Marc Chagall’s art and biography reflect the multi-ethnicity and transnational cultural life of his birthplace, the Russian Empire. Yet Russia’s political leaders have violently rejected Chagall’s art as alien and embraced it as quintessentially Russian at different historical moments.

Mykola Hohol/Nikolai Gogol’s identity is equally contested, given his important place in both Ukrainian and Russian literature. Join Christine Evans, Associate Professor of History at the UW-Milwaukee, to explore both the long history of the Russian state’s efforts to conquer its Western neighbors and decide who and where is Russian, and the imperialist narratives that have accompanied and sought to justify that effort.

Admission is $5 for Jewish Museum Milwaukee members and $10 for nonmembers.