Maryna Shevtsova

Maryna Shevtsova is a Senior post-doctoral FWO Fellow at KU Leuven (2023/2026). She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Humboldt University, Berlin (2017), an MA in Gender Studies from Central European University, Budapest (2013), and is a Fulbright (University of Florida 2018/19) and Swedish Institute (Lund University 2020/2021) Alumna. Prior to starting her work at KU Leuven, she was an MSCA Co-Fund EUTOPIA Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia (2021/2023). In the past, Shevtsova held visiting fellowships at Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, and Middle East Technical University, Ankara.

Shevtsova is a co-founder of Equal Opportunities Platform, a Dnipro-based Ukrainian NGO working towards combating discrimination and promoting gender equality. In 2022, she received the Emma Goldman Award for her work as a feminist scholar and human rights activist. Her research interests include LGBTQ rights and activism in Central and Eastern Europe, queer migration, and anti-gender movements. Her work was published in such journals as Sexuality & Culture, the Problems of Post-Communism, ACME: American Journal of Critical Geographies, and European Societies. Her recent publications include the monograph LGBTI Politics and Value Change in Ukraine and Turkey Exporting Europe? (Routledge 2021) and an edited volume (with Radzhana Buyantueva) on LGBTQ+ Activism in Central and Eastern Europe (Palgrave Macmillan 2020). She is also the sole editor of an edited volume, Feminist Perspectives of Russia's War in Ukraine: Hear Our Voices (upcoming with Lexington Books, February 2024).