Report cites strength of Ukrainian history at U. of Alberta (12/15/96)

Report cites strength of Ukrainian history at U. of Alberta

by Dr. Serge Cipko

EDMONTON - An external review committee of the graduate program in history and classics at the University of Alberta released its report recently, emphasizing Ukrainian history as one of the department's strongest fields.

The committee, comprising two historians affiliated with the Universities of York (Canada) and Texas (Austin), a Professor of classics at the university of California in Berkeley, and a professor of biochemistry and oncology with the University of Alberta, conducted its report in April-May.

In its appraisal of the department of history at the University of Alberta, the report concluded: "The department and the program have grown stronger. The culture of scholarship is now in place and flourishing; the departmental vision is broader, its ambition greater and the quality of its graduate program has greatly improved."

Reflecting on the repercussions of a recent merger between the departments of history and classics, in effect from 1994 and driven by university budgetary constraints, the report remarked that mutual interaction between the two fields could find an auspicious meeting ground in among other places, Ukraine.

A "fruitful area of interaction," it suggested, "could be between the University of Alberta classical archaeologists and the strong program in the history, culture and institutions of Ukraine. This archaeologically rich land is potentially a natural - and perhaps unique - meeting ground for expansion of programs at the University of Alberta which are already breaking new ground separately."

Field trips by faculty and students of the University of Alberta to archaeological sites in Ukraine, and "invitations for Ukrainian archaeologists and historians to lecture in Edmonton," in the committee's opinion, are "only two possible manifestations of this exciting new area of research."

In its evaluation of the strength and promise of the department's faculty, the committee identified "three areas of considerable strength" in which the faculty "has already achieved national, if not international, distinction." The three areas are: Canadian history, especially western Canadian history; classical archaeology; and East European history, "and in particular the history of Ukraine, a field which is closely related to the history of Ukrainians in Canada in which the department also has considerable strength."

The report noted that there are only two faculty members in the department of history and classics who specialize in Ukraine, but there are four others employed elsewhere in the university who work in the field of Ukrainian history.

"In the broader field of Ukrainian studies," the committee report concluded, "the University of Alberta has been pre-eminent in North America."

The two specialists of Ukraine in the department of history and classics are Dr. John-Paul Himka, currently the graduate chair, and Dr. David Marples. Dr. Frances Swyripa, a specialist in Canadian Ukrainian history, holds a joint appointment with the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.

The number of graduate students under the supervision of these three faculty members in the department has steadily grown, and they reflect more diverse national backgrounds, especially East European and Japanese.

"The Report of the External Review Committee on the Graduate Program in History and Classics, University of Alberta," has recognized a strength that, in spite of a prevailing climate of fiscal constraints, is nonetheless poised to mature and expand still further.

Inquiries regarding graduate programs in Ukrainian history may be directed to: The Department of History and Classics, 2-28 Henry Marshall Tory Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H4.

Dr. Serge Cipko is a part-time sessional instructor in history at the University of Alberta and Grant McEwan Community College in Edmonton.