Busy season for Ukrainian Canadian Program at Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies

EDMONTON - The summer and fall of 2001 were a busy time for the Ukrainian Canadian Program at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. While research on various aspects of the history of Ukrainians in Canada during the interwar period has been continuing through the combined efforts of Orest Martynowych, Andrij Makuch and Jars Balan, the UCP has likewise been involved with several initiatives designed to facilitate the further development of Ukrainian Canadian studies.

Besides assisting students at universities in Canada and abroad who are investigating a wide range of Ukrainian Canadian topics (from Paul Crath to the Ukrainian Labor-Farmer Temple Association), the UCP has been actively encouraging greater cooperation between the Center for Ukrainian Canadian Studies at the University of Manitoba, the Prairie Center for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage at the University of Saskatchewan, and the Huculak Chair of Ukrainian Folklore at the University of Alberta.

In conjunction with the latter endeavor, the program successfully launched a periodic e-mail bulletin called Field Notes from Ukrainian Canada. Intended for scholars, students and others who are interested in keeping abreast of the latest news in Ukrainian Canadian studies, the Internet newsletter is now being received by more than 80 subscribers.

In order to increase public awareness of the work of the Ukrainian Canadian Program, its co-directors Messrs. Balan and Makuch, have likewise tried to be more visible at major Ukrainian community events while pursuing speaking engagements throughout Canada. Both took part in the national conference of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation and the triennial gathering of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, held in October 2001 in Winnipeg.

In early November 2001 Mr. Makuch made several presentations as a resource person for the annual convention of the Saskatchewan Teachers of Ukrainian in Saskatoon. At the same time, Mr. Balan took advantage of a trip to the West Coast to give a talk to the Ukrainian community of Victoria, British Columbia, and on November 16-1, 2001, attended a Youth Workshop organized by the Saskatchewan UCC at St. Peter's Abbey in Muenster.

Meanwhile, preparations are well under way for a UCP-sponsored conference scheduled to take place at the University of Alberta on April 11-13. Titled "A Rock and a Hard Place: Ukrainians in Canada from the Great War to the Cold ," the gathering is intended to stimulate more research on Ukrainian Canadian life from 1924 to 1947.

For more information about the Ukrainian Canadian Program, contact Mr. Balan at jbalan@ualberta.ca, or Andrij Makuch at a.makuch@utoronto.ca Correspondence may also be directed to the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, 4-50 Athabasca Hall, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E8.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 6, 2002, No. 1, Vol. LXX

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