About Us

The Platform

For over three decades after gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine has remained a terra incognita for much of the world. The country's fascinating history at the crossroads between East and West, its melodic language, and intricate culture were largely unknown when the largest military aggression since WWII put Ukraine at the center of world politics. The sharp rise in interest in all things Ukrainian translated into demand for first-hand information that many specialists in Ukrainian studies have been trying to meet. This digital resource is one such attempt to help those looking to learn more about Ukraine and to teach Ukrainian history and culture find quality materials to use in their classroom.

Evoking the Rus´ Primary Chronicle—the first literary work from Kyiv that has reached us in codices—and calling attention to primary sources as the most reliable starting point for any in-depth study of history and culture, Ukraïnica: The Primary Database of Ukrainian Studies is a platform that connects a database of Ukrainian literary works, historical documents, and films in high-quality English translation with a syllabus-building tool.

The main goal of this platform is to help those looking to introduce the study of Ukraine into their classroom with English-language materials that shed light on Ukraine's fascinating history, rich culture, and the resilient, creative, and hard-working people of various ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds that have populated it since ancient times.

Ukraïnica consists of two main tools to achieve that goal:

  1. A database of primary and secondary sources that are recommended by practitioners in the field of Ukrainian studies, equipped with six levels of taxonomy to allow for searching by tropes (large thematic foci), periods (spans of time in history and culture that share common characteristics), decades (decades in which events in the primary sources occurred or when a primary source was published), genres (categories of artistic or documentary sources that share formal, structural, or stylistic features), disciplines (areas or fields of study), and authors or directors (depending on the source type, the originators of the source in question.
     
  2. A syllabus-building tool that allows a registered user of Ukraïnica to save selected primary and secondary citations to their profile, organize them into lists (syllabi, or reading lists) and sub-folders, and export in editable formats (such as Word, Excel, and PDF) for preparation of their own courses or thematic modules (class meetings) on Ukraine.

This platform depends on the contributions of scholars and teachers who have extensive knowledge in relying on effective primary and secondary sources in researching and teaching all aspects of Ukrainian studies. While the editorial team has prepared the initial data set, the growth of the platform depends entirely on the active participation of those who contribute time-tested and new sources to the database in order to help those who are new to Ukrainian studies or are interested in broadening the material base for their existing courses.

An entry in the database usually represents a bibliographic citation: a string of text, formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style, containing relevant information about the author or director, publisher or film studio, year and place of publication or cinematic release. We strive for most citations to also be equipped with a short summary and active links to online resources where they can be directly accessed, purchased, or borrowed via a local library. Given the significant amount of effort and human resources that this undertaking entails, this work will be ongoing on a constant basis with the help of contributors who generously share their knowledge and volunteer their time with us.

The main and only criterion for including certain sources (and not including others) is quality. Literary works and films in English translation have to meet the highest standard of quality and be able to stand alone as artworks. Historical documents in translation have to be consistent with the period in which they originated and be accurate and intact even when abridged. As practitioners, we recommend onlysources that are effective and helpful for an English-language audience in learning about Ukraine's history and culture.

The People

The Ukraïnica platform has been ideated and implemented by Oleh Kotsyuba as the Project Director. He is the Manager of Publications at the Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University. 

Sandra Joy Russell has served as the Project Editor since 2019. She is a Visiting Lecturer in Gender Studies at Mount Holyoke College. 

​​​​​​​Numerous individual contributors have generously shared their knowledge and experience in teaching Ukraine. We are tremendously grateful for their support and hope to be able to rely on their advice and active participation as the platform grows in the coming years.

The Partners

Ukraïnica was launched in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute (Kyiv, Ukraine). Ukrainian Institute is a public institution affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Its mission is to strengthen Ukraine's international standing through the means of cultural diplomacy. The Institute facilitates international connections between people and institutions and creates opportunities for Ukraine to interact and cooperate with the world.

Ways to Support Ukraïnica

We invite you to help us in developing this resource in the way that is possible for you:

  • Donate your time and share your knowledge by contributing high-quality sources to the database: please contact us at huripubs@fas.harvard.edu or use the button "Add a citation" (above)
  • Use this platform to teach Ukrainian content in your existing broader course, or to design a new course dedicated to Ukraine
  • Make a tax-deductible donation in any amount or include us in your estate planning—more information is available here: https://huri.harvard.edu/give

Contact Us

Please direct all inquiries regarding Ukraïnica to our email address huripubs@fas.harvard.edu.