Contemporary Ukraine: People and state. 3700-AL-CU-QSP
The scope of the course is broad and interdisciplinary serving as the foundation to achieve the two main goals of the course.
First, the course is designed as a platform to study and discuss the most important issues in Ukrainian society and culture. It will begin with the brief historical introduction, essential for understanding the current dynamics.
Throughout the course, significant attention will be given to sociolinguistic situation in Ukraine. We will discuss the reasons for long-lasting dominance of Russian and the recent decline in its use, the contested phenomenon of Surzhyk and the Ukrainian understanding of the concept of the native tongue. We will also examine how linguistic and confessional transformations influence the political system. In addition, we will analyze recent developments in Ukrainian literature and fine arts which are reflecting and perpetuating the aforementioned transitions. Ukraine will never be presented as a homogenous state and I will strive to include perspectives from both rural and urban areas, as well as various regional viewpoints. At least one meeting will be devoted to the myth of Hutsulshchna, an important touristic and cultural center located in the Carpathians which, during the ongoing war, has become a shelter for thousands of internally displaced people.
The other aim of the course goes beyond academic boundaries and incorporates a social factor. Thanks to the participation of Ukrainian experts from different regions of the country and the presence of multinational students (hopefully including students from Ukraine) we aim to foster the polyphonic discussion, based on respect and partnership. The topics covered in the classes will also be adjusted to suit the interests of the participants and, when necessary, reflect contemporary events, ensuring the most up-to-date knowledge is provided.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Assessment criteria
Assessment will be based on the ability to use the knowledge acquired during the course and on understanding the basic processes taking place in Ukraine. The final grade consists of four components:
Active participation in classes (25%)
A very short report (press review) on current events in Ukraine (5%)
Final assignment – essay (35%)
1) Oral discussion of the final assignment (35%)
Two unexcused absences are allowed.
In case of 3 or 4 unjustified absences, it is possible to make up for them after consultation. In case of 5 or more unjustified absences there is no possibility for obtaining course credit.
Graded credit
Bibliography
During the course we will discuss current Ukrainian press articles.
English translations of Ukrainian books are scarce. Thus in the literature list I am including the bunch of books and papers that are in Ukrainian and other languages that we will talk about within the course.
Andrukhovych Y., 2011, Лексикон інтимних міст
Applebaum A., 2017, Red Famine. Stalin’s War on Ukraine
Ascherson N., 2011, The Black See: From Pericles to Putin
Bilaniuk L., 2005, Contested Tongues, Language Politics and Cultural Correction in Ukraine
Bilaniuk L., 2016, Ideologies of Language in Wartime
Chromik B., 2009, Bohaterowie prawie mityczni. Narracje z Bojkowszczyzny
Cyzevs’kyj D., G.S.N. Luckyj 1997, A History of Ukrainian Literature (From the 11th to the End of the 19th Century with An Overview of the Twentieth Century
Hrytsak Y. 1998, National Identities in Post-Soviet Ukraine: The Case of Lviv and Donetsk
Hrytsak Y., 2019, Нарис історії України. Формування модерної нації ХІХ-ХХ століття
Jaroszewicz M., O. Małynowska 2018, Najnowsza migracja z Ukrainy do Polski: (nie)stały fenomen?
Lewińska, T., B. Chromik, N. Bondarenko 2026, Language Practices, Sociolinguistic Identity, and Linguistic Change in Ukraine
Pavlenko A., 2008, Multilingualism in post-Soviet countries: Language revival, language removal, and sociolinguistic theory
Pavlyshyn M., 2010 Martyrology and literary scholarship: the case of Vasyl Stus
Pieniążek P., 2017, Greetings from Novorossiya: Eyewitness to the War in Ukraine
Plokhy S., F. E. Sysyn 2003, Religion and Nation in Modern Ukraine
Plokhy S., 2015, The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine
Plokhy S., 2021, The Frontline: Essays on Ukraine's Past and Present
Strynadyuk L.P., 2014, У нас, гуцулів
Vincenz S., 1955, On the High Uplands. Sagas, Songs, Tales and Legends of the Carpathians
Yermolenko V. (ed.) 2020, Ukraine in Histories and Stories. Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals
Zabuzhko O. 2011, Field Work In Ukrainian Sex
Zaleska-Onyshkevych L.M.L., M.G. Rewakowicz, Contemporary Ukraine on the Cultural Map of Europe.
Zhadan S., 2016, Voroshilovgrad.
Zhadan S., 2021 The orphanage: A novel
Zhadan S., 2023 Sky Above Kharkiv: Dispatches from the Ukrainian Front