GSLL to Celebrate 25th anniversary of Ukrainian Independence and 25 years of Ukrainian Studies at The Pennsylvania State University
The Woskob Family Foundation, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Agricultural Sciences, and the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ukrainian Independence and 25 years of Ukrainian Studies at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA on Tuesday April 4, 2017. The event will also mark 25 years of cooperation in Forestry and Agricultural Sciences with the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences (NULES) in Kyiv, Ukraine. The Rector and representatives of NULES will be in attendance at the daylong series of events.
The schedule for the day includes the following:
v At 3:00PM there will be a book launching of Helen Woskob’s memoirs Freedom and Beyond: My Journey from Ukraine to a New Life in America as well as Professor Michael Naydan’s novel about the city of Lviv Seven Signs of the Lion at the Hintz Alumni Center on the Penn State University Park campus. Actor Michael Bernosky will provide dramatic readings from both books.
v At 4:00PM Dr. Markian Dobczansky (PhD in history from Stanford University and Jacyk Fellow at the University of Toronto) will present a lecture “The Legacy of Soviet State-Building: A Historical Primer on the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict” at the Hintz Alumni Center.
v At 5:00PM Dean Susan Welch of the College of Liberal Arts and Dean Richard Roush of the College of Agricultural Sciences will open the reception at the Hintz Alumni Center.
v At 5:15PM to 7:00PM a reception sponsored by the Woskob Family of State College at the Hintz Alumni Center in honor of the 25th anniversary of Ukrainian independence as well as a commemoration of 25 years of Ukrainian studies in Liberal Arts and Agricultural Sciences at Penn State. There will also be an exhibit of woodcarvings by Ukrainian artist Serhiy Karpenko during the reception.
v At 7:30PM the Ukrainian world music group DakhaBrakha (pictured at right) will perform in Schwab Auditorium. The performance is sponsored by The Woskob Family Foundation at Penn State.
Dr. Markian Dobczansky studied Soviet, East European, and Imperial Russian history at Stanford University. The topic of his dissertation was “From Soviet Heartland to Ukrainian Borderland: Searching for Identity in Kharkiv, 1943-2004.” His academic interests include Soviet history, nationalism, Russian-Ukrainian relations, and urban history.
DakhaBraka is a world-renowned group from Ukraine whose music is described as “ethnochaos.” They create a world of unexpected music at the intersection of folklore and theater. Using traditional music from various regions of Ukraine as a starting point, the quartet incorporates rhythms from around the planet to create a bright, fierce, and unforgettable sound. For information on tickets call 814-863-0255 or go to cpa.psu.edu or http://cpa.psu.edu/news/dakhabrakha-infuse-controlled-rhythmic-chaos-april-4 for additional information.
Serhiy Karpenko is a Ukrainian artist who was born in the town of Koziatyn in the Vinnytsia region of Ukraine. Originally educated as a physical education teacher, he has been a woodcarver since 1993. He has exhibited throughout Ukraine and the US. His woodcarvings are known for extraordinary detailed and refined technique as well as for the presentation of traditional Ukrainian historical themes in the unique bas-relief wood medium.
