International Association for Ukrainian Studies

The International Association for Ukrainian Studies (Ukrainian: Міжнародна асоціація україністів, MAU) is a scholarly association that brings together researchers studying the history and culture of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. It was founded in 1989 at a constituent conference in Naples, Italy, initiated by scholars from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, and the Naples Institute of Oriental Studies. The association emerged amid the cultural and national-political revival that accompanied the democratization of public life and the restoration of Ukrainian statehood. The association's main activity is the organization of the International Congresses of Ukrainianists, which have been held periodically since 1990. The congresses gather hundreds of scholars from Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia, covering history, philology, political science, ethnology, art studies, and other fields. The association also publishes proceedings and maintains a network of national associations of Ukrainian studies in many countries. The MAU is headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, and maintains an official website at mau-nau.org.ua. It cooperates with the National Association of Ukrainianists (NAU) in Ukraine. Its presidents have included Volodymyr Rusanivskyi and, more recently, Michael Moser, a professor of linguistics at the University of Vienna. The association continues to promote Ukrainian studies internationally and to address challenges facing the humanities, including the state of Ukrainian studies in the contemporary world.

The International Association for Ukrainian Studies (MAU) was established in 1989, at a time of cultural and national-political revival aimed at democratizing public life and restoring Ukrainian statehood. The initiative came from Omeljan Pritsak, then director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, who proposed convening a constituent conference of Ukrainianists from around the world. His proposal was actively supported by scholars from academic institutions in Ukraine. With the support of Italian Slavist R. Picchio, the constituent conference of historians and philologists from Ukraine, Italy, Poland, the United States, and Canada took place in late May to early June 1989 in Naples, Italy, at the Institute of Oriental Studies. On June 1, 1989, a declaration establishing the MAU was adopted, and a temporary bureau and president were elected, with V. Rusanivskyi becoming the first president. On October 19, 1989, a constituent conference in Kyiv founded the Republican Association of Ukrainianists (later the National Association of Ukrainianists), with I. Dziuba elected as its first president. The American Association for Ukrainian Studies, led by I. Fizer, was founded on December 8–9, 1989, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The MAU's primary activity has been the organization of the International Congresses of Ukrainianists. The First International Congress was held in Kyiv in August 1990. Subsequent congresses took place in Lviv (1993), Kharkiv (1996), Odesa (1999), Chernivtsi (2002), Donetsk (2005), Lviv–Simferopol–Kyiv (2008), Kyiv (2013), and Kyiv (2018). The first four congresses each drew 400–500 participants, while the fifth attracted over 700 researchers from 25 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Australia, covering history, philology, political science, science, education, and various arts. At the Ninth International Congress in 2018, Michael Moser, professor of linguistics at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the University of Vienna and president of the MAU, stated that the humanities, including Ukrainian studies, were experiencing a crisis. The association has maintained a presence in many countries through members or branches, including Australia, Austria, England, Belgium, Belarus, Bulgaria, Israel, Italy, Canada, China, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, the USA, Hungary, Ukraine, France, Croatia, Czechia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Japan. The MAU continues to operate from Kyiv, Ukraine, publishing proceedings and maintaining an official website. It cooperates with national associations of Ukrainianists and addresses contemporary challenges in Ukrainian studies.

• Constituent conference of Ukrainianists begins in Naples, Italy

• Declaration establishing the MAU adopted; V. Rusanivskyi elected first president

• Republican Association of Ukrainianists founded in Kyiv

• American Association for Ukrainian Studies founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts

• First International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Kyiv

• Second International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Lviv

• Third International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Kharkiv

• Fourth International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Odesa

• Fifth International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Chernivtsi

• Sixth International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Donetsk

• Seventh International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Lviv, Simferopol, and Kyiv

• Eighth International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Kyiv

• Ninth International Congress of Ukrainianists held in Kyiv

A non-profit international scholarly association dedicated to the advancement of Ukrainian studies worldwide.

• International Congress of Ukrainianists

  Periodic scholarly congress held since 1990, gathering hundreds of researchers worldwide.

• MAU publications

  Proceedings and reports from the international congresses, published in multiple volumes.

1. 1Official website of the International Association for Ukrainian Studiesmau-nau.org.ua
2. 2Wikidata entry for International Association for Ukrainian Studieswikidata.org
3. 3Ukrainian Wikipedia article on Міжнародна асоціація україністівuk.wikipedia.org