Dr. Catherine Wanner

Biography

Catherine Wanner is a cultural anthropologist affiliated with the Rock Ethics Institute and the School of International Affairs at Penn State. She obtained her PhD from Columbia University in 1996. Her research interests encompass politics, religion, conflict mediation, and human rights, with a focus on Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Wanner has authored and edited six books, including her recent publication, Everyday Religiosity Politics Belonging Ukraine (Cornell University Press, 2022), which explores how the affective atmosphere of religiosity has influenced key historical events such as the Maidan protests. Her work investigates the intersections of nationalism, historical memory, and human rights, expanding to include how religion interacts with migration and political protest. Wanner's research has received support from numerous prestigious organizations, including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation. She has held distinguished visiting positions and was a Fulbright Scholar at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. In recognition of her contributions, she received the 2020 Distinguished Scholar Prize from the Association for the Study of Eastern Christianity. Currently, Wanner is engaged in ethnographic research on religion and conflict mediation in Ukraine, aiming to understand how facilitated dialogue can foster participatory democracy and address practical challenges in everyday life. She acts as a convener for the Working Group on Lived Religion in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

Research Interests