News

HURI Annals

Courses

Ukrainian Language Courses

Beginning Ukrainian (8 units)

Maria Rewakowicz, Ph.D., Instructor, Rutgers University

This is an intensive course for students with little or no knowledge of the language. Elementary grammatical structures will be presented through an active oral approach. Reading and discussion of simple texts along with written exercises complement the acquisition of oral and aural skills.

Intermediate Ukrainian
(8 units)

Yuri I. Shevchuk, Ph.D., Kyiv State University

An intensive review of basic structures is followed by expansion of these grammar fundamentals. Emphasis will be on oral communication using basic conversational patterns. Mastery of basic grammatical structures will be reinforced through written drills. Major emphasis will be placed on the development of vocabulary, with readings and videotaped programs focusing on contemporary cultural and political issues. Brief compositions will be assigned on a regular basis.

Advanced Ukrainian (8 units)

Volodymyr Dibrova, Instructor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University

This is an intensive course for students who wish to develop their mastery of the language. Reading selections include annotated articles on contemporary issues in business, economics, politics, and culture. Short written reports and oral presentations will be part of the course. Classes will be conducted largely in Ukrainian.

Culture, History, and Linguistics Courses

Images of Ukraine in Western Culture (4 Units)

Lubomyr Hajda, PhD, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University, and Ksenya Kiebuzinski, PhD, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University

This course explores images of Ukraine in Western culture – literature, art, and music – from the seventeenth through the mid-twentieth century. It examines the representations of Ukraine in the historical context of Western cultural development from classicism through romanticism to realism and modernism. Works to be discussed were inspired by ethnographic, legendary, and historical subjects. This examination is expected to provide new insights on the understanding of Ukraine in the creative imagination of representatives of different national cultures.

Twentieth-Century Ukraine (4 Units)

Serguei Ekeltchik, Assistant Professor of History and Slavonic Studies, University of Victoria

This course focuses on the political, economic, social, and cultural transformations that shaped the history of 20th century Ukraine. Beginning with the situation of Ukrainians within the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires, the course will examine such major themes as the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1920, “national communism,” Stalinism, the Famine of 1932-33, World War II, the development of modern society, political dissent, and Ukrainian independence. The lectures will combine a narrative overview and analysis of Ukraine’s historical experiences with a survey of recent literature and scholarly debates in the field.

Ukraine as Linguistic Battleground (4 Units)

Michael S. Flier, Oleksandr Potebnja Professor of Ukrainian Philology, Harvard University

An exploration of the Ukrainian language in linguistic, historical, sociolinguistic, anthropological, and political terms. Topics will include the historical emergence of Ukrainian on East Slavic territory, its varied relationships to Russian, the status of Rusyn within the Ukrainian language sphere, the typology and function of Ukrainian linguistic hybrids (surzhyks), current problems of Ukrainian standardization, and Ukrainian language politics.