The thesis studies the recent efforts of the Ukrainian community in Canada to raise awareness of the Holodomor, Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-33. The theoretical framework is built on Jan Assmann's concept of cultural memory (1995), the concept of human rights and social justice elaborated by John Finnis (1980) and John Rawls (1999), the post-modern interpretation of Diaspora by Stuart Hall (1990) and James Clifford (1994), and the positive reading of nationalism by Anthony Smith (1995) and Benedict Anderson (1991). The thesis investigates how the Ukrainian Diaspora in Canada raises awareness of the Holodomor and explores the motivations behind these efforts. This explanatory case study utilizes two qualitative data collection methods: a content analysis of the Canadian legislation and school curricula on the Holodomor as well as in-depth interviews with Ukrainian Canadian professionals involved in the Holodomor awareness campaign. Findings reveal that Ukrainian Canadians concentrate their efforts on political recognition of the Holodomor, on the introduction of it as a compulsory subject in school curricula and on the recording of eye witnesses of the Holodomor. Ukrainian Canadians are driven by the sense of being part of the Ukrainian nation, the need to tell the historical truth and the belief in Canada's commitment to respect and protect human rights. By preserving and sharing the memory of the Holodomor with Canadian society, the Ukrainian Canadian Diaspora re-actualizes its distinctive collective identity, contributes to the reconstruction of the Ukrainian historical memory, supports Ukraine on its way to democracy, consolidates democratic values of Canadian society and contributes to Canada's role as defender of human rights.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/28737 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Mokrushyna, Halyna |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 145 p. |
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