norms, they also create new opportunities for women to transcend these norms—at the same time that horizons narrow for men. These results carry important implications for Ukrainian families and for the future of Ukraine, where gender politics have become a key terrain of differentiation from Russia. In response, The Center for European and Russian Studies hosts a quarterly graduate student lecture and mixer.
