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Aleksandra Simonova is a Russian-born US-based anthropologist and filmmaker who earned her PhD in socio-cultural anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research intersects themes of ethnic conflict and civil war, gender, human rights, and nuclear weapons, examining the political transformations in the post-Soviet landscape. Simonova's ethnographic research focuses on the ongoing social and political upheavals resulting from the disintegration of the Soviet Union, particularly through her work in Crimea. Her ongoing project investigates the conflict between Russia and Ukraine following the annexation of Crimea in 2014, analyzing the weaponization of national identity and belonging. Through her dissertation, she explores how the Russian state has crafted new political narratives to justify the annexation, emphasizing themes of 'reunion' and 'return home' while redefining what it means to be 'Russian.' Simonova has taught courses at institutions including the University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley, where she has engaged students in the complexities of cultural narratives and anthropological inquiry in contemporary societies.
Department: Department of Economics