Ukrainian Studies at Harvard

History and Development

The origin of Ukrainian Studies at Harvard dates back to 1957, when the Federation of Ukrainian Student Organizations of America (SUSTA) proposed to endow a chair in Ukrainian Studies at a leading American university as a means of preserving and advancing Ukrainian scholarship. In 1962 the Ukrainian Studies Fund was incorporated and started fundraising efforts toward endowing a chair at an American university. By 1967, $280,000 had been raised for the undertaking by the Ukrainian Studies Fund at which point a Council of Academic Advisers was convened ̶ a body of Ukrainian professors from various American colleges and universities ̶ and they selected Harvard as the institution best suited for a program of Ukrainian Studies, particularly because of its strong tradition in East European and Soviet studies.

Additional funds were raised to meet the $600,000 endowment required for a chair at Harvard, and on January 22nd, 1968, a chair in Ukrainian history was established at the University. An ad hoc Committee on Ukrainian Studies was appointed by the Dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences to supervise and coordinate the activities of the Ukrainian Studies Program. The ad hoc Committee formulated a plan to endow additional chairs in Ukrainian literature and language, to organize a publishing program, to expand the library collection, to introduce Ukrainian courses at the Harvard Summer School, and to establish a research institute. During the academic year 1968-69, courses in Ukrainian studies were offered by several Harvard departments. Ad hoc programs of study were set up to prepare a new generation of scholars in Ukrainian Studies. Funds were allocated for the expansion of library holdings, and the first volume of the Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies was published.

Chairs in Ukrainian literature and language were endowed in January 1973, and the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI) was established in June of that year. The main objectives of the Institute were to support basic research projects and to provide annotated bibliographies and teaching materials in Ukrainian history, literature and language. Professors on sabbatical leave from other universities and qualified researchers were invited to cooperate in this effort with the associates of the Institute. Currently the Institute mission is “To advance knowledge of Ukraine through teaching, research, and publication in the humanities and the social sciences at Harvard and worldwide.” (HURI website) Since the renewal of Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the Institute has broadened its scope to include contemporary topics important to an understanding of a modern Ukraine.

A significant milestone occurred in 1974 for Ukrainian Studies at Harvard, it marked the completion of the formal structure of the program at the University. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted that the ad hoc Committee on Ukrainian Studies be superseded by a Standing Committee appointed by the President of the University. The formation of a Visiting Committee of the Ukrainian Research Institute represented yet another step in the integration of Ukrainian Studies within the University. The Visiting Committee reported to the Board of Overseers ̶ one of the University’s two central governing boards ̶ on how effectively the Institute was pursuing its goals. Seven years after the establishment of a chair in Ukrainian history at Harvard, the Board of Overseers confirmed the appointment of Professor Omeljan Pritsak as the first Mykhailo S. Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian history, effective July 1, 1975.

Since its inception in 1968, the Ukrainian Studies Program at Harvard has created an opportunity for many scholars beyond the Harvard community to utilize the considerable resources that have been developed at the University. The Ukrainian Research Institute has hosted a few hundred research associates, fellows and graduate students from universities around the world. Specialists in economics, political science, anthropology, art history, archaeology, sociology, theology and many other disciplines have worked under the aegis of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, and have substantially broadened and diversified the dimensions of Ukrainian Studies worldwide.

The Summer School

Courses in Ukrainian disciplines have been offered as part of the Harvard Summer School curriculum since 1971. Prior to 1976, eight-week courses in Ukrainian history, literature and language were taught every summer. However, in 1977, the Ukrainian Studies Fund proposed a more intensive, tuition-free program comprising courses in Ukrainian disciplines for a period of four weeks, where students lived in university dormitories. The purpose of this program was to encourage young people to use the Ukrainian language outside of school. Through the current seven-week program, hundreds of students have had the opportunity to listen to lectures on Ukrainian history, literature, and language conducted by Harvard faculty and guest lecturers invited from other universities. The Summer School program is open to all students who are in good standing in their college degree programs.

The academic program is supplemented with special lectures, films and library exhibits. All facilities of the University are open to the Summer School students, including the language laboratory for individual instruction and practice in Ukrainian. Students may use the Harvard University Library, which includes a vast body of Ukrainian research materials not found elsewhere. Summer School students are also provided with special library and study facilities at the Ukrainian Research Institute.

Summer students who display talent and a strong interest in the field are encouraged to pursue academic careers in Ukrainian studies.

The Library Collections

The Harvard University Library, which is comprised of over ninety individual libraries, is one of the great research collections in the world. “Ucrainica” can be found in many of the individual libraries within the Harvard System. This includes documentation produced on Ukrainian ethnic territory, materials about the events which took place on this territory, as well as materials authored by scholars of Ukrainian origin. The development of Ukrainian collections at Harvard began long before the creation of the Ukrainian Studies Program at this university.

The accelerated and systematic accumulation of the Ukrainian collections at Harvard began in 1968, when the Committee on Ukrainian Studies appropriated funds for additional acquisitions. “Ucrainica” has been acquired through gifts, purchases and exchanges. Since 1968, Harvard has been purchasing microfilms, copies and scans of works not available in the original format.

Among the rare titles of “Ucrainica” found in the Harvard collections are the Apostol and Primer, the first books printed in Ukraine by Ivan Fedorov (Lviv, 1574); the edicts of Hetman Ivan Mazepa; the manuscript of Hryhoriy Skovoroda’s Dialogue; and the first editions of classic works by Ivan Kotliarevsky, Taras Shevchenko and Panteleymon Kulish.

In October 1970, the Ukrainian Seminar Library was established at Widener Library as a core reference collection primarily for historians. In addition to housing the basic periodicals, serials, source collections and monographs from the Widener Library holdings, the Seminar Library serves as a depository for many volumes drawn from the extensive Harvard Law School Library.

The Reference Library of the Ukrainian Research Institute, created in 1973, holds reserve materials for the various courses, seminars and tutorials offered by the Ukrainian Studies Program. The Reference Library has also funneled thousands of gifts to the appropriate “Ucrainica” subject collections within the Harvard System.

Several library exhibits have been sponsored by the Ukrainian Studies Program to acquaint the University community and the general public with the Ukrainian collections at Harvard.

Publications

One of the primary objectives of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard is to publish scholarly works dealing with Ukrainian disciplines. The Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies includes a Monograph Series for original scholarly works; a Sources and Documents Series for archival documents and conference proceedings; occasional papers or essays of particular interest; and an Offprint Series for reproductions of articles by associates of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute that appear in non-Institute publications.

Harvard Ukrainian Studies, an international scholarly journal, began publication in 1977. Specialists in Slavic studies from North America, Europe, and the Middle East serve on the HUS editorial board, and/or as consultants to the editors. The journal is a forum for the exchange of research in Ukrainian Studies and encourages an interdisciplinary approach to the field. It publishes articles, reviews, documents, discussions, and book reviews on topics in Ukrainian history, language, literature, and related disciplines. Contributors include leading scholars, young professionals in Ukrainian and Slavic studies, as well as associates of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.

The semi-annual journal Recenzija: A Review of Soviet Scholarly Publications was founded on the initiative of two graduate students and appeared in print between 1970 and 1979. The journal examined Soviet Ukrainian books and periodicals in the humanities and social sciences. Review articles were contributed by graduate students associated with Ukrainian Studies at Harvard, as well as by Harvard faculty and scholars from other universities. Students also edited and distributed the journal.

At the end of each academic year (up to 1979), the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard published reports of the seminars which took place during the course of that year. The Minutes of the Seminar in Ukrainian Studies included synopses of each presentation and discussion, and bibliographical materials pertaining to each presentation.

All publications of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute are available to libraries, institutions and individuals.