Her research interests include diaspora studies, folklore and national/ethnic identity building, material culture, belief, religious folk life, and new religious movements. Mariya's first book, “The Return of Ancestral Gods: Modern Ukrainian Paganism as an Alternative Vision for a Nation,” is devoted to a new religious and political movement that strives to revive old rural folklore while creating an alternative vision for a present-day Ukrainian nation in both Ukraine and the diaspora. Mariya speaks about her experiences in Kiev in 2006 during a celebration marking Ukraine’s then 15-year independence from the Soviet Union, which inspired her to write “The Return of Ancestral Gods.” She... published: 16 Jan 2016