Language courses, networking and culture – First summer school of the Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies (KIU) at the European University Viadrina

20 students from Europe, Asia and Africa will come together at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) from Monday, September 16 for the first summer school of the Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies Frankfurt (Oder) – Berlin (KIU). The core of the two-week program entitled "War in Ukraine: Deconstruction of Heritage – Mastering Legacy" consists of Ukrainian language courses at various levels as well as seminars on topics such as cultural diplomacy, the role of music in Ukrainian resilience, the history of the Donbas and cultural heritage in times of war and crisis. There are also various networking activities and public cultural and academic events. The participants of the summer school were selected from more than 90 applications.

Programme for visitors

Selected program items of the KIU Summer School are also open to interested visitors from the region:

For the Ukrainian language course from Monday, 16. September to Friday, September 27, by lecturers from the School of Ukrainian Language and Culture and the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv). The prerequisite for free participation is attendance for the entire period. Severyna Yakubych will be accepting queries and registrations at the e-mail address kiu-whk@europa-uni.de until Friday, September 13.

The opening lecture of the summer school on Monday, September 16, 7.30 p.m., on "Exploring the Legacy of Interimperiality: Performative Nationhood in Wartime Ukraine" will be given by sociologist and political theorist Dr. Valeriya Korablyova from Charles University in Prague in Room 102 of the Gräfin-Dönhoff Building, Europaplatz 1 in Frankfurt (Oder). She will take a look at the complex entanglements of Ukraine's colonial legacy and ask whether the recent trend towards the appropriation of state institutions by democratic forces can permanently change the spirit of institutions in Ukraine.

On Thursday, September 19, 7.30 p.m., the film "How Far Is Close" will be shown as part of the summer school at verbuendungshaus fforst e. V., Forststraße 4, Frankfurt (Oder). In this short film, director and protagonist Inga Pylypchuk tells the story of her mother Olha Yelisieieva's escape from the bombing raids in Ukraine to Berlin and her everyday life in exile in Berlin. Through the eyes of a daughter, the film provides a rare, intimate insight into the life of a refugee in Berlin. The film will be followed by a discussion with the director.

The summer school will conclude with a performance by artist and ethnomusicologist Masha Kashyna on Friday, September 27, 7.30 p.m. at Kulturmanufaktur Gerstenberg, Ziegelstraße 28 a, Frankfurt (Oder). The Ukrainian-born audio-visual artist combines fine metallic and wooden sounds with electronic beats and accompanying visual elements to create expansive works of art.
 

The summer school is the first public program of the competence network that opened in July and marks the start of the Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies certificate program. The competence network initiated by the European University Viadrina includes the Center for East European and International Studies Berlin (ZOiS), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin.