Dr. Nataliya Shpylova-Saeed, Preceptor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
This intensive course provides a comprehensive introduction to modern Ukrainian language and culture for those who would like to speak Ukrainian or use the language for reading and research. Designed for students without any previous knowledge of Ukrainian, the course stresses all four major communicative skills (speaking, listening and viewing comprehension, reading, and writing). Students are introduced to Ukrainian culture through readings, screenings, and class discussions. This course prepares students to continue in Ukrainian at the intermediate level or for future study or travel abroad.
Meeting Time: 8:30am - 11:30am (ET/Boston time) five days per week, Monday through Friday.
Participation: Online Synchronous (live)
*This is a FLAS-eligible course, with a total of 140 contact hours of instruction. Students who require financial support must apply for a Summer FLAS Fellowship from the Davis Center, if eligible. FLAS applications are due in early February each year.
Dr. Volodymyr Dibrova, writer, translator, literary critic, and research reporter at the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
This course is designed primarily for graduate students of humanities who wish to acquire a reading knowledge of Ukrainian for research purposes. A variety of texts from different fields are used to allow students to learn about Ukrainian culture and history and explore the social, cultural, and historical context of the Ukrainian language.
PREREQUISITES: Some previous background in Ukrainian, Russian, or other Slavic languages with permission of the instructor.
Meeting Time: 10:00am to 1:00pm five days per week, Monday through Friday.
Participation: On Campus (in-person)
*This is a FLAS-eligible course, with a total of 120 contact hours of instruction. Students who require financial support must apply for a Summer FLAS Fellowship from the Davis Center, if eligible. FLAS applications are due in early February each year.
Dr. Emily Channell-Justice, Director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University
This course provides students with a framework for understanding Russia's war in Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022. Starting from the fall of the Soviet Union, the course delves into the relationship between Ukraine, Russia, and the west in order to understand the geopolitical situation that preceded war. It explores Soviet legacies in Ukraine on language, cultural practice, and ethnic and national identifications and considers the importance of mass protest and civic organizing in Ukraine's political culture. The course further considers the role of information in the current war and provides students with tools for seeking out and verifying information in the fast-moving context of war.
Meeting Time: 12:00 to 3:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Participation: On Campus (in-person)
Dr. Serhiy Bilenky, Research Associate, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta
The main focus of this course is on the cities and complex relations between tradition and modernity in Ukraine in a wider imperial and transnational context. The course introduces students to the most important social, political, and cultural issues facing modern Ukraine, from the imperial to Soviet and post-Soviet times, primarily in urban settings. We consider major cities such as Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro, as well as Jewish shtetls and monuments of Soviet industrial sublime, such as the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station. We explore such topics as the reactionary responses to modernity ranging from anti-semitism to religious conservatism; the central role of the city and urbanization; making and unmaking of nationalities; public hygiene and the limits of control; revolutionary culture and artistic avant-garde; the long-lasting effects of wars and extreme violence on society; the curse of resources; and the rise of mass culture and sport, among others. Students learn why studying Ukraine is essential for our understanding of the modern world.
Meeting Time: 12:00 to 3:00pm on Mondays and Wednesdays
Participation: On Campus (in-person)