International Association of Ukrainian Studies to convene in 2002 in Chernivtsi (09/16/01)

International Association of Ukrainian Studies to convene in 2002 in Chernivtsi

by Robert De Lossa

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The International Association of Ukrainian Studies (IAUS) has issued its call for the Fifth World Congress of Ukrainian Studies. The congress will be held in the scenic city of Chernivtsi on August 26-29. Scholars from all over the world are expected to participate in what will be the most comprehensive Ukrainian studies convocation to date. The IAUS has national affiliates all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America.

IAUS President Mykola Zhulynskyi, an academician who recently served as Ukraine's vice prime minister for cultural affairs, has indicated that the forthcoming congress will be more multidisciplinary than its predecessors. To this end, the organizing committee has been working to identify new areas and disciplines in which Ukraine is studied in order to bring the congress to the attention of new practitioners.

Organizing committee member Yaroslav Hrytsak, a professor at Lviv's Ivan Franko University, pointed out: "There is a greater than ever need to bridge generations and national boundaries in Ukrainian studies. We expect this congress to allow new voices to be heard and new partnerships - even across oceans - to be forged."

The text of the call makes explicit a sense of responsibility to re-examine Ukraine at the point of 10 years of its independent existence. It reads in part: "The very fact of Ukraine's independence has provided Ukrainianists with new perspectives in research. Today it becomes ever more evident that both the character and trajectory of Ukraine's post-Communist transformation - its successes and failures - are to a large extent dependent on the previous historical and cultural legacy of Ukraine. The present 'state of the nation' calls for a critical reassessment of this legacy - for a closer analysis of those elements that are presently responsible for structural benefits and/or constraints on the evolution of culture and society in Ukraine and that will continue to have a long-term impact on Ukraine's development. Of special interest is the multicultural character of this legacy, which has not yet been adequately integrated into Ukrainian studies."

The IAUS has a tradition of holding its congresses in different regions of Ukraine. Its inaugural congress was held in Kyiv in 1990. In 1993 the Congress was held in Lviv; in 1996 in Kharkiv; and in 1999 in Odesa. Chernivtsi, capital of Bukovyna, holds a rich and unique cultural heritage. It also offers the IAUS an opportunity to "bring into the fold" other disciplines that traditionally have not thought of themselves in terms of Ukrainian studies, for example, scholars focusing on Hapsburg culture and history, Romanian studies and Jewish urban life, among others. The organizing committee expressed hope that new groups will recognize their value as part of the larger realm of Ukrainian studies and, in turn, will be better informed about the Ukrainian component of their own studies. This represents an essential evolutionary step in the growth of a mature examination of Ukraine.

A final consideration that the IAUS has expressed in its current call is the inclusion of younger scholars in this congress. This is especially important for new scholars establishing themselves in Ukraine, and elsewhere as well. To this end, the IAUS is embarking on an aggressive fund-raising campaign to make attendance at the congress as open to all deserving scholars as possible.

Another important aspect of fund-raising has been the proactive way in which Chernivtsi National University is working to prepare for the congress. This includes a commitment to infrastructural improvement of buildings and electronic informational resources, which is dependent on the receipt of donor resources.

The organizing committee has been working with a CNU coordinating committee at the university to draft budgets and grant proposals to meet the school's needs. This marks a significant change in modus operandi for the university, which is usually entirely dependent on state budgetary allocations for operations.

The deadline for proposal submissions is December 1, 2001. The full text of the call and submission guidelines may be found at www.ukrainianstudies.org.

Those who do not have access to the Internet may receive the materials by contacting the following individuals: for Canada - Natalia Pylypiuk, President, Canadian Association of Slavists, Modern Languages and Cultural Studies: Germanic, Romance, Slavic, 200 Arts, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E6, Canada; telephone, (780) 492-3498; fax, (780) 492-9106; e-mail, [email protected]; for the United States - Robert De Lossa, President, American Association for Ukrainian Studies, P.O. Box 5385, Wayland, MA 01778-6385; telephone/fax, 1-508-651-1136; e-mail, [email protected].

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