Katchanovski, Ivan 1967-

views updated

Katchanovski, Ivan 1967-

PERSONAL:

Born September 11, 1967, in Lutsk, Ukraine; son of Sophia Katchanovski. Ethnicity: "Ukrainian." Education: National University of Economics, diploma, 1990; Central European University, diploma (with merit), 1993; George Mason University, M.A., 1996, Ph.D., 2002. Hobbies and other interests: Dancing, traveling.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Office—Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, Canada. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Academic. Volyn State University, Lutsk, Ukraine, lecturer, 1993-94; United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC, research assistant, 1996; George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, research assistant, 1997-2001, adjunct professor, 2002-04; Smith College, Northampton, MA, research associate, 2001—; Library of Congress, Washington, DC, Kluge postdoctoral fellow, 2002-03; University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, postdoctoral fellow, 2005—. John Olin junior faculty fellow, 1994, and Humane Studies fellow, 1997-98, both Institute for Humane Studies; Lubin-Winant research fellow, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, 2005. Military service: Ukrainian Army, 1984-86; became private.

MEMBER:

American Political Science Association, International Advisory Board, International Scientific Krawtchouk Conference (organizing committee, 2004—).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Russian and Eurasian Award, NAFSA Association of International Educators, 1994-96; Krawtchouk Medal, XI International Scientific Krawtchouk Conference, 2006; recipient of numerous travel and research grants.

WRITINGS:

(With others) The Paradox of American Unionism: Why Americans Like Unions More Than Canadians Do, but Join Much Less, ILR Press (Ithaca, NY), 2004.

(Editor, with others) Development of the Mathematical Ideas of Mykhailo Kravchuk, Shevchenko Scientific Society (New York, NY), 2004.

Cleft Countries: Regional Political Divisions and Cultures in Post-Soviet Ukraine and Moldova, foreword by Francis Fukuyama, Ibidem-Verlag (Stuttgart, Germany), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals and journals, including Europe-Asia Studies, International Journal of Public Administration, Journal of Public Policy, Journal of Labor Research, Nationalities Papers, Obschestvennye Nauki I Sovremennost, U Sviti Matematyky, Ukrainian Quarterly, Prague Post, Svoboda, and Transitions Online/Central Europe Review. Reviewer for the Nationalities Papers.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ivan Katchanovski is a Ukrainian academic. He undertook studies at the National University of Economics and Central European University before moving to George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, to complete his graduate studies. He then pursued a career as a lecturer, research assistant, and postdoctoral fellow at a number of universities in the United States and Canada. He contributes regularly to several academic journals and periodicals.

Katchanovski published his first book, The Paradox of American Unionism: Why Americans Like Unions More Than Canadians Do, but Join Much Less, in 2004. The book discusses why the union system in the United States and Canada, which mirrored each other for decades, suddenly moved in opposite directions, before both declining. Ellen D. Gilbert, writing in Library Journal, remarked that the authors support their theories across "well-written, well-documented chapters that use excellent statistical evidence to consider the political philosophies that have informed unions" throughout the history of unions in North America. Joseph Cepuran, writing in Perspectives on Political Science, mentioned that "it is disappointing that the transition to a global economy is not considered in the book." Cepuran did say, however, that "the strength of The Paradox of American Unionism is its survey data." Cepuran found that "at times, the data overwhelm the presentation," but "graduate students and labor scholars will find the data useful and rewarding." Cepuran concluded by calling the book "a worthwhile contribution to the field." James W. Russell, writing in the American Review of Canadian Stud-ies, commented that the book "contains compelling insights into American culture and identity with which I have no problem. I do though have problems with the conclusions that [the authors] draw from them. They put the American and Canadian cultures into Manichean either-or camps. Americans are this, Canadians are that. But many of the values that they identify as social democratic and existing in Canada exist also in the U.S., a point that they acknowledge, but less so."

Writing in Social Forces, Clem Brooks commented that "in raising questions concerning the linkage of mass opinion or political-culture factors to union density," The Paradox of American Unionism "offers important contributions to the study of unions, but their regional focus also generates some predictable limitations." Brooke concluded that the book "may be viewed as offering a challenge to historical-institutionalist and class-centered accounts of union density to not reject out of hand causal mechanisms relating to mass opinion or cultural factors. Evaluation of political-cultural approaches to understanding union density may further benefit by a broader focus across a wider range of developed democracies." Rick Fantasia, writing in the Political Science Quarterly, noted that "the methodological individualism of the survey approach essentially renders it helpless as a method for grasping the often conflict-laden process of collective action through which union membership status is largely determined in the United States; where individual choice … is vastly more complicated than the arguments of this book would seem to allow."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Review of Canadian Studies, autumn, 2005, James W. Russell, review of The Paradox of American Unionism: Why Americans Like Unions More Than Canadians Do, but Join Much Less, p. 547.

Cambridge Review of International Affairs, March, 2007, Florian Kuchler, review of Cleft Countries: Regional Political Divisions and Cultures in Post-Soviet Ukraine and Moldova, pp. 195-198.

CEU Political Science Journal, Volume 2, number 2, Stefan Ihrig, review of Cleft Countries, pp. 215-218.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, January, 2005, G.E. Kaupins, review of The Paradox of American Unionism, p. 900.

Dispute Resolution Journal, November, 2004, Cindy Fazzi, review of The Paradox of American Unionism, p. 86.

International Labour Review, winter, 2004, review of The Paradox of American Unionism.

Journal of Economic Literature, September, 2007, Thomas Lemieux, review of The Paradox of American Unionism, p. 761.

Library Journal, July 2004, Ellen D. Gilbert, review of The Paradox of American Unionism, p. 107.

Perspectives on Political Science, winter, 2005, Joseph Cepuran, review of The Paradox of American Unionism, p. 56.

Political Science Quarterly, fall, 2005, Rick Fantasia, review of The Paradox of American Unionism.

Political Studies Review, Volume 5, number 2, 2007, Thomas E. Rotnem, review of Cleft Countries, pp. 280-281.

Reference & Research Book News, February, 2007, review of Cleft Countries.

Slavic Review, fall, 2007, Bohdan Harasymiw, review of Cleft Countries.

Social Forces, June, 2005, Clem Brooks, review of The Paradox of American Unionism, p. 1789.