J. William & Sarah Dyck Award for Russian Mennonite Studies
Mennonites from Prussia began to establish settlements in Ukraine in 1788. Eventually, Mennonites spread to many parts of the Russian Empire where they formed distinctive religious, cultural, and administrative communities. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, conditions for Mennonites in the new Soviet Union changed dramatically. Refugee displacement and exile in the 1940s effectively ended Mennonite community life in Russia, though a small Mennonite presence remains. Three major emigrations from Russia/Soviet Union to Canada took place: in the 1870s, 1920s and 1940s.
The Russian Mennonite experience is a rich field to explore many themes, such as immigration and refugee stories, church-state relations, family life, ethnic and religious minorities, art and photography, biography and memoir, food history, language, and pacifism.
This award is made possible by a donation from J. William and Sarah Dyck. The award is administered by the University of Waterloo.
For more information and application deadline dates, visit Grebel's awards page.
About the Award
This award is provided annually to undergraduate or graduate students with a demonstrated interest in Russian Mennonite Studies at the College.
The award is given to:
- A student who has produced a substantive project, from within a variety of disciplines, contributing to the understanding of the Russian Mennonite experience. OR
- A student who will undertake a research internship in the Mennonite Archives of Ontario, assisting the archivist in working with primary source documents with specific reference to the Russian Mennonite experience.
Amount: One award of approx. $1,000
