The historical name of the Department of Foreign Literature (Head of the Department – Doctor of Philology, Professor Liliia Miroshnychenko) was the Department of Western European Literature. The department was founded in 1863 at St. Volodymyr’s University as part of the Faculty of History and Philology as the Department of World Literature, and in 1891 it was renamed the Department of Western European Literature.
Over the years, the department was headed by prominent figures in the field, such as: Prof. M. Dashkevych, Prof. I. Sharovolskyi, Prof. S. Savchenko, Prof. A. Shamrai, Prof. T. Yakymovych, Honored Professor of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv K. Shakhova, Associate Professor A. Bakanov, Prof. N. Zhluktenko, Prof. S. Pryhodii, Prof. I. Mehela. The department was staffed by a well-known researcher of U.S. literature, Prof. T. Denysova, and a literary theorist, founder of modern Ukrainian comparative studies, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine D. Nalyvaiko. Prof. V. Pashchenko, Dean of the Department of Foreign Languages (1962-1965), also studied at the department and later taught foreign literature.
Today, the department’s staff consists of lecturers and scholars who shape the trends of modern Ukrainian literary studies, recognized researchers of national literatures of English-speaking, French-speaking, German-speaking, and Spanish-speaking countries. Of the department’s 13 lecturers, 5 are Doctors and 8 with PhD degrees, 5 have the rank of Professor, and 5 have the rank of Associate Professor.
The area of scientific and pedagogical activity of the department members is the history of foreign literature, modern national literature, and literary theory. Traditionally, the department provides teaching of literary disciplines at all levels of training of the Institute’s specialties. In addition, the department prepares specialists in teaching foreign literature and English in the modern Ukrainian school.
The internationalization strategy of the department is facilitated by the international academic mobility of its lecturers. Tetiana Mykhed was a grant-holder of the Senatorial Fulbright Program, and Liliia Miroshnychenko was a grant-holder of the summer program. Nataliia Zhluktenko (USA, UK), Olha Boinitska (UK), Yuliana Matasova (USA, France, Bulgaria), and Nataliia Liubarets (USA) completed internships at Western universities and research centers. Ivan Mehela (Austria) and Liliia Miroshnychenko (France) were invited professors.
Since the early 2000s, the lecturers have published a number of monographs, textbooks and manuals, including: “Fundamentals of the Theory of Literary Genres”, “Genreology: Theory of the Novel” (T. Bovsunivska); “Literature of the European Middle Ages”, “Literature of the European Enlightenment” (I. Mehela), “Archetypal Criticism of American Literature” (S. Pryhodii, Yu. Matasova, etc.), “The Guide to Literature of American Renaissance” (T. Mykhed), “Projections of Skepticism in the Modern British Novel: Genesis, Tradition, Poetics” (L. Miroshnychenko), “English Literature of the 18th Century: Formation and Development of the Novel” (N. Bilyk), “English Historiographical Novel of the Late Twentieth and Twenty First Centuries: the Philosophy of the Genre” (O. Boinitska), “Foreign Literature. A Textbook for the 10th Grade of the General Secondary Education Establishment” (N. Liubarets, co-authored).
Over the years, the department was home to the following academics:
- Lidiia Matsevko-Bekerska
- Nataliia Liubarets