DAY 8 April 30, 2008

Sixth-Grade Presentation at St. Andrew's College

Today I spent the morning in my office space in the Education Building reading and planning my part of the sixth-grade Mazeppa presentation to be given at St. Andrew's College in the afternoon.

Just after 1:30pm Dr. Hlynka and I began our presentations to the two groups. My contribution was an explanation of the difference between history and mythology, and how they work together  - and sometimes separately - to create culture. The importance of bringing Mazeppa to the attention of Ukrainian Canadian students was underlined when both groups were asked who Mazeppa was, and no one raised there hand or ventured a guess. 

Dr. Hlynka illustrated how a prominent historical figure from Ukrainian history was turned into a legend, and how that legend travelled all over Europe and North America - even before Ukrainians did - by marking the appearance of Mazeppa over a broad and varied range of media and cultural artifacts from different countries. Dr. Hlynka's focussed upon high culture in some areas (paintings, poetry, novels, plays, opera, classical music) and popular culture in others (dime novels, matchboxes, a Volkswagon colour, a locamotive, a fire engine).  The children payed attention for the entire half hour in each group, and Dr. Hlynka and I were able to digest the strengths and weaknesses of our presentation afterward. We also had a brief discussion with Genia Bozyk about potentially presenting to another group in the last two weeks of July. This is something I would really enjoy the opportunity to do again in the not-so-distant future.

Other achievements for today:

• Experimented with the photo album on our Mazeppa wiki
• Began work on a bibliography of English/Western Mazeppa texts to pass on to Dr. Hlynka for May 9th.
• Edited the St. Andrew's College Blog in a manner which in no way alters the original content lifted from the official St. Andrew's College site, adding a sample post about the presentations and events of today.

Dr. Hlynka and I will be in contact to determine the nature of our meeting now that Summer classes will begin for me this Monday, May 5th. 

DAY 7 29 April, 2008

GRAND OPENING of THE UNIVERSITY of MANITOBA ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Shelley Sweeney pictured, head of the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

Today I had the privilege of accompanying Dr. Hlynka to the official grand opening of the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections on the third floor of the Elizabeth Dafoe Library. The crowd was large, notably outnumbering the chairs, and making the tours proposed in the invitation impossible due to the turnout.

The event was marked by a keynote address by Dr. John English of the University of Waterloo, who lectured on the importance of archives and libraries, of archivists and librarians, and Canada's unique approach to preserving the past in a way that is notably rich and complex in comparison to many of the other archives he has visited (namely in the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, Israel, and France). English has contributed to Canada as both an academic and as a former MP.

What stood out to me in English's talk were the facts he provided about the nature of Canadian archives and the benefit of online access in assisting their availability. English said that approximately 60% of archives users were genealogists, and that the highest category after that was probably senior high school students. Interesting. Also, as a contributor to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, English said that before going online with the dictionary, a typical sale would be around 11,000 copies. Now that the resource is online the website gets 90,000 hits per month. This is a serious leap in the amount of Canadians accessing this information, and it proves to me the importance of online access to cultural bodies of knowledge.

After messages from the library, the university president, and representatives of government; the planting of the University of Manitoba flag, and the closing remarks, the guests were invited to explore the various exhibits set up for the purpose of the function. I fled to the "Ukrainian/Canadian Experience" exhibit displayed in the Archives Media Room. I had to stop for a moment in the doorway and remember an incredible person I had the opportunity to meet last year when I saw the dedication plaque upon the wall. The room was dedicated to Dr. Anne Smigel, someone who has been a patron to me, and many others, and who is no longer with us. As the first female principal of Ukrainian ancestry in Canada Smigel has inspired many, and I felt it was fitting that she be remembered in that room, where generations of Canadians will learn and grow.

This event taught me a lot about the importance of organization, inclusion, and communication in planning an event for a community. The audience was full of unfamiliar faces, with a few history professors and archivists I recognized here and there. The refreshments were exceptional and based on an archived cook book from the turn of the century. There was light jazz, and many places to have a good conversation. I would say that this event was a fantastic success, that it recognized the contribution the Archives & Special Collections makes and its potential now that it has appropriate space for staff and researchers.

Tomorrow Dr. Hlynka and I will meet at 10AM, to prepare for our presentation for the sixth-graders at St. Andrew's College about the Mazeppa Legend.

DAY 6 28 April, 2008

Today I met with Victoria, Katie, and Dr. Yereniuk at the CUCS. I was formally introduced to Dr. Yereniuk for the first time and enjoyed the company of the entire CUCS staff over a free catered lunch at University Centre from 11:30 until 1:00.

Achievements for today:

• I was added as a contributing author to the CUCS blog. This enables me to add material to the centre's official blog throughout the Summer.
  
• I linked my progress blog, the St. Andrew's College blog, and the CUCS blog together, making them easily accessible to each other from each site.
• I touched based with Dr. Yereniuk, explaining the basic abilities of the different blogs in publicizing events and information in a way that makes them accessible online to everyone.
• I added material to the Mazeppa wiki created by Denis.

Tomorrow I will meet with Denis at 2:30PM to attend the official opening of the new Archives & Special Collections space at Dafoe.

DAY 5 April 25, 2008

A TALK BY THE AMBASSDOR TO CANADA FROM UKRAINE


Today Dr. Hlynka and I were a part of the audience that attended a talk in the Engineering Building by Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Ostash. Ostash was in Winnipeg last night for the Winnipeg Art Gallery opening of an exhibit dedicated to Ukrainian artist David Builiuk (1882-1967) who is known as the "father of Russian and Ukrainian futurism".

Ostash discussed the priorities of contemporary foreign policy in Ukraine, and stressed its reflective nature of recent history and "European" values. Ostash described the goals of Ukrainian policy as Canadian in character, and are based on Ukrainians' shared love of freedom, democracy, and rule of law. The Ambassador offered warm words to Canada, commenting on the likeness of the Winnipeg municipal flag to the Ukrainian flag (both are half blue and half gold), and on the ties between Canada and Ukraine built by their history of friendly relations and the high number of Ukrainian immigrants (and their descendants) in Canada.

The underlying sentiment behind the Ambassador's visit was that Ukraine and Canada are friends, and that Ukraine is in need of Canada's continued support in its efforts to become a part of the Eurpean Union and NATO. Ostash pointed out that Ukraine is one of the only countries that takes part in all NATO peacekeeping missions - as in Bosnia, Sudan, Iraq, etc. - yet remains outside of NATO membership. Many questions were asked by the audience, and the Ambassador responded diplomatically to each of them.

Achievements for the day:

• Dr. Hlynka and I set up the Mazeppa Myth wetpaint wiki.
  
• The works of Isydore and Anthony Hlynka were discussed.
• Wikipedia navigation and participation were explored.
• A connection was made between the importance of preserving and communicating cultural information within the Ukrainian Canadian community, and more importantly, outside of it. As Dr. Hlynka said, "we speak to ourselves all the time". A community that is part of a bigger picture must gage its success by how many people outside of an exclusive community it can touch. That is real communication and real innovation, and in essence, the true spirit of Canadian multiculturalism.
  

On Monday I will meet with Victoria at the CUCS.

DAY 4 April 24, 2008

Today two important texts relating to Ukrainian Canadian history and to multiculturalism in Canada were examined:

• The Other Canadians by Isydore Hlynka, an important modern text comprised of over one hundred articles originally published in the Ukrainian Voice from 1971-1980.
• The Honourable Member for Vegreville: The Memoirs and diary of Anthony Hlynka, MP by Oleh W. Gerus, Denis Hlynka, and Gerald A. Friesen.
  

Works to be discussed at tomorrow morning's meeting.

DAY 3 April 23, 2008

Discussions for today:

• The importance of identifying the blogger
• The importance of identifying the institutions represented by the blog and quality control
• The importance of contextualization and quality control
• The new St. Andrew's College Blog
• The fluidity of the Mazepa mythos and imagery
  

Achievements of today:

• Created the new St. Andrew's Blog and presented it to administrative staff (Thanks to Genia and Melissa)
  
• Examined the wiki format of information creation
• Created the Mazepa Mythos wiki and experimented with formatting (currently set to private)
• Discovered the problems with adding images of Mazepa to the entry for Day 2. The problem should be fixed in the next couple of days by blogspot.
  
• Listened to Balfe's Mazeppa Waltz by the Olexander Koshetz Choir and the University of Manitoba's Women's Choir, as re-discovered by Dr. Hlynka.
• Secured copies of The Other Canadians by Isydore Hlynka and The Honourable Member for Vegreville: The Memoirs and diary of Anthony Hlynka, MP by Hlynka, Gerus, and Friesen from the St. Andrew's College library.

Mazepa Mythos wiki to be examined this Friday, April 25th, 2008. My task for tomorrow is to familiarize myself with the two Hlynka texts.

DAY 2 April 22, 2008

The Mazeppa Legend

In my readings related to the presentation of the Mazeppa legend to the sixth-grade class next week, I have read three versions of the tale and Byron's epic poem. They are:

• Mazeppa, The Chief of the Cossacks by Lawton B. Evans
• Mazeppa, The Cossack Chief by Charles Morris
• Mazeppa, The Hetman of the Cossacks, Russia - 1709 by M.B. Synge
• Mazeppa by Lord Byron

I found the Morris version to be the least useful, as it is a version of the tale which preserves many elements of the archaic narrative of which it is a part, and because it is generally vague and difficult to follow despite being the lengthier version of the three. The Synge version is more useful, providing vivid and captivating description, though it is laden with many historical anachronisms. My version of the Mazeppa legend will be most heavily based on the Evans selection. Evans' narrative achieves a balance between detail and clarity, and will be the most useful template to follow for the purposes of the sixth-grade presentation next week.

Karolya's "Storytime Mazeppa" to be submitted tomorrow morning as scheduled.

List of tasks for the internship/project

Karolya:

We will add to the list as things move on.

For now, two items are important:

1. Whatever you add, it is important by the end of the project that you meet with Victoria and Dr. Yereniuk to keep them appraised of what you are doing. Especially important are written notes so that Victoria or others can access and add to what you start. In other words, your project should be able to continue on without you at the close of the project.

2. These sites, all blogs, are ideas as to how others have done similar things. We shall talk about these "live" on Wednesday morning (tomorrow.)

Ukrainian Canadian - http://www.ukrcdn.com/

Mesopotamia West - http://mesopotamiawest.blogspot.com/

Zabava Program - Winnipeg - http://zabavawinnipeg.wordpress.com


Additional Activities as of May 9, 2008

3. Find a Mazeppa article by Mainardi, Patricia. In the Architecture Library journal Word & Image. Vol. 16 No.4 pp. 335-351. Copy it at CUCS, carefully. Special attention to the modern American Mazeppa. 2 copies.

4. Work with Victoria to update the CUCS blog.

5. Make a hardcopy of the blog - adjust colour/templates to avoid background waste.

6. Make an appointment to visit Dr. Gerus, bring him a hard copy of the blog. Show him what the project is like. An update on how things are going.


16 May, 2008: Task List for week of May 20th

1. Read Dr. Robert Klymasz material in CUCS online resource section. Make a list of 5-10 questions.
2. Use articles by Dr. Oleh Gerus on CUCS to make a 5 minute audio clip of the 3 waves of Ukrainian emigration described. **Note** A second installment of "recent trends" or immigration since 1947 would be useful to think about when reading material.
3. Explore Shelfari. Make bookshelves to link to blogs (one for Ukrainian Canadian books, one for U of M authors, Mazeppa, etc.)
4. Experiment with OttoBib.com - what are the benefits and weaknesses of this tool?
   

Citing CDs/sound: http://www.fairfield.k12.ct.us/tomlinson/ctomlinson02/cite_those_sources!.htm

APA:
http://lib.trinity.edu/research/citing/APAnontrad.shtml

DAY 1 April 21, 2008

Activities for Day 1 include the following:

• Orientation to the Education Building and introduction to staff
  
• Setting up of personal blog and work space
• Introduction to blogspot and podcasting
  
• Project outline for the following days
  

My research for the next day and a half will be related to Dr. Hlynka's work on the Mazepa legend, and to the presentation we will give to a group of schoolchildren next Wednesday, April the 30th, at St. Andrew's College.

My task is to read several adaptations of the Mazepa legend, as found at the site for The Baldwin Project - a site which delivers "yesterday's classics to today's children" - and to create an appropriate and informative version to present to the school group. This undertaking illustrates well how Ukrainian history and culture has permeated both popular and high Western culture to a significant degree. My version of Mazepa's story will be examined this Wednesday, April 23rd.

Introduction

This blog represents the culmination of my efforts as the recipient of the first Pawlik scholarship award, a Summer internship delegated through the Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies at the University of Manitoba. The internship runs from April 21st, 2008 until August 2008, and is my contribution to the preservation and communication of Ukrainian Canadian culture online. This project also aims to examine and evaluate the benefits and consequences of technological innovation in cultural studies.

The purpose of this blog is to outline my Summer activities in relation to three Ukrainian Canadian institutions in Winnipeg: the Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies (CUCS), St. Andrew's College, and the Ukrainian Museum of Canada.