Currently I am at University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. I arrived at the University on September 4th. First of all, I did not expect such warm hospitality. Really, I was deeply impressed by it. Faculty members greeted me warmly, introduced me to professors of different departments, and oriented me to the library. I was supplied with every single thing necessary for my work. I was provided with my own office where I can work anytime I choose. For me, the most valuable thing is being able to have conversations with scholars who are experts in the field of medieval philosophy, classical languages and other areas of linguistics.

It is marvelous that I can spend most of my time on my project. There are so many more possibilities of doing research here, which were not available in Ukraine. I spend a lot of time in the library reading books and making notes. Currently I am working on an essay to be published here and on an article to be published in Ukraine. I have already sent an article to Mova i Kultura in Kyiv.

I have also submitted an abstract to the biennial New College Conference on Medieval and Renaissance Studies (March 2008, Sarasota, Florida). I have been corresponding with different scholars, experts in the field of medieval philosophy and I am considering possibilities of presenting colloquia at different universities. I will apply to the Occasional Lectures Program to support my visits.

Besides, I applied for a Social Security number in September and am still waiting for it. In Houston, I have also met the Ukrainian community, whom I found to be very intelligent and helpful. In general, I enjoy being here and I will try to do my best.

Mary-Catrine's daughter, Prof. Mary-Catrine Sommers (Head of the Philosophy Department),
Prof. C. Martin, Prof. D. Deely, Prof. E. Houser, P. Sodomora, A. Jensen, Prof. J. Deely.

e-mail: sodomop@stthom.edu

Some Quiet Reflections

The first semester is over, and this is a very appropriate time to make several conclusions concerning my program at the University of St. Thomas as well as my work in particular. Time flies quickly, and almost half of my time here is up.

Above all, I want to emphasize that this is a great opportunity to accomplish some long-planned research and I really appreciate it. When everyday duties interfere, it is almost impossible to concentrate on such work. Being here has offered me the opportunity for quiet reflections on topics of my present research as well as on my future plans.

Frequent conversations with scholars have helped me to improve the structure of my research. The staff of the Philosophy Department is eager to answer any question. I would like to acknowledge Mary-Catherine Sommers, John Deely, Christopher Martin and other professors for their willingness and assistance. As a result, the structure of my work has improved considerably.

Evidently, it is much easier to continue any work than to start one. Now, having the main part of my research done, I can clearly see the structure of the project and I hope that the most difficult part is over.

I am aware that this research on medieval philosophical terminology is the first one in Ukrainian philosophical studies, and therefore it will be scrutinized various Ukrainian scholars. This is a very important research and I am conscious of the responsibility I have undertaken. Here, at this university, I had as good a chance as possible, to do it in a proper way.

Besides, I have suggested some courses on medieval authors to the University of St. Thomas, and next semester I will have some lectures on reading, interpreting and explaining parts of The City of God by St. Augustine and Summa Theologiae by St. Thomas. This will benefit my development as a teacher, and will provide a good chance to discuss some translation problems with students. Also I am preparing a colloquium called “Ukraine: Historical and Philosophical Sketches” to be held in February as well as planning to attend some conferences in the coming semester.

So, I expect the next semester to be filled with new experiences and impressions, which are necessary for my development as a scholar.

Center for Thomistic Studies, University of St. Thomas,
3800 Montrose Blvd., Houston, TX 77006
Phone: (8101)713 942 5062 (office),(8101)832 526 5605 (cell)
e-mail: sodomop@stthom.edu, sodomora@yahoo.com

The Spring Semester at UST

The time for each report seems to be some kind of boundary that separates the work that is already done, on one side, and the work still to be done, on the other. Thus my time here is logically divided into three parts, two of them completed in the first semester.

I accumulated material for my research on “Problems in Rendering Philosophical Terms” during the first semester. The second semester saw the formation of the general structure of the work, proving that form perfects matter and provides it with being. Therefore, the second semester supersedes the first since the research has entered its final stage in the time being.

In the meantime I plan to complete the project, which has grown to be some 300 pages. This research explores the main philosophical terms, their origin and rendering in different European languages, as well as suggests Ukrainian equivalents for these terms on the basis of different translations. Actually, my research's structure and content have undergone some changes and improvement and have come a long way from the starting point.

This semester is very challenging and meaningful for me in terms of self-development as a professor since I teach a course “St. Augustine and St. Thomas: Comparative Reading” at the university. It is based on “The City of God” by St. Augustine and “Summa Theologiae” by St. Thomas. Interaction with American students is very gripping for me insofar as they have their own special approach to translation of Latin Medieval texts.

I gave an open lecture “Ukraine: Historical and Philosophical Sketches.” which presented my perspective on terminological problems I am currently trying to solve. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of questions and discussion the talk stimulated. I also thought that there were significant thoughts and ideas voiced by scholars in attendance.

Besides, I have applied for an upcoming conference in Denver, Colorado and I plan on meeting some professors while being there.

It seems that I am much busier this semester than the previous one, time runs faster, and days appear to be shorter despite spring. So, I cannot help but follow the Latin motto, “Carpe Diem” [Catch the day].

A Summary: My Great Texas Experience

It is amazing that Texas, a place so far from Ukraine, became my home for almost a year. I arrived at St. Thomas University in the beginning of September 2007. I would like to acknowledge that I did not expect such warm hospitality. That was my first and maybe my biggest impression. I was really amazed by it. The faculty members met me with warm feelings, introduced me to professors of different departments, and oriented me to the library.

In fact, I was supplied with every single thing necessary for my work. I was provided with my personal office where I could work anytime I wanted along with library access, where any existing in the United States book was within my reach. But the most important thing made available to me was the fellowship with scholars who were experts in the field of medieval philosophy, classical languages and other areas of linguistics.

During this academic year I attended lectures of Professors J. Deely and C. Martin. This was very beneficial for my development as a scholar. Frequent conversations with scholars helped me to improve the structure of my own research. The staff of the Philosophy Department was eager to help with every question. I would like to express my gratitude to Mary-Catherine Sommers, John Deely, C. Martin and other professors for being very helpful and willing to answer any of my questions. This has resulted in considerable improvement of my work.

I am aware of the fact that this research on medieval philosophical terminology as the first in Ukrainian philosophical studies, will be scrutinized by different Ukrainian scholars. This is a very important research and I am conscious of my responsibility for it. Here I had a really good opportunity to do it in a proper way.

I suggested the course “St Thomas and St Augustine: Comparative Readings” for the second semester and it was accepted. Consequently, I was given an opportunity to interact with students, while interpreting some parts of The City of God by St. Augustine and Summa Theologiae by St. Thomas during my classes. This was beneficial for my development as a teacher, as well as provided a good chance for discussion some translation problems with the students who were interested and enthusiastic about the subject. So, the second semester proved to be a challenging and meaningful in terms of my self-development as a professor.

Besides teaching I was actively involved in academic work. I held a colloquium called “Ukraine: Historical and Philosophical Sketches” which took place in February. I used this opportunity to present my perspective on terminological problems on which I was working. Not to mention how pleasantly I was impressed by the variety of questions and debates caused by my presentation as well as by some quite significant thoughts and ideas raised by scholars in attendance.

My proposal to give a presentation on I had applied for the with the report “Synonyms and Identity of Denotation: A Problem in the Semiotics of Translation” at the Semiotics Conference was accepted. This is of outmost importance not only for me but also for the inclusion of a Ukrainian perspective to a broad circle of world philosophers.

I had been accumulating material for my research on “The Problems in Rendering Philosophical Terms” during the first semester. The second semester was dedicated to structuring the research, just like form perfects matter and provides it with being. Apparently, the second semester predominates over the first one in significance because the research had entered its final stage. I am about to complete my project, and it appears to be a rather large investigation, i.e. about 300 pages. This research enlightens the main philosophical terms, their origin and rendering in different European languages, as well as suggests Ukrainian equivalents for the terms on the basis of different translations. As the matter of fact, both structure and material of my research had undergone changes and improvements. The initial idea has developed significantly.

In addition to my unique experience at St. Thomas, I got an opportunity to travel around U.S. while visiting the Fulbright Conference in Denver, Colorado. This was a great time, and meeting different scholars from around the world made it especially exciting. Some pictures from the conference are available on the website: www.cies.org/news_events/VS_Conference/2008/

As the semester approached its end, we enjoyed a great event - the Fulbright Celebration of World Music and Dance at the University of St. Thomas, where I performed a couple of Ukrainian songs, one of them was “Chervona Ruta” by V. Ivasiuk. A video record of this performance is available on the webpage: www.youthradio.us/video/divchatko_080328.html

I was very proud to present this song in memory of the young composer who was brutally murdered by Soviet hangman. The voice of V. Ivasiuk continues to live in his songs and sounds all over the world.

I came to Houston full of ideas and with the spirit of Ukraine in my heart, which I shared with everybody I met here. A year later, I am leaving with a completed project and the warm and friendly spirit of the American people. However, a part of Ukraine that I brought with me will certainly remain in this place to develop our future relationship. So I consider my mission as a cultural ambassador and a national representative at St. Thomas University in Houston, TX to be accomplished.

e-mail: sodomop@stthom.edu, sodomora@yahoo.com