1. Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW 1
Literature Review
For Intercultural Contact
Ethnography Project
Trevor Lee
Portland State University
2/15/14
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2
Thomas Sowell (2012), author of “Cultural Diversity: A Worldview”, explained how one
of the difficult parts when analyzing diversity is realizing what constitutes diversity. Diversity is
invoked into discussions of everything from employment policy to curriculum reform from
entertainment to politics…U.S. population made up of people from many races and culture
backgrounds. I interviewed an Eastern European that was from Ukraine and I wanted to learn
about the cultural differences between the United States and Ukraine.
Discuss the experience
On Monday, I met my friend who is Eastern European Ukrainian named Andre who was
in the Middle East Studies Center on the Portland State University campus. We went to the
library and used one of the study rooms. I interviewed Andre about his Ukrainian culture, i.e.
how his culture relates to others in Russia, how values are viewed, basic foundations of the
Ukrainian culture, language, clothing, type of food, celebrations and how the media plays a role
in Ukraine.
Any Separation between the culture of Ukraine and aspects of my lived experience
In Ukraine, the state is filled with poverty, communist/dictatorship, limited access to
resources, no Freedom of Speech in Ukraine, i.e. mass media, radio, TV and higher education. In
the United States, my life experiences are surrounded by freedom/capitalistic democratic society
with unlimited access to resources without any restrictions and Freedom of Speech.
How does the culture see itself in relation to other cultures?
Regional influence is important to cultural development, social, language, economic and
political issues. OV page 290. Ukraine, East Europe (influenced by the Russians/Communist)
compared to Western Europe (influenced by democracy and Europeans).
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How are the values enacted/reflected and communicated within the culture?
Ukrainian values and population is different from most European countries. The Russian
values are different from the life concerns for the European countries that have constructed long
democratic and economic traditions. (Thomas Sowell (2012) pg. 21). Young people strongly
value individualism, independence and personal belief. (Larysa Kobelyanska, Olena Suslova,
Olena Yena and Iryna Skorbun (2011) pg. 5). “Young people believe in democracy and higher
education.” This young generation demonstrates greater obedience to liberal democracy, support
centrist parties (parties in power) and focused on the free development of a market economy.
During this present period of time, young people have achieved high financial status that allows
them to be less concerned with daily issues. A half of young teenagers are more educated than
their elders and believe the importance of a higher education as a way of success. 1/5 of young
Russians believe education is independent of life and only viewed by the highly educated.
Higher education is the most valued by young teenagers. Young people perceive “success” as an
secluded fact and excluded from the social ties with society. Russia’s population places itself
toward the middle and lower-middle class. “Young people and the Russia population place
importance on state guarantees. Freedom of speech is mentioned mostly by the young children.”
How is this similar or different from my own experience?
Americans and Ukrainians share the same commonalities in their willingness to learn.
Some Differences- According to Alice Galper & Carol Seefeldt (1998), Ukraine is a poor
country and has political problems. Students are limited in available resources for education and
creativity. “Teaching in Ukraine is very much different from teaching in the United States. First,
Ukrainians must make do without many things we take for granted: food, soap, clothing, fuel,
paper, paper clips, staples and, most of all, teaching materials. And the economic and political
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situations remain uncertain. Even the idea of constructing with junk, or using found materials in
collages, was not possible. Nothing is wasted in Ukraine. Junk cannot be used for play. Every
scrap of paper, every piece of thread or cloth, is saved and used for some practical purpose.
What are the basic foundations of the culture? Unclear political power control? Russian
influence and cultural impact?
In the mid-1990s, Kyiv proclaimed integration into the EU as its official goal. Since then,
it has tried to balance between Russia and the West. (Galper, Alice & Seefeldt, Carol (1998) pg.
51). Ukraine after the independence, unable to shake off the Russian’s influence. Two features
that distinguish Ukrainian from Russian political culture are a stronger tradition of private
landownership and the absence of broad public support for an authoritarian leader. In addition,
both at the time of the Orange Revolution and in 2007, during the political crisis after President
Viktor Yushchenko dissolved the parliament, it turned out that the embattled elite did not want
further polarization, which might have destabilized the whole country and thereby jeopardized
their interests. It is indicative that the Orange Revolution with its slogan “Bandits to Jail!” also
ended in a compromise (Galper, Alice & Seefeldt, Carol 1998, pg. 53).
Language
Majority of Ukrianians speak and publish in Russian, but after the independence,
Ukrainians use Ukrainin as the official language. Yanukovych therefore declared that Ukrainian
would remain the sole state language. (Galper, Alice & Seefeldt, Carol (1998) pg 55) (Political
influence by the Russians. Pro-Russian forces in Crimea actively exploit the threat of
“Ukrainianization” (although in reality it is not Russian but Ukrainian language and culture that
need support in Crimea).The Russian naval base at Sevastopol remains an instrument of pressure
on Ukraine. The Russian consulate in Crimea issues Russian passports to Ukrainian citizens,
even though Ukraine prohibits dual citizenship.10 The paradox, however, is that the local
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Crimean elite (most of whose members already belong to Ukrainian parties of national scope)
benefits from remaining within Ukraine and bargaining simultaneously with Kyiv and Moscow
on issues of property distribution, Crimean land, and financial infusions.
Clothing
The most common type of clothing in Ukraine for women is a long shirt belted at the
waist that was from the ancient Slavic people. A wreath is the main element of clothing for a
Ukrainian national women’s suit and red boots. This particular piece of clothing represents purity
and youth and it is part of wedding garments. The wedding symbolism of the wreath reflects love
magic and fortunetelling, while being in the custom of providing a girl a wreath when she
becomes engaged to her husband. The Ukrainian traditional costume is vyhyvanka, zapaska
(shirt) and krajka (woven belt). Woven waistcoats with embroidery are carried.
Traditional Food
Most of the food is from Europe like beer, wine and hard liquor. Some of the traditional
dishes in Ukraine are 1) Varenyky (dumplings stuffed with fillings like potato and cheese. This
dish is usually served boiled. 2) Perohy (small pastries that are made with fillings like mashed
potatoes and fried onions, ground meat, liver, fried cabbage, cherries and strawberries. This is
usually served with sour cream, butter and sugar when it is filled with fruits. 3) Pyrizhky (small
potato filled buns that are baked in thickened rich cream and dill). 4) Miyntis: crepes (blyntis or
nalisnyky) these crepes are filled with cottage cheese, meat, cabbage, fruits and served with sour
cream.
Holidays and celebrations
The Ukrainian holidays are Orthodox Pentecost, a Christian holiday that memorializes
the pouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles of Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christmas is a
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celebration that includes the tradition of the “Holy Supper” when the first star appears in the sky.
The people sing Svyatyi Mykolai and Christmas carols to provide gifts to children. International
Women’s Day is a holiday to celebrate women’s social, economic and political achievements.
Orthodox Easter is an important religious holiday in Ukraine. Various dishes are cooked and
families clean their houses. Pysanky is a renewed feature for Ukraine’s Easter holiday. Pysanky
is described as raw eggs that are decorated. Constitution Day occurred on June 28th, 1996 when
the Constitution of Independent Ukraine was approved. Independence Day is Ukraine’s
parliament adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine on August 21st, 1991.
Ukraine was considered independent from the Soviet Union and was known as a democratic
state.
Media-speechand the press
The Yanukovych Presidency and the Threat of
Authoritarianism/Dictatorship
Media is threatened, influenced by Russian culture and no Freedom of Speech.The
assault on freedom of the press began even earlier. As it turned out, the positive changes that
followed the Orange Revolution were not institutionalized. No public TV channel was created.
As most of Ukraine’s media outlets belong to oligarchs whose main spheres of business lie
outside the media, the state authorities can always threaten the oligarchs’ business interests if
they do not like the press coverage. Today the National Council for Television and Radio
Broadcasting contains not one member of the opposition (even under Kuchma, there were
representatives of the opposition on the council). Despite an obvious conflict of interests, the
multimillionaire and media tycoon Valery Khoroshkovsky has been appointed head of the
Security Service of Ukraine (Galper, Alice & Seefeldt, Carol (1998), pg. 62).
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Political Corruption, Restrict Democracy and Reform
There were negative trends and reductions in the level of democracy after Yanukovych’s
electoral victory damaged Ukraine’s international ratings to decrease. According to information
on a 2010 study, Freedom House assigned Ukraine to the category of “partly free states” (Galper,
Alice & Seefeldt, Carol (1998) pg. 69). The economy was marginalized and poor due to low
wages, pension rates, high costs in food and services and people were suffering from the
economic marginalization (O. (2012) pg. 172)
What did I learn from this experience?
Based on this experience, I am fortunate living in the United States, i.e. Freedom of
Speech, abundance of resources, individualism, access to higher education and a stabilized
economy.
Conclusion
Based on this intercultural experience, I was able to learn some new information,
compare the Ukrainian culture to mine, how values are reflected and communicated, basic
foundations of the Ukrainian culture, language, type of clothing, traditional food, holidays and
traditions. I was amazed to hear the different types of food they eat in Russia. When I was being
informed about the holidays and traditions, I knew some of the holidays were similar to the U.S.
culture, i.e. Orthodox Christmas celebrating the birth of the Holy Spirit, Orthodox Easter and
Independence Day. According to Harlan Cleveland (2012), author of “The Limits to Cultural
Diversity”, said a quote from President John F. Kennedy, “If we cannot end our differences, at
least we can help make the world safe for diversity.” Cleveland (2012) described how in today’s
electronic society, cultures also expose themselves to new faiths, lifestyles, technology, clothing,
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food and work ways, which is similar in Ukraine. We should all respect individual rights and
people’s cultural beliefs.
10. LITERATURE REVIEW 10
Participation in Politics and Decision-Making in Ukraine: Strategy Paper” Ukrainian
Women’s Fund. (1-36), Retrieved from: http://www.osce.org/odihr/85974
