NEW YORK – During the Spring 2018 semester, Columbia’s Ukrainian Studies Program at the Harriman Institute is offering seven courses that study various aspects of Ukraine and is organizing lectures and book presentations in Ukrainian studies at the university.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:10-2:25 p.m., Dr. Mark Andryczyk will teach a course titled “Fin De Siècle Ukrainian Literature: Beauty, Duty, and Decadence.” The course focuses on the emergence of modernism in Ukrainian literature in the late 19th century and early 20th century, a period marked by a vigorous, often biting, polemic between the populist Ukrainian literary establishment and young Ukrainian writers, who were inspired by their European counterparts.
Students will read prose, poetry, and drama written by Ivan Franko, the writers of the Moloda Muza, Olha Kobylianska, Lesia Ukrainka and Volodymyr Vynnychenko, among others. The course will trace the introduction of feminism, urban motifs and settings, as well as decadence into Ukrainian literature, and will analyze the conflict that ensued among Ukrainian intellectuals as they set out forging the identity of the Ukrainian people. The course will be supplemented by audio and visual materials reflecting this period in Ukrainian culture.
Dr. Markian Dobczansky, postdoctoral fellow in Ukrainian studies at the Harriman Institute of Columbia University, will teach “Eurasian Urbanisms: From the Imperial to the Post-Soviet” (Wednesdays, 2:10-4 p.m.). This course explores the institution of the city across Eurasia from the 19th century to the present.
Before World War I, rapid urbanization began to significantly alter how the Russian Empire was run, how its economy functioned and how its various peoples interacted. With the rise of Soviet socialism, the “socialist city” became an object of intense discussions, while experimental architecture, massive public works projects and the Soviet forced labor economy changed the face of cities across Eurasia. The Cold War ushered in a new era of state-sponsored nuclear research, competition over consumer goods and a new Soviet role in the so-called Third World. Finally, with the collapse of Soviet socialism, cities were simultaneously nationalized and globalized. Dr. Dobczansky’s appointment is generously supported by the Petro Jacyk Fund.
In Spring 2018, Ambassador Valeriy Kuchynskyi will teach the course “Today’s Ukraine: Power, Politics, and Diplomacy” (Tuesdays from 2:10-4 p.m.). Ukraine is at war, and the country is in turmoil. What is to be done by the government to rebuff foreign aggression, eradicate corruption, improve the economic situation and implement reforms? What are the chances of the new opposition to succeed? Will the Minsk accords be implemented?
These and other issues, including the behind-the-scene politics, power struggle and diplomatic activities are dealt with in the newly revised course delivered by a career diplomat. The course is aimed at both graduate and advanced undergraduate students.
The course “Post/Sovietological Debates: Contentious Issues and Non-Issues in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies” (Wednesdays, 2:10-4 p.m.) will be taught by Prof. Alexander Motyl. This is an interdisciplinary course that examines some of the major controversies and “non-controversies” in the study of the Soviet Union and its successor states – including East Central Europe – and thereby traces the evolution of post-Soviet studies in general and Ukrainian studies in particular in light of actual political, historical and artistic developments within the region.
In particular, the course explores how scholarly disciplines, academic discourses, political controversies and normative predispositions affect academic debates, as well as how scholarship and the objects of scholarly study interact to affect conceptual, methodological, theoretical and empirical understandings.
Three levels of Ukrainian language instruction will be taught this spring by Dr. Yuri Shevchuk: elementary on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.; intermediate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:10-11:25 a.m.; and advanced on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1:10-2:25 p.m.
Several events have already been scheduled for the spring semester, with more to come.
On February 6 at noon, Dr. Maria G. Rewakowicz, who teaches Ukrainian literature at Rutgers University, will be presenting her latest monograph “Ukraine’s Quest for Identity Embracing Cultural Hybridity in Literary Imagination, 1991–2011” (Lexington Books, 2017).
Later that month, on February 27 at 4 p.m., Prof. Marci Shore (Yale University) will present her book “The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution” (Yale University Press, 2017).
On March 8 at noon, Dr. Tamara Martsenyuk, assistant professor at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and visiting Fulbright scholar at the Harriman Institute during the 2017-2018 academic year will present a lecture titled “Ukrainian Women at War: The Successes and Challenges of the ‘Invisible Battalion.’ ”
Dr. Shevchuk, who is also director of the Ukrainian Film Club of Columbia University, will continue to provide fans of film with consistent programming featuring Ukrainian cinema both on and off campus this spring.
Courses at Columbia are open to students from other universities in the New York metropolitan area seeking credit. Students are advised to contact the university at which you are enrolled to determine whether it participates in this manner with Columbia University. Some courses are also open to outside individuals interested in non-credit continuing studies. Additionally, through the Lifelong Learners program, individuals over 65 who are interested in auditing courses may enroll at a discount rate as Lifelong Learners. Visit the Columbia University School of Continuing Education (http://www.ce.columbia.edu/auditing/?PID =28) for more details.
January 16 is the first day of classes, and January 26 is the final day to register for a class. For more information about courses or the Ukrainian Studies Program at Columbia University, readers may contact Dr. Mark Andryczyk at [email protected] or 212-854-4697.