معرفی
Natalia Khanenko-Friesen is a Professor at the University of Alberta, holding the Huculak Chair in Ukrainian Culture and Ethnography within the Modern Languages and Cultural Studies Department. She is also the Director of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Her academic career spans over two decades, previously serving as a Professor at the University of Saskatchewan (2001-2020) and leading roles at Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute. Her research focuses on oral history, post-Socialist transition in Ukraine, diaspora studies, and Ukrainian Canadian cultural practices. She has authored or edited influential books such as Ukrainian Otherlands: Diaspora, Homeland and Folk Imagination in the Twentieth Century and Reclaiming the Personal: Oral History in Post-Socialist Europe. Khanenko-Friesen has pioneered projects like the 'Oral History of Decollectivization in Ukraine' and curated major archives of immigrant letters and oral histories. Recognized for her teaching and community engagement, she co-founded the Engaged Scholar Journal, promoting community-engaged research. Her work bridges ethnography, historical narratives, and contemporary social dynamics, emphasizing marginalized voices in transitional societies.
Education: Ph.D. in Anthropology (University of Alberta, 2001).
Key Roles: Director of the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage, Founding Director of the Spring Session in Ukraine study abroad program, and Research Fellow at Harvard’s Ukrainian Summer Institute.
Research Interests: Oral history methodologies, vernacular culture, diaspora transnationalism, and post-Soviet rural transitions. She has conducted extensive fieldwork on collective farm disintegration in Ukraine and Ukrainian-Canadian migrant correspondence.
Notable Projects: Online oral history exhibits like Canada 150 Voiced, archival initiatives such as the Letters from the Old Country, and community partnerships in Saskatoon’s 20th Street oral history project. Her work highlights marginalized perspectives, particularly rural Ukrainian voices during decollectivization and Ukrainian diaspora experiences.
Awards: Kobzar Literary Award finalist (2018), Teaching Excellence Award (2016), Margaret Dutli Community Engagement Award (2015).
