PCUH Research Affiliate Dr. Alan Anderson presents his research on the ever-changing Ukrainian culture and identities of the Canadian Prairies

On March 10, the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage at St. Thomas More College was pleased to welcome Professor Emeritus Dr. Alan Anderson to present his lecture, entitled Generations: How Ukrainian-Canadian Identity and Culture are Changing through Five Generations.

Drawing from both his decades of research and from Statistics Canada data, Dr. Anderson provided listeners with compelling insights into how Ukrainian-Canadian identity has evolved over the 20th and 21st centuries.

On the evening of Wednesday, February 26th, the University of Saskatchewan Ukrainian Students Association (USUSA) hosted a roundtable discussion about the current and future state of Ukrainian studies on the U of S campus.

At this event, USUSA executive members, past and current USask students, and community leaders spoke about their experiences within the Ukrainian Minor program and within the city of Saskatoon’s wider Ukrainian-Canadian community.

Those who shared their thoughts included:

Connor Moen — a former student of the Spring Session in Ukraine (SSU) program and former USUSA president — who now works on Parliament Hill and joined via Skype; Nykola Dovgyy, the current USUSA president; Tiana Kirstein, VP Internal for USUSA and a former student of the Spring Session in Ukraine program; Oliver Childs, a former student of the Spring Session in Ukraine program and a former USUSA member (representing students of non-Ukrainian heritage); and Nykole King, a former student of the Spring Session in Ukraine program and the current Editor-in-Chief of the Sheaf, the University of Saskatchewan’s student weekly.

Dr. Dominique Arel’s talk brings the Donbas Conflict to the forefront at STM

On February 13th, the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage was pleased to welcome the University of Ottawa’s Dr. Dominique Arel to St. Thomas More College. Dr. Arel was the Mohyla lecturer for 2020, presenting on The Origins and Consequences of the Donbas War.

Speaking in STM’s Shannon Library, Dr. Arel touched upon both the roots of the conflict within the 2014 Euromaidan movement, and the continuing influence of the Russian government in stoking misinformation and contention.

During the week of November 24-30, the University of Saskatchewan Ukrainian Students’ Association (USUSA) will be promoting Holodomor Awareness Week, honouring the millions of Ukrainians that perished under Soviet rule in the 1932-1933 famine-genocide.

Those who may be on campus during this time should be on the lookout for wheat bundles, placed in areas by members of the USUSA, with information related to the Holodomor.

A vigil to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor will be held in the St. Thomas More College Chapel on Thursday, November 28, at 12:30 PM. Students, staff, and members of the public are all encouraged to attend.

On November 5th, a wine and cheese reception was held in the Shannon Library of St. Thomas More College to welcome and hear from Dr. Stefan Manz, Professor of German and Global History and Head of Languages and Translation Studies at Aston University (Birmingham, UK).

Dr. Manz was on hand to officially open Behind the Wire: Civilian Internment in the British Empire, 1914-1919, a traveling exhibit organized by Aston University and Edinburgh Napier University (Edinburgh, Scotland), in partnership with Archaeology Scotland and the Internment Research Centre, Hawick Museum (Hawick, Scotland). The exhibit is hosted by the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage (PCUH), in association with the St. Thomas More Art Gallery.

Dr. Manz discussed how the First World War was not only truly global in scope, but was a war fought between empires and, as such, subjects of those empires who lived and worked abroad found themselves labeled ‘enemy aliens’ and a danger to the internal security of nations. The British Empire interned a total of ~50,000 individuals over the course of the war and afterward. In Canada, 24 internment camps existed from 1914 to 1920.

The display marks the centenary end of the Great War, and is scheduled to run from October 28th December 15th in the St. Thomas More Art Gallery.