Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
Finland
fellow
Ksenia Medvedeva
Home institution
Polish Academy of Sciences
Country of origin (home institution)
Poland
Discipline(s)
Religious sciences
Sociology
Theme(s)
Environment, Sustainability & Biodiversity
Religion
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Ksenia Medvedeva studies various aspects of Eastern Orthodox Christianity and monasticism from a sociological perspective. More broadly, she is interested in alternative lifestyles and intentional communities, including ecological ones. Medvedeva defended her PhD magna cum laude at Freie Universität Berlin (Germany). Her doctoral research focused on contemporary Eastern Orthodox monasticism in North America. Previously, she conducted research on environmental initiatives within the Orthodox Church, as well as on contemporary monasticism in Russia. An academic nomad, she has studied or worked in Russia, Canada, Germany, Poland, the U.S., and Greece.
Research Project
Environmental Engagement of Eastern Orthodox Churches and Orthodox Eco-Discourses
The overarching theoretical goal of Ksenia Medvedeva’s project is to analyze sociologically the responses of Orthodox actors to modernity and modern issues, in particular, discourses that are formed around environmental issues. The research explores the reception of environmental ideas in the Eastern Orthodox Church and its engagement in environmental activities. The aim of the research project is to study the environmental projects in Orthodox churches in several European countries, analyze the eco-narratives that are used by the research participants to describe them, and, finally, elicit and study the discourses about environment that exist among Orthodox believers across Eastern Orthodox Churches. While many scholars focus on studying the discourses produced by high-ranking church officials and religious opinion leaders, the significance of this research is to explore narratives and discourses formed on the ground through the lived environmental experiences of Orthodox believers. Primary research data will be collected in Greece, Poland, and Finland as countries that have Orthodox communities which run environmental initiatives.
Research Interests:
Monasticism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, environmental Studies