Victoria Donovan

Victoria Donovan is a Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. She actively engages in research and teaching at the intersection of industrial heritage, cultural memory politics, and community identity formation in Eastern Europe. Her work spans Soviet and post-Soviet studies, with a particular focus on the Donbas region of Ukraine through projects like "Donbas in Focus" and "Un/archiving Post/industry." As a joint PI in the "Ostroh Academy/University of St Andrews Partnership for Advancing the Public Humanities," she contributes to public humanities development.

• Expertise in industrial heritage and cultural memory politics
• Active in public humanities and collaborative research
• Focused on post-industrial and conflict-affected regions
• Recipient of European Heritage Award (2023)
• Teaches modules on Soviet/post-Soviet cinema and cultural memory

Her scholarship explores how industrial pasts shape contemporary politics and identities, particularly in regions affected by deindustrialization and conflict. Recent publications analyze decolonial research ethics and critique extractivist academic frameworks. She has led multiple international projects funded by AHRC, British Academy, and Global Challenges Research Fund.

Donovan's work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to sustainable cities and communities. She has co-authored significant publications on Donbas and edited special collections examining regional studies of Eastern Europe. Her research methodology combines archival work, ethnography, and collaborative projects with Ukrainian partners.

• European Heritage Award (2023)
• British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award
• AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker
• Member of AHRC Peer Review Council

As a public humanities advocate, she co-founded networks for engaged scholarship and contributed to debates on ethical collaboration in research. Her upcoming monograph "Monotown: Tales of Resistance from the Ukrainian East" (Daunt Books, 2024) will further examine post-industrial narratives in Eastern Europe.