Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
dies entails a huge cooperative effort. Indeed every opportunity should be used to create and include Ukrainian Studies elements wherever possible in the mainstream educational and research programs of uni versities and other academic and research instiutions. I judge this period as one of the most promising periods to initiate a process of making Ukrainian Studies a necessarily fundamental component of educational prog rams and projects. Furthermore, it is a crucial moment which has to be exploited. This opportunity should not be lost or wasted. Nonetheless, before undertaking a modernization program, a series of factors have to be examined and assessed. One essential factor is the evaluation of the various historical and socio-cultural contexts and si tuations in which Ukrainian Studies have been develo ped. The policies will certainly vary according to where Ukrainian Studies can be created or established or where they can be expanded or improved. Which also means that distinct approaches will certainly be necessary in each country or even in each region. I illustrate this point with two areas of which I have considerable experience. In the case of Brazil, historically the constitution of the Federal University of Parana stated that the university would have the role of studying the languages of the south of the country. This represented a real possibility for exploiting the existing structures and system to develop Ukrainian Studies and this was done from late 1984. The policy that Ukrainian Studies should be ac cessible to any member of the university community or the members of the community at large, entailed that the funding of these studies should come largely from the country’s budget for education. A support from other sources was regarded as desirable but not es sential. The justification was the obvious one — that those areas that represent national interest should be supported by the national budget. The wealthier Brazilian Ukrainains or Brazilians of Ukrainian origin had not organized any foundation to support University courses and research by that date and, anyway, state tertiary, and higher education has been free in Brazil. Another very relevant factor in Brazil was the fact that Russian or Soviet Studies were scarce in Brazil because of the 1964 Revolution. The government (dicta torship) which followed it forbade communist ideas or activities, hence the slow development of Soviet Studies. The few places which developed Soviet studies later (basically Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) focused essentially upon Soviet Russian studies and Slavic Stu dies formally did not exist. This faciliated the task of creating Ukrainian Studies significantly. The Federal University of Parana has the most adequate structure for full-fledged development of Ukrainian Studies. (Other universities also have an interest in this area). At the University of Brasilia there is a course in comparative Slavic literature with a Ukrainian element. Other Uni versities have shown interest in pursuing some form of Ukrainian Studies. The second area I want to use as an illustration is very different. In Britain, traditionally, Russian studies of the pre-Soviet era have evolved into Soviet Studies during the Soviet period. It seems to be fair to say that the process has reverted now — most of the Soviet specialists became Russian specialists and there is a lack of specialists in the other Republics of the FSU. Britain, which has been one of the main leading intel lectual countries of Europe, has still far too little too offer for those who are interested in Ukrainian Studies. Not unduly, those who advocate and promote the new nation-states now fear a Russian monopolization of teaching and research at every level. The same could be said of the other countries of Western Europe. Ideally, Europe should be one of the major target areas for the development of Ukrainian Studies simply because Ukraine is in Europe. Especially in relation to the new Europe (any shape that the EEC will eventually have) — to which Ukraine has already applied for associate membership. There is an urgent need of knowledge about Ukraine which should be universally true. The part of North America, which traditionally devel oped Ukrainian Studies most, probably has a very es sential role now. Firstly, in assisting local universities and research institutes to develop their own Ukrainian Studies departments or sections. Secondly, in assisting and cooperating with other regions to develop Ukrainian Studies. The latter also entails identifying and co-opting experts from the target areas who are either working on individual basis or those who may influence policies at their local institutions. A very important area which has been overlooked so far is the Near and the Far East. It seems to me that there are sufficient socio-political, economic and cultural justifications for the establishment of Ukrainian Studies in those parts of the world. And, last but not least, there is a principle factor. An awareness campaign should be undertaken to persuade the policy makers of each country that it is the role of the local or central government to invest in Ukrainian Studies given the status of Ukraine in the new European and world context. In other words, countries cannot expect some diaspora to finance Ukrainian Studies every where. Indeed, this should be one of the major priorities for the govenrment of Ukraine, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist in the establishment and devel opment of Ukrainian Studies. It is pointless to complain that the world knows very little about one’s country if the country is not prepared to invest time and effort in making such a knowledge possible. As a matter of fact, a desirable scenario, ideally, is that each country with which Ukraine has established or intends to establish relations should have full-fledged Ukrainian Studies at one main University and a leading "НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИСТОПАД 1993 21
Page load link
Go to Top