Columbia's Ukrainian Studies Program probes political situation in Donetsk
NEW YORK - The Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia University organized two events on December 10, focusing on the current political situation in Ukraine and, in particular, Donetsk.
The first roundtable featured the rector of Donetsk State University, Prof. Volodymyr Shevchenko, who spoke about the Ukrainian education system, as well as the current political crisis in Ukraine.
Prof. Shevchenko is a renowned physico-mathematician, a member of Ukraine's Academy of Sciences and the head of Donetsk's local Prosvita Society, which promotes the Ukrainian language and culture.
Prof. Shevchenko's presentation was immediately followed by the second event, a panel discussion about Ukraine's electoral crisis with Prof. Frank Sysyn (University of Alberta), Prof. Zenon Kohut (University of Alberta), Prof. Yaroslav Hrytsak (Lviv University) and Adriana Helbig (Columbia University, Ph.D. candidate). Prof. Mark von Hagen, the director of Columbia's Ukrainian Studies Program, moderated this discussion.
In the upcoming months, Prof. Shevchenko will be working with Prof. von Hagen, who is also the president of the International Association of Ukrainian Studies (IAUS), to organize IAUS' sixth international congress in the city of Donetsk from June 29-July 1, 2005.
The mission of the IAUS is to promote the development of Ukrainian studies, namely in the area of humanities and social sciences, and to facilitate international cooperation between scholars and institutions in this field.
More information about IAUS and its Congress, along with application forms, can be found on the website www.mau.org.ua.
The Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia, which offered courses in Ukrainian language, sociolinguistics and history in the fall 2004 semester, has expanded following a successful development campaign earlier this year. This campaign brought the Columbia endowed fund for teaching Ukrainian history to the $1 million mark. Courses in Ukrainian language and literature will also be offered at Columbia during the spring 2005 semester.
To join the mailing list of Columbia's Ukrainian Studies Program or to obtain additional information about the program, please contact Diana Howansky, staff associate, at [email protected] or (212) 854-4697.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 2, 2005, No. 1, Vol. LXXIII
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