Гарвардський проект Омеляна Пріцака

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2010
Authors
Лучук, О.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Центр ім. О. Пріцака
Abstract
У статті висвітлено історію однієї ідеї проф. Омеляна Пріцака щодо організації українського наукового життя на північноамериканському континенті. У середині 1960-х років він розробив концепцію створення українознавчого осередку, згідно з якою передбачалося заснування у відомому американському університеті трьох катедр (української мови, літератури та історії) і наукового інституту. Ідею було зреалізовано вже на початку 1970-х років, коли в Гарвардському університеті було офіційно відкрито Український науковий інститут. У контексті розгляду науково-організаційної діяльності проф. Пріцака вказано на семантичну розбіжність термінів "катедра" і "кафедра" в українському академічному дискурсі.
Omeljan Pritsak was a distinguished scliolar in many fields, including Ukrainian history, Turkology, Asian and Altaic Studies. He was the first to realize that the history of Ukraine was closely connected with the Middle East and the Eurasian steppe. As a result, he was certain that it was extremely important to research Arabic, Turkish, and Persian sources in Ukrainian historiography. For this reason, he studied the Iranian, Semitic, Altaic, Finno-Ugric, and Chinese languages. Thus, Omeljan Pritsak’s professional interests ranged from history to linguistics. But, perhaps, Professor Pritsak’s greatest achievement was his contribution to Ukrainian Studies. He introduced and developed the idea of creating a permanent center for Ukrainian Studies at a leading US university, where teaching and research would be combined. In 1967 Professor Pritsak proposed his bold plan to the Ukrainian community, asking it to endow three chairs in Ukrainian studies (language, literature, and history) as; well as a research institute. He believed that the three Ukrainian disciplines could develop and function properly only when they were pursued simultaneously on two parallel levels, i.e., instructional (the Chairs of Ukrainian Linguistics, Ukrainian Literature, and Ukrainian History), and research (the Ukrainian Research Institute). At the same time, a group of Ukrainian-American students created the Ukrainian Studies Chair Fund, which targeted endowing a single chair in Ukrainian Studies at an American university. Professor Pritsak convinced both the students and the Ukrainian community that it would be more beneficial to launch three chairs in Ukrainian Studies trad the Ukrainian Research Institute instead of one chair. Convinced by the more ambitious vision, they adopted Omeljan Pritsak's plan. Professor Pritsak’s negotiations with Harvard University resulted in an agreement in 1968 that the proposed center would be established there. That same year Omeljan Pritsak was appointed the chairman of the Standing Committee on Ukrainian Studies. From 1968 to 1973 the three chairs were filly endowed, and the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute officially came into being with Omeljan Pritsak as its first Director. Thus, the foundations lor the project had been laid. In 1970 a series of weekly seminars in Ukrainian Studies was launched. Scholarly conferences and symposia were organized; a publication program began to operate through the Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies, of which Professor Pritsak was Editor-in -Chief; the library collections grew; the scholarly journal Harvard Ukrainian Studies began to be published in 1977. As recognition for all these achievements, in 1975 Omeljan Pritsak was named the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor in Ukrainian History at Harvard University. He believed that teaching and research should be symbiotic. His primary goal was to produce new generations of dedicated scholars who could enrich Ukrainian scholarship and disseminate knowledge about Ukrainian culture throughout the world.
Description
Keywords
Омелян Пріцак, українознавство, Український науковий інститут Гарвардського університету, катедра/кафедра, стаття, Omeljan Pritsak, Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard, Ukrainian Studies
Citation
Лучук О. М. Гарвардський проект Омеляна Пріцака / О. М. Лучук // Українська орієнталістика : [збірник наукових праць]. - 2009-2010. - № 4-5. - С. 28-35.