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Teaching

Cambridge Ukrainian Studies Curriculum

Cambridge Ukrainian Studies offers undergraduate and postgraduate students a variety of opportunities to explore the culture and society of Ukraine, from its beginnings to the present day.

Paper SL 2: The History and Culture of Early Rus'

Alongside Belarus and Russia, Ukraine traces its historical and cultural inheritance to medieval Rus'. Paper SL 2 explores the worldview(s) of Rus’ authors, patrons and audiences from the mid-tenth century to the emergence of the grand duchies of Lithuania and Moscow, providing insight into the origins of the relations between Ukraine and its neighbours today.

Paper SL 9: Introduction to the Language, Literature, and Culture of Ukraine

Paper SL9 is designed to be a broad introduction to Ukrainian Studies for students who have no formal background in the field. It will provide instruction in the Ukrainian language and introduce students to the culture of modern Ukraine through an exploration of the formulation of Ukrainian identity across the ages that concentrates in particular on visual culture.  It does so with a view to recent developments in Ukraine, including the fall of the Soviet Union, the Orange and EuroMaidan Revolutions, the current war with Russia, and present political and cultural movements.

Paper SL 10: Studies in Twentieth-Century Ukrainian Literature and Film

Paper SL 10 explores the literary and filmic texts that accompanied the rise of Ukraine from imperial periphery to sovereign state in the 'short twentieth century' (Hobsbawm). Its chronological frame between the 1910s and 1990s, two periods marked by declarations of Ukrainian independence, offers the student a synoptic cultural history of Soviet Ukraine cast in relief. Each of the paper's five sections centres on a period of artistic flourishing and considers the implications of the intersection of aesthetic representation, signification, and political power from a broad theoretical perspective.

MPhil Degree Modules

As part of the Cambridge MPhil Degree in European and Comparative Literatures and Cultures, Cambridge Ukrainian Studies regularly runs two modules with a special emphasis on Ukraine. The first module explores the influential legacy of medieval Rus' on the evolution of pre-modern identities in the vast cultural and political space that would later become, in part, Ukraine. The second module explores the role of literature, particularly the poetry of Taras Shevchenko, in the development of modern nationalism and in the imagining of bounded national communities marked by feelings of “deep, horizontal comradeship” (Anderson).

Postgraduate Workshops in Ukrainian Studies

Cambridge Ukrainian Studies hosts a regular series of one-day workshops in the fields of Ukrainian history, culture and society. Led by preeminent scholars from around the world, these special events are open to qualified postgraduate students and reseachers at the beginning of their careers throughout Great Britain by application only. They are held on the grounds of King's College, Cambridge.

Open Ukrainian Language Courses

Ukrainian Language Open Classes at Cambridge

Cambridge Ukrainian Studies offers free beginner, intermediate and advanced courses in the Ukrainian language to all members of the University of Cambridge. All courses consist of 20 weekly classes of one hour and start on the first Wednesday of Full Term.

The courses are open to all members of the University, subject to availability of places. Those interested in attending the classes should contact the Department of Slavonic Studies in advance.

Ukrainian Language Cafés (Українські кав'ярні)

Cambridge Ukrainian Studies hosts a regular series of Ukrainian Language Cafés, where refreshments hit the spot and conversations are conducted entirely in Ukrainian. The Cambridge кав'ярня is designed to offer students of every level practice conversing with native speakers; all are welcome.

 

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Latest News

Rory Finnin Wins Two ASEEES Book Prizes

21 September 2023

We are delighted to share that Professor Rory Finnin has been awarded two prestigious prizes by the Association for Slavic, East European & Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) for his book Blood of Others: Stalin's Crimean Atrocity and the Poetics of Solidarity (University of Toronto Press, 2022). These ASEEES prizes follow on from two other awards for Blood of Others announced earlier this year.

New Books in Cambridge Slavonic Studies

30 September 2022

A presentation of five new books by Cambridge researchers in Slavonic and East European Studies.