Noontime Notions – focus on Ukraine

Dr. Jordan Kuck will focus on Ukraine for his presentation, “The Melting of the ‘Frozen Conflict’ in the Baltic States: Putin’s War in Ukraine and the Upending of History.” One overlooked consequence of Putin’s war in Ukraine is the dramatic political impact it has had on domestic politics in the Baltic States. Whereas just a few years ago pro-Moscow parties and anti-European Union sentiment were both features of Baltic politics, recent elections indicate that post-Soviet history has been totally upended. Dr. Kuck will examine these recent developments within the context of the dramatic events of the twentieth century, making even clearer the intense paradigm shift that is unfolding today.

Kuck is an associate professor of history at Brevard College and an expert on the modern history of Northeastern Europe.  His research deals with the history of nationalism and authoritarianism in the Baltic States during the interwar period. Over the past few years, he has published chapters in edited volumes that marked the centennial of Latvian independence. His  scholarship has also appeared in the edited volume Dictatorship and Daily Life in Twentieth Century Europe (2022). Another chapter will appear in the forthcoming book, Transnational and Transatlantic Fascism in East Central and Southeastern Europe, 1918–2018. He is currently working on a manuscript on the Kārlis Ulmanis regime in Latvia.  During his career, he has received a number of prestigious awards, most recently, the University of Tennessee bestowed upon him the Young Alumni Promise Award. Dr. Kuck is the recipient of a Fulbright, a U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, as well as a grant from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies.