Study of Ukraine promoted in Kansas (07/30/06)

Study of Ukraine promoted in Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kansas - The University of Kansas Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (CREES) is one of 16 Title VI Comprehensive National Resource Centers for the Russian and East/Central European area supported by the U.S. Department of Education.

CREES has been a national resource center since 1965, offering degree-granting programs. Ukrainian studies became available 14 years ago after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Dr. Maria Carlson, director of the center at that time, negotiated academic exchanges with Ivan Franko National University (IFNU) in Lviv, and, in 1992 three professors from Lviv came to teach at the University of Kansas (KU): Prof. Volodymyr Piletski, teaching intermediate-level Ukrainian; Prof. Mykola Rozhyk, teaching Ukrainian history; and Prof. Daniela Olesnevych teaching economics of Ukraine. It was a bold and courageous step into a new and challenging world for Ukrainian faculty.

Since then, many other professors from KU and from Ivan Franko University have taken advantage of the Department of Education and Department of State grants that have facilitated these exchanges. Courses in Ukrainian language, literature, history and culture are currently offered. The University of Kansas Library has actively worked to increase its holdings of Ukrainian-language materials both in bound volumes and electronic resources in all disciplines.

KU faculty have traveled to Lviv to teach courses for entire semesters, for example, Profs. Paul D'Anieri and Leslie Dienes have taught courses in political science and political geography and culture of the U.S. and Canada, respectively. To increase the Ukrainian collection, Slavic librarians Brad Schaffner (now at Harvard) and Jon Giullian actively acquired materials. Librarian Jennie Dienes also spent two semesters in Lviv purchasing items at Lviv book forums and bookstores, and traveled to Kyiv to purchase materials there as well.

Faculty and graduate students from Lviv find KU a very friendly and helpful place for them to pursue their academic interests. Recent visitors were Dr. Viktor Krevs and Vice-Rector Volodymyr Kyrylych from the administrative side; Profs. Natalia Chernysh and Viktor Susak, sociology; and Anatoliy Romanyuk, Lyubomyr Skochylyas and Yurii Shveda, political sciences.

Last year, after Prof. Chernysh completed a three-month research stay at KU, she and other faculty in the Ivan Franko Sociology department prepared a conference in Lviv concerning changes in the study of sociology in Ukraine as a result of the exchange visits by professors and graduate students. Several faculty members of the sociology department at KU presented papers at this conference. In addition to the conference, KU and IFNU faculty collaborated on a May-June program of seminars for students at IFNU.

The Maria Palij Memorial Lectures are especially important to the University of Kansas and beyond. The guest speakers are specialists on Ukraine and its economic and democratic development. Profs. Alexander Motyl (2006) and Taras Kuzio (2005) also presented lectures about a decade ago, but provided new insights in Ukraine's democratic development during their recent visits. Profs. Mark Von Hagen (2004), Anna Procyk (2003) and Herbert J. Ellison (2002) have elaborated on Ukraine's bid for independence at various points in history and the rocky road it has taken.

CREES organizes roundtables, workshops, brown bag lunches and, most recently, web-cam video transmissions to encourage and allow KU faculty and research visitors from IFNU and other Ukrainian universities to share their views and opinions about the events occurring in Ukraine or their particular research interests.

Recent brown bag speakers were Taras Senyuta (IFNU, speaking on Chornobyl), Elmira Muratova (Tavrida University in Symferopol, on Chechnya), and Tatyana Boryak (Taras Shevchenko University in Kyiv, on escaping Bolshevism 1919-1939). Prof. Alexander Tsiovkh regularly provides updates on what is happening in Ukraine.

This program in Kansas is committed to providing courses and other opportunities for studying Ukraine and its position in the world.

- Jennie Dienes

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