EP59 Uncomfortable History, Geopolitics, Ukraine and Russia - Vojtěch Ripka

The Bla Bla Bunker

Vojtěch Ripka is a Ph.D. in Political Science who specialises in the pedagogy of history, comparative social politics, methodologies of social science, communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe and transitional justice.

In this episode we discussed how history is being used as an indicator of the now and future and how people sometimes tend to want to edit history when it is uncomfortable and brutal.
We also discussed the geopolitical circumstances surrounding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the role of the EU and Nato as well as how Putin's Russia works. Are we looking at a shift in power in the world, are democracies deteriorating and where will we go from here?

Vojtěch is involved in two interesting projects https://historylab.cz/

An application that supports research teaching with historical sources in history. It focuses on the 20th century. It offers teachers and students a safe environment in which they can work creatively and not be afraid of mistakes. As a result, they acquire the skills and principles of historical thinking in a playful way, thus developing their historical literacy.

and https://www.socialismrealised.eu/

The communist experience is part of the common European identity, and therefore we have created Socialism Realised – an online learning environment that presents content aimed at a deeper understanding of the lives of the people in these regimes and a comparison of these experiences to the present.