Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW 1

Literature Review

For Intercultural Contact

Ethnography Project

Trevor Lee

Portland State University

2/15/14

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 mid1990s, 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. ProRussian 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-speech and 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.

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Literature Review

Reference

1. Galper, Alice & Seefeldt, Carol (1998) “Lessons from Ukraine” Childhood Education

74 (3) pg. 136) Retrieved from:

http://go.galegroup.com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=AONE&userGroupName=s1185784&tabID=T002&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA20586800&&docId=GALE|A20586800&docType=GALE&role=

2. O. (2012). Ukraine. Russian Politics & Law, 50(4), 51-72.

Russian Politics and Law, vol. 50, no. 4, July–August 2012, pp. 51–72. © 2012 M.E.

Sharpe, Inc. All rights reserved. Permissions: www.copyright.com

ISSN 1061–1940 (print)/ISSN 1558–0962 (online) DOI: 10.2753/RUP10611940500404

3. Shafiro V. Margarita, Himelein J. Melissa & Best L., Deborah (2003) “Ukrainian and U.S.

American Females Differences in Individualism/Collectivism and Gender

Attitudes” 34 (3), 297-303) Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology

doi: 10.1177/0022022103034003004

4. Thomas Sowell (2012) “Cultural Diversity: A Worldview” Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E.,

McDaniel, E. R., Roy, C. S. (2015). Intercultural Communication: A Reader. 14th ed

(pg.490-502), Cengage Learning: Boston, MA. ISBN: 978-1-285-07739-0.

5. Casey Man Kong Lum (2012) “ Regionalism and Communication” In Gonzalez, Alberto,

Houston, Marsha, & Chen, Victoria (2012). Our Voices: Essays in Culture, Ethnicity, and

Communication 5th ed (289-306). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-

973721-5

6. Larysa Kobelyanska, Olena Suslova, Olena Yena and Iryna Skorbun (2011) “Women’s

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Participation in Politics and Decision-Making in Ukraine: Strategy Paper” Ukrainian

Women’s Fund. (1-36), Retrieved from: http://www.osce.org/odihr/85974