Paul Hedeen, professor of English and writing at Wartburg, is teaching in Ukraine for a semester.
Hedeen helped start the writing major at Wartburg four years ago, giving students a chance to enhance both their creative and scholarly writing skills.

He also wrote and published his first novel in 2006 titled “The Knowledge Tree.”

While in Ukraine, Hedeen will be teaching two classes at a university in the city of Vinnytsya. The first class is an “academic Olympians” class, in which he teaches students who want to compete in a countrywide English language competition. His other course will deal with American literature, and both classes will be taught in English.

Language surprisingly not an issue
Hedeen says the language barrier has not been a huge problem in the university setting.

“So far language has offered no barriers to the teaching,” Hedeen said. “I’m teaching fourth and fifth-year students, and they are all very good English speakers and writers. Language has been a huge issue in all of my other associations though.  Don’t believe what the guide books say about widespread English in this country or Europe generally.”

Ukraine has existed for most of its life as a nation-in-waiting, dominated by more powerful neighbors.  As part of the USSR during much of the last half-century, it continually had to invest its agricultural wealth in propping up Russia. 

Ukraine is just getting on its feet as an independent nation; as such it has many political, economic, and infrastructural problems to be solved before it can join the ranks of the highly developed nations.

“This is the strangest place I’ve ever been, but then again I’m not widely traveled,” Hedeen said. “Everything is sufficiently different to be an adjustment. Its processes are a mix of many surrounding nations. Everything you eat, see and breathe is different.”

Campus misses Hedeen
Hedeen’s absence is felt in the English department and throughout the rest of campus by students and faculty.

“It’s been pretty hard having Dr. Hedeen gone this term, especially since I’m a senior and he’s my adviser,” Kelsey Nieman said. “So this was really one of those times that I’ve needed him the most. Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Hedeen teaches many classes at Wartburg, and finding someone to replace him was difficult. Kim Groninga, an English and film professor from the University of Northern Iowa, took over two of Hedeen’s regular classes including Literature and Film, a class Hedeen himself started a few years ago.

“It’s not too tough following his objectives for the class,” Groninga said. “His list of course goals makes complete sense to me and are the core of what I used to plan the course.

Groninga knows students in her class look up to Hedeen very highly, but this does not discourage her.

“It’s good for Dr. Hedeen to step away and re-connect with his own writing and his own creativity,” Groninga said. “It’s good for Wartburg students to be exposed to a different set of ideas from another professor.”