Dr. Ilya Sulzhytski

About me: Sociologist, Ph.D. in Sociology (Candidate of Sociological Sciences) with a focus on research at the intersection of cultural sociology, memory studies, digital humanities, and computational social sciences. My projects were dedicated to the collective memory of the Holocaust, moral panics, the 2020 Belarusian protests, hate speech in Telegram, and digital meaning-making processes.

My postdoctoral activity now has a strong focus on the two tracks. The first explores the possibilities of applying artificial intelligence (AI) methods in studying visitors’ experiences at Holocaust memorial sites. The second aims to identify patterns of hate propaganda in Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian Telegram channels after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

What interests me the most is the potential of machine learning and social network analysis for computational social sciences and cultural analytics. I also have deep experience in computational textual analysis and web scraping.

Work Experience

01/07/2021 – 31/06/2023 Greifswald, Germany

Postdoctoral Researcher – University Of Greifswald

01/03/2021 – 01/10/2021 Vilnius, Lithuania

Visiting Researcher – European Humanities University

01/03/2021 – 01/06/2021 Konin, Poland

Sociology Lecturer – Higher School Of Management Personnel

28/05/2018 – 08/02/2021 Grodno, Belarus

Senior Lecturer – Yanka Kupala State University Of Grodno

07/06/2017 – 28/05/2018 Grodno, Belarus

Lecturer – Yanka Kupala State University Of Grodno

01/10/2015 – 07/06/2017 Grodno, Belarus

Assistant Lecturer – Yanka Kupala State University Of Grodno

16/06/2014 – 30/06/2015 Grodno, Belarus

Management Assistant – Yanka Kupala State University Of Grodno

Education and Training

2016 – 2019 Minsk, Belarus

PhD (Sociology) – Belarusian State University, Thesis: Durkheimian Research Program in the Sociological Study of Collective Memory

2015 – 2016 Minsk, Belarus

Master of Sociological Sciences – Belarusian State University, Thesis: Discourse of Ukrainian Events on Belarusian Internet Portals

2010 – 2015 Grodno, Belarus

Sociology, Specialist Diploma – Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno

Submitted articles

Sulzhytski, I. Measuring Consensus? A Data-driven Approach to Holocaust Memorialization. Holocaust Memorialization: in Search of Consensus Seminar, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Accepted for publication. The publication is planned for the autumn of 2022 [4967 words].

Sulzhytski, I. "Opposition as 'a Mould on the Fatherland': Hate Speech and Grassroots Telegram Propaganda in Belarus. Journal of Belarusian Studies. Accepted for publication. The publication is planned for the end of 2022. [10 706 words]

Navumau V., Matveieva O., Sulzhytski I., Khutkyy D., Colee M. Telegram Revolution: Conceptual and Technical Innovations of the 2020 Belarusian Protest. Canadian Slavonic Papers. Submitted and Accepted for Review. [9775 words]

Sulzhytski I., Navumau, V., Matveieva O., Khutkyy D. (Dis)information campaigns during the war: The analysis of hegemonic and counter-hegemonic narratives in Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels. European Societies. Submitted and Accepted for Review. [13 968 words]

Published articles

Sulzhytski, I. Categories of "dark tourism" and "thanatotourism" in contemporary cultural heritage studies. Cntrl+S. European Heritage, 2021, 81–90

Sulzhytski I. S. A moral panic over synthetic drugs in the Republic of Belarus. Urban Folklore & Anthropology, III, (1–2), 2020, 78–105

Sulzhytski I. S., Myslivets M. L. Integrative Aspects of Collective Memory. Russian Journal of Philosophical Sciences Vol. 63, No. 10, Moscow 2020, 124–139. doi: 10.30727/0235-1188-2020-63-10-124-139

Sulzhytski, I. S., Kozlovskaia, N. V. The Seminar “Forgotten October”. Journal of the Yanka Kupala State University Vol. 9, No. 1, Grodno 2019, 155–162.

Sulzhytski, I. S. Desacralization of the collective memory of the Holocaust: the case of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. Journal of Belarusian State University No. 2, Sociology, Minsk 2018, 48–66. ISSN: 2521-6821

Sulzhytski, I. S., Myslivets M. L. Historical memory. In: Danilov, A. N., Rotman, D. G. (Eds.) The Characteristics of the Formation and Development of the Belorussian State: Sociological Analysis. Minsk 2018, 272–290. ISBN: 978-985-566-624-1

Sulzhytski I. S. On the justification of the Durkheimian program in contemporary memory studies: commemorative ritual and the ambivalence of memory. Journal of Belarusian State University No. 1, Sociology, Minsk 2017, 64–72. ISSN: 2521-6821

Sulzhytski I. S. Formation and development of memory studies: the sociological project of Maurice Halbwachs. Journal of Belarusian State University No. 4, Sociology, Minsk 2017, 112–122. ISSN: 2521-6821

Sulzhytski I. S. The formation and development of the discourse analysis methodology in the social sciences. Journal of Yanka Kupala State University Vol. 6, No. 2, Grodno 2016, 120–125.

Conference Papers 

Sulzhytski, I. S. The symbolic dimension of collective memory. Sociology in (post)modernity. Kharkiv, 2019. 76-77.

Sulzhytski, I. S. Late Durkheim's research program in modern Memory Studies: time, ritual, and the sacred]. Science as a process: the verification of knowledge and/or languages of description. Moscow, 2018. 71-73.

Sulzhytski I. S. Collective Memory as Practice and Ritual. Social Technologies in a Globalizing World: Theory and Practice. Minsk, 2018. - 64-65.

Sulzhytski I. S. Theoretical heritage of the "late" E. Durkheim: Social Epistemology and Sociology of Knowledge. Collection of works of the 74th scientific conference of students and post-graduate students of the Belarusian State University, Part 3, Minsk 2017, 195–198.

Sulzhytski I. S. Discourse analysis in sociology: power, ideology, social practices] Sociological readings: a collection of scientific articles. Grodno 2017, 307–312

Sulzhytski, I. S. The Phenomenon of the Past and the Category of Time in the Durkheim`s Social Epistemology. Sociology in (post)modernity. Kharkiv 2017. 127-129.

Sulzhytski I. S. Sociology of "late" Durkheim and Memory Studies: in search of foundation. Proceedings of the International Youth Scientific Forum "Lomonosov. Moscow, 2017.

Sulzhytski I. S. Conceptualization of Ukrainian crisis in the optics of discourse analysis. Sociological debuts: a collection of student works No. 2, Minsk 2016, 19–23.

Sulzhytski I. S. The construction of identity in discursive practices: optics of Ukrainian crisis. Proceedings of the International Youth Scientific Forum "Lomonosov - 2016. Moscow 2016.

Conferences and Workshops

Can Dark Tourism Promote Reconciliation?  Some Insights from TripAdvisor Reviews of Nazi Death Camps in Poland. Tourismus und Aussöhnung in Europa Workshop. Nordost-Institut (IKGN e.V.), Universität Hamburg, September 1–2, 2022, Lüneburg, Germany.

The Issues of Nation and National Identity in Belarusian pro-government Propaganda after 2020. Community and National Identity workshop, University of Copenhagen. June 28, 2022, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Counter-memorials vs. Counter-memorial Experience: Tripadvisor Reviews on the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. (Re)thinking Countermonuments: The Evolution of Memory against itself, University of Leeds, June 21-22, 2022, Leeds, UK.

March Against Fascism: collective memory of the Second World War during the 2020-2021 protests in Belarus. International Workshop: Grassroots Activism in History and Memory. Nottingham Trent University, 18-20 May 2022, Nottingham, UK

A Revolution Aborted? Social Impacts and Discourses of the Belarusian Crisis in 2021. 6th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), Co-Hosted by Harriman Institute, Columbia University, May 4-7, 2022, USA.

Measuring consensus? A data-driven approach to Holocaust memorialization. Holocaust Memorialization: in Search of Consensus Seminar, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Martens Centre, April 14, 2022.

The Evolution of Lies: New Forms of State Propaganda in Belarus. 7th Annual "Belarusian Studies in the 21st Century" Conference. February 18-19, 2022, London, UK.

TripAdvisor Reviews of Holocaust Museums in Belarus and Poland: a Data-driven Cultural Sociology Approach. Digital Americas, the 48th annual conference of the Austrian Association for American Studies 

Public lectures, master classes, summer schools

Computational text analysis methods in studying visitors' experiences of Holocaust memorial sites. Lecture at the Summer School "Cultural Heritage and the Future." European Humanities University, July 11-16, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Cultures of Remembrance Educational Trip. Expert on Holocaust and World War II Memory in Belarus. Educat Kollektiv, June 16 - 23, 2022, Athens, Greece.

Towards User-generated Memory? Machine Learning and Network Analysis in the Study of Holocaust Memorials. Lecture at the International Public History Research Seminar, 5th Public History Summer School. The Institute of History of the University of Wrocław, June 6, 2022, Wrocław, Poland.

Digital Humanities and Beyond: Programming for Humanities from Zero to... Educational Summit. November 25-29, 2021, Dresden, Germany

How museum visitor data can help us better understand World War II and the Holocaust memory in Eastern Europe. TED Talks at the Meeting of Kirkland Program Graduates. November 6-7, 2021, Warsaw, Poland.