Center for American Literary Studies in Ukraine 

The one and a half decades of Ukraine's existence as an independent state have become the time of appreciable development of American studies in Ukraine. From the very first steps of our independence, the US Embassy began actively supporting efforts of Ukrainian Americanists. The pioneer of this activity was the cultural attache of the US Embassy in Ukraine Mary Kruger. Due to her assistance, the first in Ukraine symposium in postmodernism was carried out (October, 1993). At the financial support of the USA, three issues of the "Window into the World" journal devoted to the history, the current situation, the methodology of teaching American literature were published. The journal includes articles by the leading US researchers, translations of classical writings of American literature (in particular, Ezra Pound, B.Franklin, H.James), a brief sketch of the history of the US literature prepared by local researchers, research works and popular materials by Ukrainian researchers and teachers.

During the short period of time, Ukrainian Americanists with the support from the US Embassy in Ukraine carried out three International Conferences ("The US Literature after the Middle of the 20th Century", May, 1999; "American Literature on the Verge of the 20th-21st centuries", September, 2002; "Mainstream - Heterogeneity - Canon in the Current American Literature", October, 2005) with active participations of the leading American experts (Prof. Ihab Hassan, Prof. A.Melnichuk, Prof. Jeffrey McGunn, Distinguished University Professor Emory Elliott, Prof. Patrick O'Donnell, etc.), American Fulbright alumni who work in Ukraine (James Brasfіeld, Philip Cavalier, Hortense Simmons), influential European colleagues (Prof. M.Anastasyev, Prof. O.Zverev, Moscow; Prof. J.Durczak, Prof. Agnieszka Salska, Poland; Prof. Y.Stulov, Belarus), and a wide range of the Ukrainian contingent of American literature researchers from various cities of our country (at each conference, 40-50 participants delivered their presentations). Proceedings of the first two conferences (the third one is being prepared for publication), published in English and Ukrainian, have attracted large publicity not only among Americanists and a wide Ukrainian philological community, but also beyond our country.

From the first to the third conference, the general range of our participants has sensitively changed - while in 1999 the Ukrainian science was represented by a few professors, but basically - by beginning post-graduate students, at the third conference the "qualitative" gap was considerably reduced - the young research staff has considerably matured, as we observe the constant process of defending Ph.D. theses in the US literature, training of young Ukrainian researchers who are participants of various American programs at American universities.

For several years already, the informal School in the American Literature has been successfully operating at the American Resource Center, where post-graduate students and young researchers from various high schools of Kyiv (and recently - from other cities of Ukraine as well) study. One of results of the School's work are the two Ukrainian research seminars - "Puritan Tradition in American Literature" and "Tradition of Enlightenment in American Literature". The yearbook "American Literary Studies in Ukraine" has been initiated, two issues have been published: "Puritan Tradition in American Literature" (2004) and "Tradition of Enlightenment in American Literature" (2005).

Thus, the informal School in the American Literature at the Resource Center named by Janet Demiray at the US Embassy in Ukraine has generated a certain community of researchers in American literature. Almost ten years of insistent systematic work of present professionals with the financial assistance from the US Embassy, organizational support of the Institute's Directorate were necessary for all that. The yearbook "American Literary Studies in Ukraine", recognized as the edition authorized by the Supreme Commission for Accreditation, became the speaker on behalf this community. The field of activity has also become clear: training of top skills Americanists. Therefore, today we have the urgent need and real grounds for institutionalization of our community:

Our current situation implies the necessity of changes:
1. organizational: there are a lot of us, but we are dispersed all through different regions of Ukraine;
2. strategic: preserving our initial function, we can and should expand the circle of tasks and the scope of activity, having included into it studying, teaching and popularization of the American literature, the more so that curricula of educational institutions of Ukraine at all levels have actually minimized studying of the American literature;
3. tactical: it is possible and necessary to maximally fruitfully use the accumulated creative potential.

Center for American literary studies in Ukraine
It is created at Т. Shevchenko Institute of Literature at the NASU with the support of the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Ukraine. CALSU is an informal voluntary association of experts and individual institutions or groupings at the Institute of Literature NAS of Ukraine uniting experts in American studies, and it has its own research agenda coordinated with the status and regulations of academic requirements.

Therefore, THE FOUNDERS OF THE CALSU ARE T.SHEVCHENKO INSTITUTE OF LITERATURE NASU AND THE US EMBASSY IN UKRAINE.
CALSU has its printed body - the yearbook AMERICAN LITERARY STUDIES IN UKRAINE (with its own editorial board).
CALSU has its central body - THE SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL, which is elected and approved by the general assembly and includes both employees of the Institute, and representatives of various scientific, educational institutions at regions.
CALSU has its Consulting Council.

CALSU's scope of activity:
- activity of the informal School in the American Literature at the Resource Center;
- edition of the CALSU yearbook;
- organization of research conferences, symposiums, seminars, discussions of various levels;
- development and approbation of various types of scientific and research curricula in the subject;
- participation in various competition commissions;
- active participation in translation activity, edition of scientific and fiction literature (translation, approbation, commenting, propositions for publishing houses); delivering research and popular lectures for various audiences;
- development of curricula for various forms of training, creation of educational complexes, specialized courses;
- creations the Center's web page, the information and reference service;
- development of creative contacts and various research cooperation with similar Centers both in Ukraine and abroad - within the post-Soviet space, in Europe, in the United States;
- creative cooperation with American experts who work in Ukraine.

Individual initiative with the precisely defined system of responsibility of the Center's participants is encouraged in every possible way.
Approbation of research projects is carried out by the Scientific Council of the Center, the supreme body is the Scientific Council of the Institute of Literature.
The center seals its documentation with the seal and uses requisites of the Institute of Literature.
The Center has its own logo.

The Assembly approves the following staff of managing bodies:
- Professor T. Denysova - Head, CALSU Moderator
- Professor N. Vysotska (KLU) - Deputy Head
- Senior lecturer O. Gon (KIIR) - Assistant of the Moderator
- Cultural attache of the US Embassy Lisa Heller
- Director of the Fulbright Fund in Ukraine Marta Khomyak-Bogachevska
- Professor N. Zhluktenko (KNU)
- Professor T. Potnіtseva (DSU)
- Secretariat of the Council and the CALSU: O.Dubіnіna, G.Kolomіyets (Institute of Literature).

Representatives in regions:
- M. Koval - Lviv
- O. Starshova - Mykolaiv
- S. Scherbyna - Poltava
- L. Serdyukova - Donetsk region
- O. Kozlov - the Crimea
- M. Shimchyshyn - Carpathian region
- O. Blashkіv - Drogobych
- N. Shpyliova - Cherkasy
- N. Bidasiuk - Khmelnytsky
- I. Snіhovska - Zhytomyr
- T. Korolyova - Odesa
- M. Roshko - Uzhgorod
- L. Kazakova - Kharkiv region.