International Education. Great Britain

Cambridge Ukrainian Studies

Cambridge Ukrainian Studies, an initiative of the Department of Slavonic Studies, was launched at Cambridge in 2008 with the support of Dmitry Firtash. This initiative is aimed at promoting and contributing to the study of Ukraine in the United Kingdom and beyond by deepening intercultural dialogue and advancing innovative approaches in the research on the rich historical, linguistic and cultural heritage of Ukraine.
 
Cambridge Ukrainian Studies is active in both scholarly and public domains. During the entire academic year, Cambridge students may learn the Ukrainian language, history of Ukraine, its culture and literature, classical and contemporary cinematography. British and foreign students feature a steadily growing interest in these disciplines.
 
A whole variety of events at Cambridge targets the broad public: an Annual Festival of Ukrainian Film, Ukrainian artists’ exhibitions, literary readings and the like. The University invites world’s leading researchers lecturing and hosting seminars on relevant subjects related to Ukraine’s history and contemporary periods.
 
The relevance of and demand for these events is vividly demonstrated in the interest displayed by the UK’s foremost public figures including MPs, diplomats, media people, culture researchers, historians and other scholars. After the first years of its existence, the program is justly regarded as Ukraine’s unofficial culture and research mission.
 
Cambridge Ukrainian Studies developed in several stages. In 2007, the Ukrainian language course opened at Cambridge with the financial support from Dmitry Firtash. Optimistic expectations of the University’s senior staff and Mr. Firtash came true – the course was met with considerable demand among the students’ community. This laid a foundation for moving on to the next stage – launch of the Ukrainian Studies program which, starting from 2008, operated in an experimental mode for two years. The Ukrainian language course was then complemented with the Ukrainian literature and culture studies.

Another important objective that the University and Mr. Firtash pursued was igniting British public interest in Ukraine. In this connection, the first Festival of Ukrainian Film was organized at Cambridge on November 7-8, 2008. In April-May of 2009, ‘Verse in Vision,’ an exhibition of prints by Taras Shevchenko, introduced Cambridge audiences to the art of the renowned poet and painter. But the most resonating event in the media was the “The Diaries of Gareth Jones” exhibition dedicated to 1932-33 famine-genocide in Ukraine and hosted by Cambridge in December 2009.
 
Mr. Firtash’s further benefaction in 2010 made possible the permanent endowment of the Cambridge Ukrainian Studies and secured this program for many generations to come. It also helped expand the program’s activities along both the academic and public lines. On March 23, 2011, the University recognized Mr. Firtash’s contribution to Ukraine’s promotion in the UK by inviting him to join the Guild of Benefactors of the University of Cambridge.

Furthering the scholarly and cultural exchange with Ukrainian studies centers at other universities, primarily in Canada and the US, helped to bring to Cambridge the world’s most prominent researchers on Ukraine. A number of lectures and workshops were held focusing on most topical subjects related to Ukraine’s history and contemporary periods which included the issues of Ukrainian national identity formation and Ukraine’s role and place in the new European architecture. A course of studies in the 20th century Ukrainian literature and film was introduced for the fourth-year students.
 
Thanks to all these efforts, the 2010-11 academic year turned out to be the most successful and eventful in the Cambridge Ukrainian Studies history. Organizers however are committed to working towards intensifying the program’s momentum and plan to launch the next phase of the program in 2011. Further details on this will be announced at a later date.
 
The University of Cambridge, established in 1209, became only the fourth University in the world. The impressive lineup of Cambridge graduates includes such outstanding scientists as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and others and proudly boasts 87 Nobel Prize winners. In 2010 and 2011, Cambridge was rated as the world’s best University, according to QS World University Rankings.
 
Cambridge Ukrainian Studies is headed by Dr. Rory Finnin, who is also Lecturer in Ukrainian Studies at the University. His primary research interest is the interplay of literature and national identity in Ukraine. Rory Finnin received his PhD (with distinction) in Slavic Languages and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
 
For more information on Cambridge Ukrainian Studies please visit its website.