HOME / BLOG /

"HUSI – A Summer Experience Like No Other"

by Oleksandr Zavalov, HUSI 2020

Oleksandr ZavalovMy father always told me that every year on September 1, students in middle school had to write an essay reflecting on their experience during the summer. The typical experience of many students was visiting their grandparents. Following this tradition, my family and I almost every summer went to Kivertsi, a small town near Lutsk, where my grandparents live. When I was a child, my mother introduced me to Ukrainian culture by reading various Ukrainian poems and singing national songs. Since then, I read many Ukrainian books and I was fascinated with the depth of talent many Ukrainian writers and poets demonstrated. This summer, I decided to try something different – I applied to the Harvard Summer Program. When exploring various course options, I was excited to see the title “Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Ukrainian Literature: Rethinking the Canon” in the diverse list of interesting courses. I decided to take it to learn more about Ukrainian literature on a professional level since I never studied Ukrainian literature in class before because I went to school in the US. This course led to my participation in the Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute (HUSI).

In 2020, it was my best summer studying Ukrainian literature at Harvard. For me, as a junior in high school, it was a very different and enriching experience in both academic and cultural aspects. I did not realize the existence of some works in Ukrainian literature from authors that were undervalued in the Soviet Union. I not only discovered new poems and novels in Ukrainian literature, but with Professor Grabowicz we discussed different authors that constitute the canon of Ukrainian literature and explored new perspectives on it. Professor Grabowicz really helped me to expand my knowledge of Ukrainian literature. We discussed different problems associated with the misrepresentation, reception, and misunderstanding of the works in the canon. The literature course with Professor Grabowicz revealed to me so much more about the Ukrainian authors and their significance in shaping the canon of Ukrainian literature. 

Despite the obstacles caused by the pandemic that transformed the course format to a virtual program, I still had a fun and exciting experience at HUSI this summer. I enjoyed interesting lectures and participated in virtual events and discussions on different topics. Students have a unique opportunity to publish blog posts to reflect on their experience, which allowed me to take a moment to share my transformative experience with you. If you are striving to learn more about Ukrainian culture at any age, HUSI is the right place for you, offering courses in Ukrainian language, literature, and history. Overall, the HUSI program opens new perspectives and opportunities to fulfill your passion and creativity in the study of Ukrainian culture. In addition to the academic program, I enjoyed a diverse extracurricular program of events at HUSI this summer and explored a variety of topics with a very interesting HUSI Friday lecture series, specially designed to educate students more about Ukrainian culture. I would like to share a list of exciting events I have participated in during the summer at HUSI. 

I was also able to share some of my personal experiences with Ukrainian culture and my own family history through several HUSI blog posts: "Borscht: A Family Tradition," "Pyrohiv – A Hidden Gem of Ukrainian Cultural Heritage in Kyiv Suburbs," and "My Grandmother's Memories of Soviet Repressions and Operation Vistula." These extracurricular activities made the summer program much more than another school course—it was a full and enriching encounter with a community centered on Ukraine.