The sun was still high in the sky on a perfect October day last fall when I finished setting up my campsite in the Chattahoochee National Forest outside Helen, Georgia. Wandering through the woods to explore my new surroundings, I came to a sudden halt at the sight of an enormous spider, perched in the center of a giant web stretched across my path.

The war in Ukraine may seem a million miles away, but one doesn’t have to travel halfway across the world to find the Western perspective on it. A small group of scholars from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee — some with roots in the war-torn region — are using their experience and academic skillsets to help educate the public about a complicated, confusing conflict that is already beginning to have global implications.