Roundtable examines the state and future of Ukrainian studies in Canada (07/07/02)

Roundtable examines the state and future of Ukrainian studies in Canada

by Oksana Zakydalsky

TORONTO - A chain of chairs of Ukrainian studies at universities coast-to-coast had long been one of the dreams of Ukrainian scholars, academics and the Ukrainian community in Canada. There is no doubt that dream is dead, but are Ukrainian studies "a remembrance of things past" as Dr. Yarema Kelebay titled his paper on Quebec? Or can Ukrainian studies be preserved or even develop? In what direction should changes be made? Where can Ukrainian studies find a place in the new Canada?

These were some of the issues discussed at the round table organized by the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences (UVAN) with the Shevchenko Scientific Society (NTSh) to discuss the state and future of Ukrainian studies in Canada. The round table was held at the KUMF gallery on May 25 and, as the Canadian Congress of Social Sciences and the Humanities was in session in Toronto that week, the round table was able to attract participants from all across Canada.

The event was chaired by Prof. Marko Horbatsch, York University, and it was led off by Andriy Makuch, CIUS, who provided an overview of Ukrainian language teaching at Canadian universities. Using updated data (1983/1984-2001/2002) initially compiled by Dr. Frances Swyripa, he showed that the only university that has maintained a level enrollment figure in Ukrainian language courses has been Alberta. Enrollment at other universities has fallen today to an average of one-third of the figure 20 years ago. Currently, only the universities of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the west and Toronto in eastern Canada have any students in Ukrainian language courses. (The Universities of Calgary, Regina and British Columbia in the west and Ottawa, Waterloo and York in the east provided no courses in Ukrainian in the past year.) The three western universities also augment Ukrainian studies enrollment by giving courses in folklore and culture studies while Toronto has students enrolled in Ukrainian literature courses. One of the reasons Alberta has managed to hold on to Ukrainian language students is the fact that the university has a second language requirement for graduation.

Dr. Oleh Krawchenko (St. Andrew's College, University of Manitoba), Dr. Roman Yereniuk (department of Slavic studies, University of Manitoba), Dr. Alla Nedashivska (University of Alberta) and Dr. Natalia Shostak (University of Saskatchewan) outlined the Ukrainian courses offered at their institutions and, although there is still some choice in the subjects offered and individual Ukrainian-related research projects in the works, enrollment in most of the courses is declining.

The Rev. Petro Galadza spoke about Ukrainian studies at the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute, which moved from Chicago to become part of St. Paul's University in Ottawa in 1990. Although Ukrainian studies are taught under the wider subject of Eastern Christian studies, the institute has enough control over the curriculum that it can implement policy to ensure its Ukrainian component. All full time staff (of which there are currently three persons, with eight sessional lecturers) must be able to function in the Ukrainian language, and the funding is in the hands of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Fund, which functions under the aegis of the Ukrainian Catholic eparchies of Canada.

Dr. Kelebay's paper on Ukrainian studies in Quebec began with the observation that there are no formal Ukrainian programs or courses at any Quebec universities and, although this was not always the case, their number was always minuscule. The existence of Ukrainian studies in Quebec was dependent on what he calls "more personal, entrepreneurial Ukrainian studies endeavors" - in other words, several strong personalities.

The two discussion participants who focused on the future of Ukrainian studies were Dr. Taras Koznarsky, who teaches Ukrainian literature at the University of Toronto and Dr. Olya Andriewsky, associate professor of history, University of Trent, Peterborough, Ontario. Focusing on language and literature, Dr. Koznarsky said that Ukrainian language programs need to be made more flexible and should take into consideration the requirements of long-distance learning and the use of electronic programs on the Internet. Ukrainian topics should be included in interdisciplinary studies such as, for example, courses in translation for non-Ukrainians or in general literature courses such as women in prose or the Ukrainian and Russian avant-garde. He pointed out that there exists a potential for more involvement from Fourth Wave immigrants, some of whom have come to Canada with a highly developed interest in Ukrainian university programs.

Dr. Andriewsky said she considers the term "Ukrainian studies" to be an archaic one. She pointed out that it is not merely things Ukrainian that have undergone enormous changes in the last decade, giving examples from her field of history. History is now studied differently. It is shedding its Euro-centrist approach; interest in post-Soviet studies is waning and the study of world history is taking its place. The study of national history is a dying subject; research is now being done on general, global problems rather than national ones. Furthermore, the place of the university in society has undergone a transformation. University administration is now run on the business model, and in this new university there is less support or space for "small" courses such as Ukrainian studies, with Alberta being an exception in this case.

Therefore, Dr. Andriewsky said, the future of Ukrainian studies is in specific projects, not chairs. She gave three examples of possible history projects. The first should be the 1932-1933, famine which has not been thoroughly researched as the documentation is only now becoming accessible. Another topic that needs attention is World War II in Ukraine as a scholarly research project, not a popularization. Thirdly, as society has become more urbanized, the Ukrainian pioneer experience has become of less interest to contemporary Canadian society, and, she said, "Ukrainians have fallen off the pages of the history of Canada." Thus, the history of Ukrainians in Canada definitely needs attention.

In conclusion, one can say that declining student enrollment in Ukrainian studies and courses is challenging academics to re-evaluate the field of Ukrainian studies. As the university which enjoys administrative and government support, Alberta is currently the functioning center of Ukrainian studies in Canada. The two other western universities - Manitoba and Saskatchewan - continue to hold their own and, although their enrollment numbers are falling, they are not yet considered to be at a crisis level. Although the Metropolitan Sheptytsky Institute has developed a niche for Ukrainian studies within Eastern Christian Studies, other Ontario universities need a variety of creative approaches to positioning Ukrainian courses and topics within the new societal and academic constellations.

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