Encounter the arts and religious traditions of this ancient land
Experience Ukrainian in an immersion setting
Enjoy the famous hospitality of the Ukrainian people
Walk the picturesque streets of medieval Lviv
About Study Abroad Summer Session in Ukraine
Conceived as a full-fledged summer school and coordinated jointly by St. Thomas
More College (STM), the University of Saskatchewan (U of S), and the Ukrainian
Catholic University (UCU), this session offers English speaking students a unique
opportunity to pursue their studies in a post-socialist society while earning
credits from a Canadian University. The format of the summer session will allow
students to explore their interests in both Ukrainian language and culture from
a variety of academic perspectives and to further their knowledge in the academic
areas represented by the offered courses. Language of instruction is English
except for language courses. Extra curricular activities such as excursions,
local concerts, and lectures are being planned in addition to the course program.
WHERE AND WHEN: June 29 - Aug. 7, 2003. In historic Lviv, a UNESCO
cultural heritage center. Directed by an international faculty with international
standards, the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) is one of the few independent
universities in Ukraine.
Courses Summer 2003
Language Courses
Intensive and semi-intensive courses in beginning, intermediate and advanced
Ukrainian are offered. No previous knowledge required. Intensive Ukrainian language
courses are scheduled for 3 hours/day, i.e. 75 hours over the course of the
5 week program. Semi-intensive courses are scheduled for 40 hours in total.
Besides formal classes participants will have time for many one-on-one conversational
practice and out-of-class activities. Class levels are based on student interviews
and diagnostic tests upon arrival.
UKR 114.3 Elementary Ukrainian I Elementary Ukrainian I is designed to accommodate students with no
previous knowledge of the Ukrainian language. The objectives of the courses
are to develop elementary proficiency in four basic linguistic skills: speaking,
reading, listening, and writing. Basic grammatical structures, sound patterns,
spelling and vocabulary will be introduced in an engaging and interactive
manner. Additional emphasis will be placed on developing sociolinguistic communicative
skills necessary for successful intercultural interaction. Course material
will engage students in exploring Ukraine's living cultural and linguistic
environment through the study of its living language on site. Instructor
TBA.
UKR 314.3 Advanced Ukrainian I Advanced Ukrainian I aims to strengthen all four communicative skills
of students of Ukrainian (speaking, reading, listening, and writing) through
engaging students in a variety of interactive activities which will range
from communicating with members of local academic and non-academic communities
to working with locally available cultural and literary texts from Ukraine
in print and other media, literature, and everyday life. The course emphasizes
further improvement of sociolinguistic skills. This course is to be conducted
in Ukrainian. Instructor TBA.
Humanities and Social Sciences Courses
Courses on Ukrainian Culture are also offered in English in conjunction with
St. Thomas More College of the University of Saskatchewan
UKR 211.3 20th century Ukraine
In the 20th century Ukraine experienced dramatic political, economic, societal
and cultural transformations which altogether led to Ukraine's political sovereignty
in 1991. Throughout this century, almost every generation of Ukrainians found
themselves living in novel conditions imposed upon them by various political
states ranging from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires to most recently
the Soviet Union. This course explores the relationship between the transformative
processes of history which have been affecting Ukraine throughout the 20th
century until now as well as societal and individual responses to those processes
that shaped contemporary Ukrainians' society, culture and various identities.
While in Western Ukraine, apart from examining cultural achievements of Ukrainians
of this period in art, literature, and architecture, students will be offered
an opportunity to explore the human response to the workings of macro-history
through direct communication and intellectual involvement with local Ukrainians
of different generations. Instructor Dr. Natalia Shostak (STM - UofS).
RELST 224.3 Christian Ritual & Worship: An Introduction
Christianity is not just a religion rooted in a historical experience or a
set of ideas or beliefs; it is also a way of life for its adherents. Christians
norm their life in many ways, one of the ways in which the life of Christian
communities is normed is ritual or worship. The course will examine Christian
ritual and worship through a historical and comparative approach. Special
emphasis will be placed on the rites of Initiation and Eucharist. Students
will be introduced to contemporary rites of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox,
and Protestant churches. Both by reading the texts of worship and by attending
Churches in the city of Lviv, students will be able to appreciate more fully
how these historic rites are manifested today. By studying the ritual and
worship of these traditions students will gain an insight into foundational
teachings of the Christian community.
RELST 326.3 Christian Thought in Art
Art has played a significant role in the history of Christianity, both as
an exemplifier of religious thought and practice and as a norming factor in
that thought and practice. In this course students will first study the theory
of art and then the historical development of Christian-Byzantine art. A substantial
section of the course will be devoted to analysis of the eighth century iconoclast
controversy and its impact on Christian thought. The course will address how
Eastern Christianity has come to see iconography as a visual expression of
Christian doctrine. Finally, attention will focus on contemporary use and
interpretation of icons by studying various examples of icons from different
periods and schools both in the classroom and in the various Churches and
museums of Lviv.
Community Life
The program mixes a lively student body from North America, Europe and Ukraine.
Residence with host families can add further to the immersion experience (but
a western-style dormitory also available). Field trips include both the cultural
events and museums of Lviv and expeditions in the countryside.
Faculty and Administration: Summer 2003
Summer Session Coordinator
Dr. Natalia Shostak
Assistant Professor
Department of Religious Studies and Anthropology
St. Thomas More College
University of Saskatchewan
1437 College Drive
Saskatoon, SK, S7N 0W6
Tel. (306) 966-8958
Fax. (306) 966-8904 natalia.shostak@usask.ca
Dr. Natalia Shostak, Ph.D. (Alberta), M.A. (Alberta), M.A. (Kyiv State)
St. Thomas More College
University of Saskatchewan
Natalia Shostak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies
and Anthropology and the Coordinator of Ukrainian Studies Teaching Consortium.
For eight years, Prof. Shostak has been involved with Harvard University Summer
School, first as a language instructor with the Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute
(HUSI) and later as HUSI Language Program Coordinator. In 2001, she was the
Director of Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute. Trained in Ukrainian ethnology
and cultural anthropology, Prof. Shostak maintains her research agenda in the
field of Ukrainian and Ukrainian Canadian cultures. Her publications and reviews
appeared in Anthropology of Eastern Europe Review, Canadian Folklore, Ethnologies,
Journal of Ukrainian Studies, Rodovid (Journal of Ukrainian Ethnology), Slavic
and East European Journal, and other collections. She co-edited a special
issue of Ethnologies "Post-Socialist Ethnography" (1999) and is currently
editing another collection of essays "Dmytro Stryjek: Identity and Poetic
Vision", stemming from a national symposium with the same name Prof. Shostak
organized at the University of Saskatchewan in 2002. Her Ph.D. study "Local
Ukrainianness in Transnational Context: an Ethnographic study of a Canadian
Prairie community" (2001) was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada and Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Currently,
this work is being translated into Ukrainian to be published by the Rodovid
Publishing House, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Ukrainian Catholic University
Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) was officially inaugurated in June 2002,
in Lviv, Ukraine. A prototype Ukrainian Catholic University existed in Rome
during the times of Soviet rule in Ukraine. In 1994, the Lviv Theological Academy
(LTA) was established in Ukraine as the first stage in the development of UCU.
The opening of UCU, with its new approach to learning as well as the only university-level
faculty of theology and philosophy and the largest modern humanities library
in Ukraine, is seen by Ukrainian and international intellectuals as a major
step in the effort to change higher education in Ukraine.
Today at UCU there are about 1,000 students, 90 teachers, two departments
and eight academic institutes. UCU houses one of the most dynamic libraries
in Ukraine with a collection of 60 000 volumes catalogued electronically. One
third of the library collection is in foreign languages. English is commonly
heard in the hallways of the University, since the majority of UCU professors
and students converse fluently in foreign languages including English. In the
near future, UCU plans to open several more departments and institutes relating
to the humanities and other social disciplines. The building of a university
complex in Lviv is planned in order to provide UCU with a structure of western
standards. These achievements of UCU offer great potential and flexibility to
the University of Saskatchewan-UCU joint summer session and other initiatives
in the future.
Ukrainian Studies Teaching Consortium
St. Thomas More College established a Ukrainian Studies Teaching Consortium
(USTC) under the direction of the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian
Heritage, housed in STM. The central objective of the Consortium is to establish
a study abroad program in Ukraine to help students from various disciplines
and campuses gain valuable international experience while pursuing their studies
in an international setting. USTC also sees this initiative as an important
step towards strengthening Ukrainian Studies at the University of Saskatchewan.
There are many websites devoted to history and culture of Ukraine and Lviv,
just use your browser to locate these sites in the webspace.
COSTS: US$1750 for full 5-week program of 9 credits of language and
culture courses, including room, board, tuition, and registration fees. Reduced
costs for partial program or auditing. Some scholarships available. Medical
insurance is not provided.
Download the Summer Session in Ukraine Application
form (rtf format).
THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIOON IS: MAY 15, 2003.
Send applications to:
Prof. Jeffrey Wills
Ukrainian Catholic University
vul. Sventsitskoho 17
79011 Lviv, Ukraine wills@ucu.edu.ua www.ucu.edu.ua
telephone: (380-322) 40-99-40
Contact
Ukrainian Catholic University
vul. Ilariona Sventsitskoho, 17
Lviv, 79011, UKRAINE
