Department of foreign literature
Head of the Department – Voytenko Lesya Ivanivna,,
Doctor of Philology, Full Professor
Department Staff
- Head of the Department, Doctor of Philolology, professor Voytenko Lesya Ivanivna
- PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Nataliya Vasylivna Ababina
- PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Olena Anatoliivna Bezhan
- PhD in Pedagogy, Associate Professor Nanushka Tatiana Podkoviroff
- PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Yulia Volodymyrivna Sadovska
- PhD in Pedagogy, Associate Professor Valentyna Mykhailivna Romanets
- PhD in Philology, Associate Professor Svitlana Oleksandrivna Fokina
- Senior Lecturer Lanova Victoria Volodymyrivna
- Assistant Demenko Pavlo Volodymyrovych
- Assistant Suvorova Valeria Yurievna
General information
The Department of Foreign Literature is one of the 9 departments of the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology, which provides educational, scientific, social and humanitarian activities within the framework of not only the faculty, but also the university.
Teaching of foreign literature has been carried out at Novorossiysk (Odessa) University since its foundation in 1865, in different years the department was staffed by Professor L.F. Voevodsky, Professor O. I. Kirpichnikov, Associate Professor V.F. Lazursky, Academician F.E. Korsh, Associate Professor M. I. Mandes.
A significant contribution to the popularization of foreign literature through their scientific activities was made by Professors B.V. Varneke, R. M. Volkov, Associate Professor P. E. Ershov. Since the middle of the 20th century, the department has been headed by Associate Professor B. O. Shaykevych (1944-1973), Associate Professor M. P. Mudisit (1973-1985), Associate Professor V. G. Zinchenko (1985-2000), Professor V. I. Sylantieva ( 2000-2023). Currently, the department is headed by Professor L. I. Voitenko.
Today, the department conducts significant scientific work, since 2000, 9 candidate dissertations have been prepared and defended at the department, which are carried out in the direction of comparative research. These are the works of N. V. Ababina, O. A. Bezhan, Yu. O. Zaporozhchenko, V. M. Romanets, Yu. V. Sadovska, N. M. Dolga, V. V. Dmytrieva, Yu. Shtelmukhova, O. Andreychikova.
In 2019, L. I. Voitenko's doctoral dissertation was defended, which was completed in the field of communicative and comparative studies.
Among the teachers of the department, there is 1 Doctor of Philology, Professor, 6 Candidates of Sciences, Associate Professors, 1 Senior Lecturer.
The staff of the department conducts scientific work in the field of comparative studies, researches the national literatures of English-speaking, French-speaking, German-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries, the specifics of the historical development and theoretical understanding of the named national literatures. The area of scientific and pedagogical activity of the members of the department is the history of foreign literature, modern national literatures, literary theory, and methods of teaching literature at school.
The scientific interests of Professor L. I. Voitenko include comparative studies and communication theory, the history of world and Ukrainian literatures, problems of literary relations, antiquity, the history of foreign literature (realism), modern English-language and French-language literature, and theater.
Problems of the theory and history of Romanticism, the history of foreign literature (realism, naturalism), the genre of the 19th century novel in the direction of synergetics, and methods of teaching foreign literature are developed by Associate Professor N. V. Ababina.
The scientific interests of Associate Professor O. A. Bezhan include the history of world literature of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the modern American novel, English-language literature, the problems of the Holocaust, memory and trauma, national identity and their reflection in modern literature.
Associate Professor V. M. Romanets conducts research in the field of Classicism, Romanticism, the interaction of music and literature, painting, classical and modern French-language literature, and methods of teaching foreign literature.
Associate Professor S. O. Fokina directs her scientific interest in the field of lyrics of émigré poets of the 20th–21st centuries, the specifics of ancient aesthetics, modern and modern German literature, post-structuralist critical discourse, the development of the poetic avant-garde, the interpretative potential of children's literature, and the poetics of film text.
The range of scientific interests of Associate Professor N. T. Podkovyroff includes modern French literature, teaching methods, intercultural education, discourse studies, and modern Greek.
The scientific interests of Associate Professor Yu. V. Sadovska concern classical and modern Spanish-language literature, multicultural studies, the field of feminist and gender criticism, and English literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Senior Lecturer V.V. Lanova is preparing to defend her PhD thesis, researching British literature of the 20th-21st centuries from the perspective of multiculturalism, problems of national identity, intercultural diffusion, and the work of bilingual artists.
The department's laboratory assistants are P. V. Demenko and V. Yu. Suvorova.
Since 2024, the department's staff have been working on the departmental theme "Discursive Practices of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature".
The department's specialists create methodological recommendations and instructions for students, publish articles that highlight the issues of the project, and implement scientific achievements in practical activities, participate in various scientific and educational events.
The scientific atmosphere of the department contributes to the training of specialists in foreign literature within the educational and scientific program for the preparation of Doctors of Philosophy in the specialty B11 - "Philology". 2 postgraduate students are working on scientific projects in modern literature, communication theory, comparative studies.
The department's specialists undergo internships both in domestic centers and universities, and in Western European ones, which ensures a strategy of international academic mobility, in particular:
O.A. Bezhan completed an internship at the “Simon Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies in Vienna” (Austria, 2023). “Indiana University” (USA, 2024). “University of Alberta” (Canada, 2024).
N.V. Ababina at the “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushynsky” (2021).
Y.V. Sadovska at the “Faculty of Education, University of Bialystok” (2023).
V.M. Romanets and L.I. Voitenko at “Intercultural communication and perspectives of the European education Area” Zagreb, Croatia (2021).
The Department has created an Arts Cabinet, where presentations of Odessa writers and artists, theatrical performances, student meetings, and meetings of circles are held. N.V. Ababina leads the student circle “Communicative Strategies of Teaching Foreign Literature in Educational Institutions”, and V.M. Romanets - the student circle “Zadzerkallya”. S. O. Fokina leads the discussion club “Dialogue of Ancient Culture with the Discourse of Modernity: Aspect of Sensitivity” and “Dialogue of Ancient Culture with the Discourse of Modernity: Aspects of Mythological Worldview”, V. V. Lanova leads the student book club “One More Page”.
Both teachers and students of different courses demonstrate their creative achievements. Meetings and presentations of this plan contribute to improving communication between teachers and students, help to reveal the creative and creative potential of students, reveal their abilities, and identify talents. The result of such work was the collection “We also write”.
The main priority of the Department of Foreign Literature is students, therefore, the teachers of the department provide a friendly atmosphere, build relationships with students on equal terms, observing the rules of academic integrity. Communication is carried out not only in the classrooms, but also in specially created groups in popular messengers. An important component of the work of the department is the encouragement of students to scientific work. Students participate in annual scientific conferences, round tables, and research paper competitions. Cooperation between teachers and students is implemented in joint articles that are published in professional publications, which is undoubtedly evidence of students’ interest in scientific activity.
Creative and active cooperation of teachers with students of various educational programs of the degrees of “bachelor”, “master” ensures a conscious choice by students of specialization and special courses taught by the teachers of the department: “Communicative Strategies of English Drama of the 20th Century”, “Intermediate Discourse” (Prof. L. I. Voitenko), “Modern American Novel”, “Trauma and Memory as Socio-Cultural Markers of Contemporary Literature (Second Half of the 20th - First Third of the 21st Century)” (Assoc. Prof. O. A. Bezhan), “Literature and Synergetics”. (Assoc. Prof. N. V. Ababina), “Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature” (Assoc. Prof. V. M. Romanets), “Human Clone-Robot” (Assoc. Prof. V. V. Lanova), “Aesthetics of World Cinema Text” (Assoc. Prof. S. O. Fokina), “New Latin American Novel” (Assoc. Prof. Yu. V. Sadovska).
The teachers of the department adhere to the traditions of the teaching school, which have been formed in recent years, and at the same time are open to new challenges in the field of the educational process, borrowing new approaches and methodological practices, which contributes to ensuring high quality education.
The department's specialists teach a large number of theoretical and practical academic disciplines.
At the "bachelor" educational level, the department's employees teach the following mandatory academic disciplines:
- Ancient literature;
- Foreign literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance;
- Foreign literature of the 17th-18th centuries: Classicism, Baroque, Enlightenment;
- Foreign literature of the 19th century: Romanticism;
- Foreign literature of the 19th century: Realism;
- Realism - new artistic trends of the 20th century;
- Discourse of modern Western European and Ukrainian literature;
- Modern foreign literature (late 20th - early 21st centuries);
- Methods of teaching foreign literature in secondary schools.
At the bachelor's level, the department's staff teaches selective academic disciplines:
- Aesthetics of World Cinema Text
- Communicative Strategies of English Drama of the 20th Century;
- Nobel Prize Winners in Literature;
- Literature and Painting: Fundamentals of Art History;
- Literature and Synergetics;
- Human Clone Robot in Western Literature;
- Mass French-Language Literature;
- New Latin American Novel;
- Fundamentals of Rhetoric;
- Prophetic Writers;
- Modern American Literature;
- Trauma and memory as socio-cultural markers of contemporary literature (second half of the 20th - first third of the 21st century..)
At the educational level "master" the department staff teach the following compulsory academic disciplines:
- Modern foreign literature (late 20th - early 21st century);
- Methods of teaching foreign literature in higher education.
At the educational level "master" the department staff teach selective academic disciplines
- Intermediate discourse
For postgraduate students the department professors teach the following disciplines:
- Typology and poetics of genres in literary discourse of the second half of the 20th - first third of the 19th century;
- Fiction as a form of communication.
The department's lecturers also supervise pedagogical and assistantship practices, and also provide scientific guidance to students when writing scientific papers.
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Research topic of the department (without targeted funding); “Discursive practices of classical and modern foreign literature” State registration number: 0124U002727 (order of I.I. Mechnikov ONU No. 477-18 dated March 19, 2024), Term of implementation of topic No. 356 – from April 1, 2024 to December 31, 2028.
Within the framework of the research topic, the performers publish articles, theses, monographs, manuals, test the results of their research at conferences in our country and abroad, as well as defend doctoral and candidate dissertations.
The department annually holds student scientific conferences and reporting conferences of the teaching staff, dedicated to contemporary problems of literary studies, art history, linguistic psychology, teaching methods.
In the period from 2009 to 2024, the department defended the following candidate dissertations:
- 2009 – Pomogaibo (Zaporozhchenko) Yu.O. The Concept of Europe in the Essays of D. Goyova, Yu. Andrukhovych, A. Stasiuk: Comparative Discourse. (10.01.05 - "Comparative Literary Studies");
- 2010 – Dolga N. M. Modus of Transition in English and Russian "Small Prose" of the Turn of the 19th–20th Centuries (Neo-Romanticism and Neo-Realism). (10.01.05 - "Comparative Literary Studies");
- 2010 – Ababina N. V Prose of A. Chekhov, I. Bunin and O. Kuprin in Literary and Artistic Searches of the Transition Period (late 19th – early 20th Centuries). (10.01.02 – “Russian Literature”);
- 2013 – Bezhan O. A. The Motif of the Holocaust in Modern American and Russian Literature (V. Styron, J. S. Foer, A. Kuznetsov, V. Grossman). (10.01.05 - “Comparative Literary Studies”);
- 2014 – Romanets V. M. Formation of the Professional Worldview of a Future Teacher of Foreign Literature. (13.00.04 - “Theory and Methods of Professional Education”);
- 2016 – Shtelmukhova Y. V. The Concept of “Chekhovian” in English Literature of the Early 20th Century. (B. Shaw, V. Woolf). (10.01.05 - “Comparative Literary Studies”);
- 2018 – Dmytrieva V.V. Artistic discourse of Charles Perrault's fairy tale in the literatures of Europe and Ukraine. (10.01.05 - "comparative literary studies");
- 2019 – Sadovska Yu.V. "Revolutionary novel" by M. Azuela in the context of Russian and Mexican literary and pictorial traditions of the 20s of the XX century. (10.01.05 - "comparative literary studies").
- 2024 – Andreychykova O. A. "Genre evolution of modern dystopia (Ukrainian and foreign literature)" (specialty 035 Philology.)
Defended doctoral dissertations:
- 2019 – Sinyavska L. I. Ukrainian dramaturgy of the late 19th - early 20th centuries: communicative strategies. (10.01.01 - "Ukrainian literature").
The following doctor’s dissertations were defended:
- 2019 – L. I. Synyavska. Ukrainian dramaturgy from the late 19th to early 20th centuries: communication strategies. (specialty 10.01.01 - Ukrainian literature).
Contact information
Foreign Literature Department (room 108), Art History Departments (rooms 94 and 95), Frantsuzkyi Boulevard 24/26, 65058, Odesa, UkraineE-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
