# Introducing HUSI 2024 June 05, 2024 - [ News ](/news-categories/news) HURI is looking forward to the launch of the 53rd consecutive [Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute (HUSI)](https://huri.harvard.edu/harvard-ukrainian-summer-institute), a dedicated program within the Harvard Summer School offering Ukrainian Studies courses. Established in 1971, it is the only program of its kind in America, catering to undergraduates, graduates, and working professionals. HUSI offers four academic courses, each involving seven weeks of intensive instruction. ![Crimea Roundtable Discussion](/sites/g/files/omnuum4931/files/huri/files/crimea_roundtable_2b_1.jpg) Courses are supplemented by a weekly events series hosted by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI). Dr. Emily Channell-Justice highlights this guest lecture series, calling it a chance for students to see the “kinds of research happening about Ukraine today” and to “hear different perspectives than those of their course faculty.” For a rigorous introduction to the Ukrainian language, HUSI offers “Intensive Elementary Ukrainian,” a course designed for those with no prior Ukrainian knowledge. The program stresses speaking, writing, reading, listening, and viewing comprehension. The course is taught by preceptor Dr. Nataliya Shpylova-Saeed, who says that grasping the Ukrainian language is vital to understanding Ukrainians’ “unflagging resistance against Russia’s brutal invasion,” as well as “their belief in freedom and democracy.” She points out that the language has “endured numerous bans” from both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, this language has survived and is spoken by about 45 million people worldwide. “This is quite symbolic in the context of Ukrainians’ defense of their country, culture, and language in the face of Russia’s ongoing assault,” Shpylova-Saeed concludes. This course addresses Soviet attempts to Russify the Ukrainian language and explores how these efforts were overcome through Ukrainian independence. Shpylova-Saeed recognizes that traditionally, there is often “a considerable focus” on Russian, in discussions about Ukraine’s language scene. The instructor refers to this as one of the “long-lasting stereotypes'' that was “vigorously maintained” by the Soviet Union. She suggests more attention should be paid to the many other languages that played a role in Ukraine’s multilingualism. Crimean Tatar, Polish, Hungarian, and Romanian are examples she brought up as contributors to the country’s cultural diversity. As an educator, Shpylova-Saeed enjoys learning from her students. Through the students’ questions, insights, and comments, she says she winds up learning new things about “the language and culture that I have known since my childhood.” In her teaching, she prioritizes dialogue and the “collaborative exchange of ideas.” She says she invites students to pose tough questions and to explore those questions through reading, writing, and discussions. “Challenging questions take us out of our comfort zones,” she explains. Shpylova-Saeed adds that such questions help open “new perspectives and avenues” to deepen the students’ appreciation of complexities. With these methods, Shpylova-Saeed says she aims to push forth the class’s “inquisitive spirit.” ![Student attending Oleh Kotsyuba lecture.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4931/files/huri/files/oleh_kotsyuba_6_1.jpg) Graduate students of the humanities with some prior background in Slavic languages are eligible to take “Ukrainian for Reading Knowledge.” Taught by the well-known Ukrainian writer and HURI Research reporter Volodymyr Dibrova, this course aims to bestow advanced Ukrainian reading comprehension for research purposes and professional use. Dibrova has been teaching this popular course since the summer of 2011. Texts from various fields are explored, enabling students to learn about the social, cultural, and historical context of the Ukrainian language. Dibrova says, “Among my students there are political scientists, historians, linguists, anthropologists or literary scholars who suddenly discovered a new, exciting country. This course is for them.” Dibrova conceptualized and began creating this program fifteen years ago. When asked what drew him to teach this subject, Dibrova said he realized that there is a need, as well as a “huge audience,” amongst people who have already studied Russian or other Slavic languages, to switch to handling Ukrainian material. This course involves many types of texts, including fiction, non-fiction, academic writing, newspaper articles, and even websites. Instruction focuses on expanding the students’ vocabulary, building up essential grammar, and employing different strategies for reading. The instructor is particularly fond of Fridays, when students get the opportunity to discuss their favorite books, poems, artists, and songs. He referred to it as a wonderful chance to “let your hair down” as well as a time to build bridges with Ukrainian culture. As an educator, he believes that when a teacher has fun, so do their students. “Joy is contagious.” When asked for a fun fact about his course to include in this article, he responded that fun is “everywhere or nowhere,” and that his curriculum is “packed with good vibes.” Dibrova says he has never stopped discovering new things about Ukraine: its history, its culture, “and above all, its people.” This summer marks Dr. Emily Channell-Justice’s third year of teaching “Ukraine in the World: Exploring Contemporary Ukraine.” The Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program director at HURI seeks to help students from all academic backgrounds understand the Russo-Ukrainian war. Her approach is to cover significant geopolitical changes in the wake of Ukraine’s independence while also acknowledging “the daily experiences of ordinary people." Starting with the fall of the USSR, this course excavates the connections between Ukraine, Russia, and the West. It examines the legacy of the Soviet Union on Ukraine’s language, cultural practices, and ethnic/national identity. Students will discover the role of mass protest and civic organizing in Ukraine’s political culture. This topic is a particular area of expertise for Channell-Justice, who wrote a 2022 book about the Euromaidan protests called “Without the State.” What’s more, the course considers the role of information in the current conflict and aims to provide students with the tools to find and verify knowledge in the kinetic context of war. Channell-Justice hopes to support those who are considering Ukrainian studies or focusing on Ukraine for thesis research. This year, she organized the course around a very [recent publication](https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=russia-and-ukraine-entangled-histories-diverging-states--9781509557363) by Maria Popova and Oxana Shevel, the latter of whom will be delivering a HUSI public lecture this summer. Channell-Justice is excited at the prospect of her students engaging with the authors’ ideas on the intersection of geopolitics and Ukraine’s decolonial war. The instructor says one of her favorite days of class focuses on “gender, feminism, and sexuality in Ukraine.” She says she encourages students to use gender as a lens in their research on any topic. She also likes to highlight recent publications about Ukraine in gender studies, including her own work about feminism during Euromaidan. “There’s still often a misconception that feminism or LGBTQ activism doesn’t really exist in Ukraine,” she explains. “That’s simply not true- even in the context of full-scale war.” ![Student attending Borys Gudziak lecture.](/sites/g/files/omnuum4931/files/huri/files/borys_gudziak_10c_1.jpg) Students seeking an introduction to the most significant social, political, and cultural issues facing modern Ukraine, stemming from imperial to Soviet and post-Soviet times, may consider the course “Tradition and Modernity: Ukraine in the 19th and 20th Centuries.” Taught by Dr. Serhiy Bilenky, this course focuses on cities and the complex relationship between tradition and modernity. Bilenky is the director of HUSI, a historian at the University of Toronto, and the author of a recent book titled “The Laboratory of Modernity.” This publication explores how 19th-century diversity shaped modern Ukraine into a multiethnic country. The course explores the reactionary backlash towards modernity through topics such as anti-Semitism or religious conservatism. Some subjects dwell on the logistics of nation building, such as urbanization, the burden of resources, public hygiene and regulatory control, and the lasting impact of war and extreme violence. Other topics lean towards culture, such as the artistic avant-garde, revolutionary attitudes, national identity, and the popularization of sports and mass culture. Bilenky has created a varied, multifaceted, and comprehensive history course that leaps between the past and present. Urban centers are the focal points of this course, with emphasis given to Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro. Jewish shtetls, hydroelectric works, and monuments of the "Soviet industrial sublime” all get their day in the sun. Discussion questions span a broad range of topics, from epidemics to anti-Semitism to Chornobyl. With Dr. Bilenky as a guide, prepare to do a deep dive into this nation, which exists at a civilizational crossroads. The Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute supports students in their academic advancement and career development. This summer, we’re welcoming new members to this diverse and interdisciplinary community of scholars! See also:- [ HUSI 2024 ](/tags/husi-2024) - [ Ukrainian studies ](/tags/ukrainian-studies) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)