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Lecture Series “What’s So Special About Galicia?”

  • St. Vladimir Institute 620 Spadina Avenue Toronto, ON, M5S 2H4 Canada (map)

St. Vladimir Institute and Toronto Ukrainian Genealogy Group

Invites you to explore your Roots and Heritage

“What’s So Special About Galicia?”

Lecture by Professor M. Tarnawsky,
Slavic Department, University of Toronto.

The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria is an invented place. It was established as a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy following the first partition of Poland in 1772 and designated a kingdom after the third partition in 1795. No matter what it was called, the underlying fact remained that this place was a place only because Austria had carved out this slice of another country for itself and wanted to pretend the

land grab had inherent logic other than naked aggression. Despite this invented status, the various people who lived in this area soon began to see themselves as genuinely Galician. Their cultural products, particularly literary works—whether they be in German, Polish, Ukrainian, or Yiddish— consistently portray Galicia as a unique place and their own natural homeland. This talk will explore the cultural representations of Galician uniqueness in a variety of national cultures.


Maxim Tarnawsky is a Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Toronto, where he teaches Ukrainian Literature.


Refreshments will be served
Donations appreciated.
More information at 416.923.3318