Blockseminar starting end of June and in July: dates/times tba
In the social and cultural history of Canada, the Ukrainian diaspora has long played a formative role. The officially multicultural character of the country, for example is to no small extent a result of, among other forces, the formative historical and contemporary presence of the Ukrainian-Canadian community. The following course will study the literary dimension of this important community via consideration of a survey of Ukrainian-Canadian literature. The course will proceed chronologically from the early twentieth-century through to recent developments. Our goal is not to develop any specific thematic or formal “thesis” regarding Ukrainian-Canadian literature, but rather to explore various topics that emerge out of the literary depiction of this community. Such topics will include: for example, the historical importance to Canada of Ukrainian immigration; the difficulties of integration into Canadian life; the experience of exile/emigration/immigration; the various personal and collective ramifications of an ethnic or “hyphenated” Canadian identity; etc.
Students are required to read the assigned texts in advance of the relevant classes and to come to discussions prepared to express their own ideas and insights.
The following is a still tentative reading list (it will be modified/updated according to availability of the works):
Vera Lysenko, Yellow Boots (1954)
Lisa Grekul, Kalyana’s Song (2003)
Maria Reva, Good Citizens Need Not Fear (2020)
Course Requirements: Course readings / discussions
Presentation on a relevant topic of the student’s choice
Final essay of approximately 15 - 20 pp. |
