On 19 September 2012, Professor Yaroslav HRYTSAK, gave a lecture at Natolin as part of the EP Geremek European Civilization Chair lecture series. The lecture was entitled "A Report from the Eastern Front: Ukraine as a Conundrum for Europe".
Yaroslav HRYTSAK (1960) is Professor of History at the Ukrainian Catholic University and the Director of the Peter Jacyk Program for Studies of Modern Ukrainian History and Society (University of Alberta - Ivan Franko Lviv National University - Ukrainian Catholic University). He obtained his Ph.D. in history from Lviv University in 1987 and his habilitation from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences in 1996. He has taught at Columbia University (1994, 2004), Harvard University (2000-2001), and the Central European University in Budapest (1996-2009). Professor HRYTSAK's research focuses on the history of Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries.
He is the author of numerous publications, including, "Essays in Ukrainian History: the Making of a Modern Ukrainian Nation" (Kyiv, 1996 in Ukrainian; Polish translation in 2000), which received the Przeglad Wschodni award for the best foreign book on East European history in 1998. He also wrote "Prophet in his Fatherland: Ivan Franko and His Community" (Kyiv, 2006; Polish translation in 2011), which was awarded the Antonovych Prize for Intellectual Achievements and the "Best Book in Ukraine" from the leading Ukrainian magazine Кореспондент (Correspondent). His other awards include "Public Figure of the Year" (2004), "Anton Gindely-Preis für Kultur und Geschichte Mittel-, Ost- und Südosteuropas" (Austria, 2010), the Polish Order "Pro Publico Bono" (2010) and the award for "Intellectual Courage" by the Independent Ukrainian Journal "Yi" (2010).