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Dr Iryna Skubii, 'Cattle and Horses During the Soviet Famines in Ukraine: Towards Animal History of Famines'History Brown Bag talk
The paper explores the impact of famines and Soviet agricultural policies on cattle and horses by looking at the example of Soviet famines in Ukraine. During famines in history, the deterioration of the economic and environmental conditions in rural and urban areas had dramatic consequences, causing both people and domestic animals to die from malnutrition. Animals suffered from hunger and, at the same time, were physically exploited as a labour force, slaughtered and consumed en masse by humans due to their lack of food resources. The lack of a feeding base for livestock in private households and collective farms was the primary cause of animal mortality and disease. The paper examines the impact of famines on the survival, health and living habitats of domestic animals broadly and initiates a discussion about animal sensitive history of famines.
Iryna Skubii is the inaugural Mykola Zerov Fellow in Ukrainian Studies at the University of Melbourne. She did her PhD in History at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario and a Candidate of Science Degree in History at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (Ukraine). Previously, Iryna taught in Ukraine and Canada and held visiting research positions in Germany, Poland, Austria, and Canada. Her research projects dealt with the history of consumption, materialities, and human-environmental relationships during the Soviet famines in Ukraine and Soviet social and economic history more broadly. Her new research will explore the economic, environmental, and cultural history of sunflowers in Ukraine.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
103 Old Arts, University of Melbourne, Old Arts, Grattan St, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia,Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
