Pictured left to right: Jana Zoric and Croatian researcher Jelka Vukobratovic.
(Image credit Katie Markotich)
Dr. Marcia Ostashewski, formerly associated with the Kule Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Alberta, was awarded $183,000 by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for her project "Mnohai'ia lita: celebrating Eastern European communities and cultures in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia". The Wirth Institute is pleased to collaborate with Dr. Ostashewski on this undertaking, which explores Cape Breton's Eastern and Central European antecedents beyond its more familiar Scottish and Acadian characteristics. In October of this year, the Wirth Institute funded Croatian ethnomusicologist Jelka Vukobratovic's participation in the process of collecting and analyzing aspects of the Croatian cultural heritage of the area.
Quoted in a press release dated July 23, 2012 from Cape Breton University, one of the universities collaborating on the project, Dr. Ostashewski says, "[t]he project will likely redefine the island's diverse ethnocultural profile. The web portal, designed to reach a broad audience, will lead to ten distinct websites and sections, integrating interactive multimedia resources and learning opportunities for technology-enriched learning about the significant contribution of Eastern European immigrants and their descendants to the rich social and cultural landscape of Cape Breton Island."
Dr. Ostashewski was recently appointed as Canada Research Chair in Communities and Cultures at Cape Breton University.
For further information on the grant, see http://kuleinstitute.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/kias-postdoctoral-fellow-gets-a-sshrc-grant/
For more on Dr. Ostashewski, see http://www.cbu.ca/news/cape-breton-university-researchers-named-canada-research-chairs.
For a look at Jelka Vukobratovic's experience in Cape Breton, please visit our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/wirthinstitute.