This year, HURI is represented at the annual convention of the American Associationa of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages (AATSEEL) in San Diego from February 6 through 9. On Sunday, February 9 from 10:15 to 12:00 pm in Balboa 1, Oleh Kotsyuba, HURI Manager of Publications, and Sandra Joy Russell, PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will lead the workshop, "Bringing Ukraine into the Classroom: Utilizing Ukraine’s Primary Database of English Translations of Literature, Documents, and Films.”
The workshop will introduce and familiarize teachers with the forthcoming Ukrainica: Ukraine’s Primary Database, a comprehensive and accessible database of English translations of Ukrainian literature, documents, and films, that will be easily navigable by researchers and teachers across disciplines and levels—from Kindergarten to college.
This HURI project, managed by Oleh Kotsyuba, addreses the fact that, although there has been a substantial increase in Ukrainian literary translation into English, especially following the 2013-2014 Euromaidan Revolution, Ukrainian literature remains relatively unknown to scholars and teachers.
The goal of Ukrainica is to develop, produce, and maintain an interactive bibliography that will streamline access to these English-language resources by linking to electronic databases, online retailers, and publishers. The database will provide an organized and navigable catalogue not only for instructors looking to integrate relevant Ukrainian sources into existing courses, but also to those looking to develop new courses within and beyond literary and Slavic studies.
In addition to familiarizing workshop attendees with Ukrainica as a vehicle for bringing a more expansive pedagogical vision to the historical, social, and cultural significance of Ukrainian literature, the workshop will consider teachers’ needs and gauge interest in Ukrainica: Ukraine’s Primary Database as a long-term digital humanities project.