Ukraine: our focus
Ukraine, the primary focus of our studies, is located in Central and Eastern Europe, North of the Black Sea. Spanning 603,550 sq. kilometers, it is the largest country among those that are entirely situated on the European continent. Ukrainian lands, ever since the princes of Kyivan Rus' converted to Christianity in 988, have been at the crossroads between West and East, a factor that contributed toward the development of a rich and complex cultural legacy.
Ukraine’s geographic location has also led to considerable political turmoil, especially during the twentieth century. Thus, in addition to Ukraine’s 46 million inhabitants, there are approximately 20 million people of Ukrainian descent living throughout the world. Of considerable prominence for their contributions to the culture and social fabric of their host countries are the diasporic communities of Canada, the Russian Federation, the United States, Brazil, Australia, Germany, Italy and France.
Ukraine's declaration of independence in 1991 led to the collapse of the USSR. This epochal event and—more recently—the Orange Revolution have given access to little known material and created unique historical opportunities to study the Ukrainian heritage in greater detail and breadth. In the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies we endeavor to take advantage of these opportunities and to study the many and complex worlds represented by Ukraine through her culture, especially her language and literature.
To learn more, please read What we teach in this section.
