Name David Marples | ||
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Books Heroes and Villains, The Collapse of the Soviet, Belarus: A Denationalized Nation, Lenin's revolution, Russia in the Twentieth | ||
David Marples, Discussant | On the integration of Ukrainian studies into the Humanities
David Roger Marples is a Canadian historian and Distinguished University Professor at the Department of History & Classics, University of Alberta. He specializes in history and contemporary politics of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
Contents
- David Marples Discussant On the integration of Ukrainian studies into the Humanities
- Academic career
- Personal life
- References
Academic career
Marples received his BA Honours from the University of London in 1975, his MA in History from the University of Alberta in 1980, and Ph.D. in Economic and Social History from the University of Sheffield in 1985. The title of his Ph.D. dissertation was "Collectivization of agriculture in Western Ukraine 1944-1951." He began his tenure at University of Alberta in 1991. Earlier, he was a Research Analyst for the Ukrainian Service of Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany.
Marples is a former President of The North American Association for Belarusian Studies (2010-15) and was formerly Director of the Stasiuk Program on Contemporary Ukraine at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (2004-14), University of Alberta. In 2014 he was a Visiting Professor at the Slavic and Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University, Japan. At the University of Alberta he is a recipient of the J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research (2003) and the University Cup (2008), the university's highest award.
He is regarded as one of the leading Western authorities on the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe (social and political aspects), Lukashenko's regime in Belarus, and contemporary Ukraine. In 2014 he published Our Glorious Past': Lukashenka's Belarus and the Great Patriotic War', the product of an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. His most recent book is 'Ukraine in Conflict' published by E-International Relations Publishing in May 2017. As a historian Marples has written extensively on Eastern European history of the 20th Century including such major historical events as the Russian Revolution 1917-1920, Ukrainian Famine 1932-1933, Stalinism, and fall of the Soviet Union.
Marples also contributed to ongoing debates surrounding Ukrainian nationalism and nationalistic myth-making. In the February 7, 2010 issue of The Edmonton Journal he authored an opinion piece “Hero of Ukraine linked to Jewish killings; Honorary title sure to provoke divisions among Ukrainians today.” The piece sparked a new wave of debate surrounding Bandera's figure and his role in Ukrainian history. Eventually, the most important texts of the debate were republished in Ukraine in the collection "Strasti za Banderoiu" (Passions of Bandera, 2010).
Marples has written frequently on current political matters of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine for Edmonton Journal, Kyiv Post, Moscow Times, Eurasia Daily Monitor, Open Democracy and others.
Personal life
Marples is married to Aya Fujiwara, director of the Prince Takamado Japan Centre at the University of Alberta. He has four children, Carlton, Keelan (both from an earlier marriage), Akiko, and Kaella.