Ukrainian studies courses at Columbia open to students of other universities (05/07/06)

Ukrainian studies courses at Columbia open to students of other universities

by Diana Howansky

NEW YORK - Christine Emeran, a Ph.D. student in sociology at the New School in New York, found out the hard way that she could take Ukrainian courses at Columbia University.

With no ethnic ties to Ukraine, Ms. Emeran was working on her doctoral dissertation about social movements and their use of technology around the world - specifically the Orange Revolution and the youth group Pora's mobilization through text messaging - when she passed by a Ukrainian cultural center while riding a cross-town New York bus. A sign advertising the center's Orange Revolution photography exhibit caught her eye, so she got off the bus, talked with the center's front-desk person about her research, and asked where in the city she could take Ukrainian classes for her language requirement.

Later, with a bit more sleuthing on the Internet and guidance from her university professors, Ms. Emeran finally found and registered for beginner Ukrainian at Columbia for the 2005-2006 academic year.

"I would definitely encourage people to investigate [cross-registration], and I think people are busy and don't take the time. Columbia offers great classes, and it's a missed opportunity not to have taken a class here at some point," she said.

Ukrainian courses offered at Columbia, which include language, history, literature and other fields, are open to students from other universities in the New York metropolitan area through cross-registration, as well as to individuals interested in non-credit continuing studies.

Because of existing agreements, undergraduate and graduate students from New York University can register directly with their school for Ukrainian language classes at Columbia, while Ph.D. candidates from universities which are part of what is called the "Columbia University Consortium" (including the New School, New York University, City University of New York, Rutgers University, Princeton University and others) can register for non-language courses by obtaining appropriate approval from both their home school and Columbia.

"For me, I've been able to expand beyond my immediate circle and encounter other people involved with my research. At the New School, we don't have the same resources," said Ms. Emeran, who wants to use her new Ukrainian language skills to apply for a grant and do her dissertation research in Ukraine.

One of her fellow classmates, Ksenia Yachmetz, is an undergraduate freshman at New York University who is of Ukrainian descent and was raised in the Ukrainian diaspora in New York's East Village. After discontinuing Ukrainian Saturday school in the fourth grade, Ms. Yachmetz only recently rediscovered the Ukrainian language.

"My baba [grandmother] would speak to me in 'Uki,' and I would respond in English - that whole spiel," Ms. Yachmetz said. "I love the language. It's one of those things that, if you told me in the fourth grade that I would want to read Ukrainian poetry all the time, I'd laugh in your face."

As a student double-majoring in Slavic studies and journalism, Ms. Yachmetz plans to continue taking Ukrainian at Columbia even after her language requirement is completed. She is also considering pursuing an independent study project supervised by a Columbia Ukrainian studies professor.

"The trouble with [cross-registration] is the processing, but it's worth it," she said. "I love coming up here. I don't mind the travel. It's kind of the best of both worlds. NYU and Columbia are both really different. When I come to Columbia, I sometimes feel like I'm in a different world. I'm impressed; I don't know another university with such a young program that's so enthusiastic. It's definitely the right direction in terms of the Slavic studies movement, and all the events that are plentiful. I've become so aware. You know, my baba's on Second Avenue, but I'm 10 times more aware because I'm here."

Gennady Poberezny, a graduate student at Rutgers University's geography department, meanwhile, opted to register for Columbia's interdisciplinary course on language, culture and identity issues in contemporary Ukraine, taught during the spring 2006 semester by leading Ukrainian publicist and Petro Jacyk Visiting Scholar at Columbia Mykola Riabchuk.

"I know [Riabchuk's] reputation academically and politically," Mr. Poberezny said. "You have quite prominent people teaching here. I was specifically interested in people who come as a visiting professor, because that's my opportunity to meet them, to learn from them, since they're not always available. I'm not coming to learn as much about Ukraine, but what I'm really looking for is maybe a different angle or perspective about something I already know. And that's what visiting scholars usually offer."

Mr. Poberezny, who was born in Kyiv but left when he was 2 months old and now holds Russian and Canadian citizenship, said he became interested in Ukraine from an academic point of view when he came to the United States.

"This is an opportunity for someone who does not live in Ukraine to understand how they think, since I'm an outsider and they're an insider," Mr. Poberezny said. "I'm taking this course, not because I need it [for credit], but because it's a great opportunity. So why not? Even if I would not be able to qualify to take it as a graduate student, I would have come to sit in anyway."

For information about registering for or auditing Ukrainian courses at Columbia University, contact Diana Howansky at 212-854-4697 or [email protected]. The Columbia Ukrainian Studies Program webpage is located at http://www.harrimaninstitute.org/programs/ukrainian_studies_program.html.

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