Kateryna Dysa on Witch Trials, Imperial Narratives, and Kyiv in Western Eyes

Were witches in medieval Ukraine prosecuted in the same way as in Western Europe? How did Russian imperial interests shape Kyiv’s international image between the late eighteenth and the early twentieth century, and did Western travelers accept or challenge these portrayals of the city?

In this episode of Studio Central Europe, Kateryna Dysa, a historian and associate professor in the History Department of the National University of "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy," discusses her research with Jonas Vanderschueren, host and postdoctoral researcher in Cultural Studies at KU Leuven.

Dr. Dysa participates in the project HER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine, led by KU Leuven and co-funded by the EU. She holds a PhD and has been a visiting fellow at Harvard, Stanford, Paris, and Oxford, as well as a visiting professor at the University of Basel. She is the author of Ukrainian Witchcraft Trials: Volhynia, Podolia, and Ruthenia, 17th and 18th Centuries (Budapest, New York, 2020) and has written extensively on the history of witchcraft, sexuality, and medicine in early modern Ukraine. Her current research focuses on the construction of Kyiv’s image in travel literature from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth century.