Dear Editor:
One of the highlights of spending a summer in Cambridge, Mass., has been the ability to attend the Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute’s Wednesday Evening Public Lectures. This summer, the HUSI students, along with other Harvard students and faculty, and the public, both Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian, have been treated to lectures on a wide range of topics.
For example, Prof. Steven Seegel spoke about his new book, “Map Men,” and the mapping of Ukraine, Kateryna Ruban spoke on the decommunization of Ukraine, Prof. Serhii Plokhii spoke on his new book, “Chernobyl,” and Prof. William Risch spoke on Euro-Maidan dreams. Regrettably, I will miss Prof. George Grabowicz’s lecture, however, last summer we were mesmerized by his scholarly biography of Taras Shevchenko.
In its 50 years of existence, the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute has provided scholarly leadership in Ukrainian studies. I doubt that any of its founding fathers ever even dreamed that archives, data and other scholarly resources in Ukraine would be open to scholars and that free travel would allow inquiries that were previously forbidden to Western scholars. It’s also amazing how many of the leaders in Ukrainian studies worldwide have studied or visited HURI.
It is refreshing to see that some doctoral students come to HUSI because their scholarly work intersects with Ukrainian topics and they see the need to become familiar with the Ukrainian language. Inclusion of Ukrainian sources in a wide range of scholarship will stimulate a greater understanding of Ukraine and Eastern Europe, before, during and after Communism.
As a member of Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute’s first class in 1971, I must say it is exciting to see how two academic generations later students are learning about Ukraine.
Amherst, Mass.