09/17/2026
On October 1st at 6 PM, join us on the 1st floor of Lovejoy Library at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for a powerful conversation with SIUE Political Science professor Sophia Wilson on democratic resistance, state violence, and the revolutionary process that reshaped Ukraine.
In Maidan, Sophia Wilson uncovers the complex social networks that organized the resistance, why a peaceful movement turned to violence, and how the revolution transformed those who fought to change their country.
Drawing from 100+ interviews, oral histories, legal documents, and court hearings, Wilson reveals how the Ukrainian state used violence and violations of due process to suppress dissent and how ordinary people pushed back in the streets, in courtrooms, in hospitals, in churches, and in the media to reclaim constitutional rights.
This work shows why understanding Maidan is essential to understanding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: the revolution was not a geopolitical footnote, but a democratic rupture that challenged Russian‑backed authoritarianism at its core.
