Culture of the countries of the region in the European context – Ukraine 3224-D3KKReurUKR
The class aims to familiarize students with the main issues of contemporary Ukrainian culture against the background of cultural developments in Europe.
The class ends with a block devoted to the history and contemporary times of Ukraine. Their aim is to indicate and analyze the relations between the culture of Ukraine and the cultures of European countries and to place the culture of Ukraine on the map of cultural phenomena and processes that shape the contemporary face of European culture, with particular emphasis on aspects that determine the similarities and differences between the culture of Ukraine and other cultures of the countries of the region.
The material analyzed in the course includes phenomena and processes related to cultural identity and diversity, forms of social bonds and activities, and ideological trends and related practices of institutionalization, contestation and emancipation (including the situation of variously defined minorities, conflicts and mutual ethnic, religious and social influences, subcultures, feminism), as well as literary and artistic representations of these phenomena and processes. Particular attention will be paid to the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the development of culture in Ukraine, qualitative changes in its character, and the way Ukrainians present themselves in the European cultural context after 2014 and 2022.
Topics to be discussed:
1. Recap of feminist criticism, anthropology, gender theory, and postcolonial theory. The concepts of elite and mass culture. Postmodernism and pop culture.
2. Socio-political conditions of the development of Ukrainian culture in the 2000s. Decommunization of public space and recycling of Ukrainian Soviet culture.
3. Ukrainian postmodernism of the 1990s and 2000s: literature, art, European context.
4. Ukrainian music of the independence era: from folk to the year. The Eurovision Song Contest and its significance for the Ukrainian music scene.
5. Artistic performance in contemporary Ukraine.
6. Main threads and topics of contemporary Ukrainian cinematography.
7. Ukrainian creators of online content. The role of social media in cultural life.
8. Protest culture and art during the Revolution of Dignity. Russia's invasion of Ukrainian territory and its impact on the development of culture. Full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
9. Wartime literature: fiction, non-fiction.
10. Music after the full-scale invasion: the phenomenon of bajraktarshchina, synthetic projects.
11. Dramaturgy of the "Great War": questions of occupation, violence, refugeehood.
12. Cinema and the image of Ukraine in the world after February 24, 2022.
13. Gender during the socio-political transformation in Ukraine.
14. Visual arts of modern Ukraine: tradition and world trends.
15. Summary classes.
Student workload includes:
Classroom participation – 30 hours (1 ECTS)
Preparing for classes – 30 hours (1 ECTS)
Preparation for oral examination – 30 hours (1 ECTS)
Mode
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: the graduate knows and understands:
- at an advanced level, the specificity of various cultural models from an anthropological perspective, the processes of their transformation and interrelationships, as well as their manifestations in the symbolic and semiotic spheres, i.e. in the realm of culture and art, literature and history of Ukraine (K_W03)
- at an advanced level, the history and contemporary situation of Ukraine, the relations between Ukrainian culture and the cultures of European countries, and issues related to the specific nature of Central and Eastern European culture, with particular emphasis on cultural processes and phenomena in the context of social and political changes (K_W04)
- at an advanced level, the European and global context of cultural processes – is able to apply this knowledge in relation to culture, as well as political, social and economic phenomena in Ukraine at every stage of their development (K_W05)
-at an advanced level, the broadly understood intercultural context; has knowledge about humans as entities constructing social structures and cultural products, is aware of the principles of their functioning and the resulting differences in the perception of social life by representatives of different nationalities, ideological and religious groups, and minorities (K_W07).
Skills: graduates are able to:
- search for, select, analyses and use the information they need from various sources (K_U01)
- formulate and analyses research problems, select research methods and tools, and conduct simple research in the field of cultural studies and related disciplines concerning Ukraine under the supervision of a research supervisor (K_U02)
- develop their research skills, independently acquire knowledge with the support of a supervisor; skillfully formulate thoughts and present research results in oral or written form (K_U03)
- use theoretical approaches, research paradigms and concepts specific to cultural studies in typical professional situations (K_U04)
- conduct a critical analysis of cultural products specific to a given era in the development of Ukraine; recognize different types of Ukrainian cultural products, analyses them, distinguish between different perspectives on the development of the country's culture, being aware of the existence of cultural identity differences and context (K_U05)
- refer to the acquired knowledge and use it in typical professional statements concerning the history and present day of Ukraine, as well as the specificity of the region as a whole in a global context, construct them logically, referring to the positions of other participants in these communication situations (K_U06)
- independently prepare a written and oral statement, in Polish and a foreign language, on selected topics in the field of cultural theory and issues related to Ukraine, and present the results of their work to the group (K_U08).
Social competences: graduates are prepared to:
- critically evaluate their knowledge, continuously learn and supplement their knowledge of Ukrainian culture (K_K01)
- communicate effectively and live in society, including in a society that is culturally different from their own, work in a team, cope with typical professional situations, verify their views through factual discussion and evaluate their knowledge (K_K02).
Assessment criteria
I. The organization of classes:
1) Attendance at all classes, covered by the plan, shall be compulsory.
2) It is not possible to have a retake if the reason of failing the credit was noncompliance with the requirement to participate in them. In such a case a student can be conditionally registered in an successive stage of study and can repeat the failed course.
3) In case of 30 hours in semester, 2 absences without justifying are acceptable. Missed classes must be made up in accordance with the requirements of the lecturer. The requirements are provided by the lecturer during the first class.
II. Assessment methods and criteria
The course ends with an assessment of the knowledge acquired by students during the course. Classes will be conducted in the form of discussions on assigned readings or material presented by the lecturer. Active participation in the discussion means substantive participation in at least 50% of the classes. The oral examination will consist of two questions randomly selected by the student from the material discussed in class during the semester.
The final grade will be based on:
Substantive participation in class discussions (25%).
Oral assessment (75%).
Grading scale:
0%–49% – 2
50%–60% – 3
61%–70% – 3+
71%–80% – 4
81%–90% – 4+
91%–100% – 5
Additional knowledge – 5+
Bibliography
Barwa H., Lachowicz M., Trwałość symboli Białorusi i Ukrainy w dziełach sztuki w kontekście wojny (2014–2022) [w:] tychże, Kultura i sztuka alternatywna Białorusi i Ukrainy XX–XXI wieku. Obraz społeczeństwa, FNCE Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań 2024, s. 296–343.
Cherepanyn V., Ukrainian body: interaction of art, knowledge and politics [w:] Klymko S., Kulchynska L., Cherepanyn V., Ukrainian body, Visual Culture Research Cente Kyiv 2012, s. 68–83.
Hnatiuk O., Pożegnanie z imperium. Ukraińskie dyskucje o tożsamości, Lublin 2003, https://www.academia.edu/49433017/Ola_Hnatiuk_Pozegnanie_z_imperium, dostęp: 08.12.2025.
Pałuba D., Konkurs Piosenki Eurowizji jako przedmiot badania socjologicznego, „Studia Socjologiczno-Polityczne. Seria Nowa”, 2020, t. 12, nr 1, s. 147–159.
Pidoprygora S., Drawn History. Ukrainian Graphic Fiction about National History [w:] Schwartz M., Weller N., (red.), Appropriating History. The Soviet Past in Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian Popular Culture, transcript Verlag, Bielefeld 2024, s. 45–68.
Piechota G., Rajczyk R., Media społecznościowe w protestach politycznych na przykładzie ukraińskiej Rewolucji Godności [w:] Piontek D., Ossowski S. (red.), Komunikowanie społeczne w dobie nowych technologii, Polskie Towarzystwo Komunikacji Społecznej, Poznań 2017, s. 21–34.
Sułek E., Estetyka rewolucyjna czy nowa forma nacjonalizmu? Sztuka ulicy w Kijowie w latach 2013–2016, „Studia de Arte et Educatione”, nr 12 (2017), s. 68–78.
Sułek E., Wymazywanie. Wpływ polityki pamięci na przestrzeń kulturową Ukrainy po roku 2014, „Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis. Studia Politologica”, 2019, t. 22, nr 297, s. 171–184.
Szerszeń T., Być gościem w katastrofie, Warszawa 2024.
Teorie literatury XX wieku. Podręcznik, Wydawnictwo Znak, Kraków 2009.
Współczesna dramaturgia ukraińska. Od A do JA, Warszawa 2020.
Współczesna sztuka ukraińska i nowe technologie [w:] KULTURA ENTER 2009/08/09 nr 13/14, https://kulturaenter.pl/magazyn/20090809-nr-1314/, dostęp: 11.06.2025.
Zjawisko energii w nauce, sztuce i kulturze. Tom poświęcony prof. dr. hab. Halinie Chałacińskiej, Wydawnictwo UAM, Poznań 2016.
Zychowicz J., Sztuka, feminizm i rewolucje w Ukrainie XXI wieku, Kraków 2024.
Other teaching materials (especially audiovisual) will be provided by the lecturer.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: