This session focuses on how writers incorporate cultural and social perspectives in the process of crafting narratives to create more meaningful stories. We explore different methods in capturing diverse voices, addressing social issues, and reflecting the complexities of identity, particularly in the context of Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

Jessica Zychowicz, Ph.D. is the author of award-winning books as well as many articles and chapters. She is currently Director of Institute of International Education (IIE) International Office Kyiv and Fulbright Ukraine.
She is an Associate Advisor to the Human Rights in Eurasia Graduate Program at the University of Arizona involving teaching and research.
She has also held key research fellowships and taught at the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs, the University of Alberta in Canada, and Uppsala University in Sweden.
She was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Kyiv Mohyla National Academy of Ukraine. She serves on international professional boards in academia and the arts and has also curated exhibitions of contemporary art and was most recently an author and consultant on the “100 Years of Self-Determination” exhibition at Irish Museum of Modern Art.
She has given many invited public keynote lectures at universities and museums in the U.S. and Europe. She holds a Doctorate from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of California Berkeley.