Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Netherlands
fellow
Hanna Starkova
Home institution
Simon Kuznets Kharkiv National University of Economics
Country of origin (home institution)
Ukraine
Discipline(s)
Information and communication sciences
Social Sciences
Theme(s)
Contemporary violence & Justice
Cultural Studies
Digital Society
Information & media
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Hanna was a Safe Haven Fellow at NIAS during 2024-2025.
Dr Hanna Starkova is a scholar, activist, and journalist from Kharkiv, Ukraine. Since 2012, she has been working in higher education. However, she was compelled to leave her home city due to the full-scale Russian attack.
My research focuses on internet memes and their impact on younger demographics. I focus on university students because they will soon be key players in society. By analysing and comparing the results of surveys in Ukraine, Denmark and the Netherlands, we can understand how young adults perceive internet memes against a war in Europe.
I aim to demonstrate that individuals should take responsibility for the content they share, regardless of whether it is perceived as 'not serious' or humorous.
Research Project
Internet Memes in the Context of the War in Ukraine
Research question: How do internet users from Ukraine and the Netherlands use memes to highlight attitudes to the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine?
With her research Hanna Starkova wants to show that individuals should be responsible for the content they share, regardless of whether it is perceived as “not serious” or humorous.
She will conduct an online survey on memes among young people in Ukraine and the Netherlands. The survey will prioritise the study of memes and their impact on the younger demographic and will be conducted among students of BA and MA programmes in Media and Communication Studies. Hanna focuses on young people because they are the key actors of our near future society. They will determine what the economy and politics will look like, including the economy and politics of the media and the Internet.
Analysing and comparing the results of the two surveys will help to understand how young people in Ukraine and the Netherlands assess memes in general and how memes play a role in wartime.
Research Interests:
social media; war; representation; responsibility; accountability; youth; internet memes