Professor Kateryna Karpenko is researching the environmental impact of the war in Ukraine
The Russian war against Ukraine has various consequences for the eastern European country – including for its environment. Ukrainian philosopher Professor Kateryna Karpenko, head of the Department of Philosophy at Kharkiv University in Ukraine, is examining the ‘ecocide’ (i.e. substantial damage to or destruction of the ecosystem) in the Ukraine as part of a new research project at Paderborn University. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is supporting the project with a grant from the EU funding initiative ‘Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for Ukraine (MSCA4Ukraine)’. This is for a period of twelve months. The programme enables Ukrainian scientists to continue their work at an institution of their choice within the EU or in an associate country of the Horizon Europe initiative.
As well as her role as the head of the philosophy department, Professor Karpenko is also the director of the Center for Gender Studies at Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine. At Paderborn University, she is now working at the Center for the History of Women philosophers and Scientists (HWPS) and is visiting professor in the Department of Philosophy. Professor Birgitt Riegraf, President of Paderborn University, views this grant as a huge asset for the university and an opportunity for international exchange: ‘Professor Kateryna Karpenko’s research is making an important contribution to examining the huge damage that the Russian war of aggression is causing to the ecosystem in Ukraine.’
The aim of Karpenko’s current project, entitled ‘Women Philosophers and Scientists: Ecofeminism against Ecocide during and after the war’, is to research ecocide during and after the Russian war against Ukraine. In doing so, the scientist is taking a multidisciplinary approach to the intellectual work of ecofeminist thinkers (including philosophers, sociologist and historians). She is also examining the ecofeminist ethics of justice and welfare, which form the basis for analysing the environmental impact of the war.
Research stay continues a long-standing collaboration
The philosopher’s research stay in Paderborn is built on a long-term collaboration with HWPS and its director Professor Ruth Hagengruber. Karpenko has therefore already attended numerous symposiums at the Center, and in 2015/16 held the post of DAAD Visiting Scholar in the teaching and research area of ‘EcoTechGender’, affiliated to the professorship. This tackles economic and technical topics and their impact on gender. ‘I am delighted that Professor Kateryna Karpenko is able to continue her research thanks to this grant, and that we can therefore further develop our successful collaboration’, explains Hagengruber, who has strongly supported the MSCA4Ukraine funding initiative.
The ‘MSCA4Ukraine’ funding initiative
The European Union (EU) created the MSCA4Ukraine funding programme as part of a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This programme, with its 25 million euros of funding, seeks to enable Ukrainian academics to continue their research and is supporting Ukrainian universities and research institutes, as well as their collaborations and exchange with the international research community.
