Central and East European Studies
The focus of research in Central and East European Studies (CEES) is the history, culture, literature, and linguistics of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and the Central European republics (especially the Czech Republic and Austria). Six historians in the Department of History and Classics and the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) work on Ukraine, making the University of Alberta the major resource centre on Ukraine outside that country.
The Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies is Canada's leader in Ukrainian literature and language studies. It also houses the Huculak Chair of Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography, the only endowed chair in Ukrainian folklore and culture in the world. It has launched a major initiative to develop Ukrainian computer-mediated learning programs and is also establishing a position in Polish. Dr Andriy Nahachewsky occupies the chair and conducts research, undertakes projects, and teaches courses in the Ukrainian Folklore Program.
Scholars in the Department of History and Classics are experts in Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian history. The Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies is a major hub for cooperative work with other Canadian universities, as well as the embassies of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
The faculty members in this area draw on significant print resources in the University Library and from the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, including outstanding archival holdings and folklore archives. One of the most important scholarly achievements has been the ongoing translation of the ten-volume History of Ukraine-Rus'. The English-language, five-volume Encyclopedia of Ukraine is another landmark achievement constantly being improved and updated.
Members of the group have received significant national and international recognition, as well as research funding. They have delivered papers and seminars in North America, Ukraine, Europe, and Asia and have organized national and international conferences. They serve as editors and co-editors of book series, as members of editorial boards of national and international journals, and on adjudicating committees of national granting agencies. They collaborate with researchers in the USA, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Germany and are involved in publishing ventures with partners in Ukraine.
The international reputation of the group has attracted a large enrollment of graduate students from many countries, including Canada, Ukraine, USA, Russia, Poland, Japan, Korea, and Montenegro.