REEE 220 - Ukrainian Literature and Film in the 20th Century: Colonial Encounters

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
Ukrainian culture has been, and is, shaped by encounters with colonialism in the form of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and contemporary Russia. In the 20th century, these encounters included the banning or suppression of the use of Ukrainian language, censorship, engineered famine, and the imprisonment and execution of hundreds of writers and other artists. How did Ukrainian novelists, playwrights, poets, and filmmakers respond to these encounters? What new forms and strategies for creativity did they develop? How do these 20th-century colonial encounters help us understand Russia’s current war in Ukraine? Discussion format with brief lectures. Readings in English.

This course is appropriate for new students.