KU in Wichita
Each year we look forward to sharing exciting scholarship produced by KU humanities faculty with our neighbors in Wichita. This event is made possible by the generous support of the Lattner Family Foundation, Hall Center Advisory Board Chair Jill Docking, and the KU Alumni Association's Wichita Chapter.
Defectors: How the Illicit Flight of Soviet Citizens Built the Borders of the Cold War World
Erik Scott (Professor, History)
THU APR 10, Reception at 6 p.m., with the lecture following at 7.
Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS
To attend, contact eliottor@ku.edu.
Erik R. Scott’s talk is based on his groundbreaking book Defectors, in which he explores the Cold War through the experiences of those who fled the Soviet system, revealing how their stories reshaped Cold War geopolitics, international migration, and asylum policies. Drawing on years of meticulous research and rich storytelling, his book provides a nuanced look at the complexities beneath the journey “from tyranny to liberty.” Scott unpacks how superpowers colluded and competed to define their borders, using defectors to shape narratives of sovereignty and freedom. His analysis connects the Cold War’s human dimensions with broader debates on globalization and migration, situating these stories in a context that resonates today.
Scott is the John P. Black Professor of History and director of the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Kansas. He is the author of Familiar Strangers: The Georgian Diaspora and the Evolution of Soviet Empire and editor of The Russian Review.