“Cultural Heritage of Ukraine as a crossroad of religions, worldviews, and political views»

The school will consist of 11 educational days and 1 free day (as students from the previous year suggested it). The curriculum is going to be divided in five modules of study. Each module is going to be devoted to different topic and area of study such as Archeology, History, Anthropology of Religion, Architecture/ Art, and Folk Culture in order to form multilateral understanding of Ukrainian cultural facets and present political situation.

The first module will focus on ancient cultures on the territory of present Ukrainian state, settlements, and the Great Migration over the land. The students will be introduced to the long history of Karazin Archeological Assembly as well as German-Slavonic Archaeological Expedition and will have chance to join Karazin archeologists in the field diggings in Kharkiv region (Archeological Complex of Viytenki). Additionally, the students will work in the laboratory on the processing and restoration of the finds.

 

Second module will briefly familiarize the participants with the history of Ukraine from 7th century A.D. to present time to show the straggle for its own statehood, the obstacles and objective reasons of the long forceful effort to get free and its relations with neighboring countries (Russia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Turkey). As a highlight of the module will be focus on German influence on culture and history of Ukaraine and Kharkiv city.

Anthropology of Religion module :

  • will focus on ideology, rationality, charisma, tradition, and type of religions

  • will guide the students from paganism to modern religions, its influence on relationship between the groups of people in Ukrainian society as well as the  interference influence on building independent statehood.

  • will introduce new religious subcultures in modern Ukraine

The Art/Architecture module will introduce Ukrainian material culture as plexus of East and West traditions. The classes will be carried out outdoor in the Shevchenko Garden, in the historical buildings of Kharkiv in order to get the feelings of being present in time. The main part of the module will concentrate on Slabodskaya Ukraine, and Kharkiv city to show it as an example of complexity of that influence. The history of the Kharkiv is going to be combined with some life stories of the people who used to live there and who left a mark on world history. The module will be enhanced with the trips around the city and its areas.

The last module will be devoted to Folk Culture.  Karazin Student Theater will introduce Ukrainian songs, dances and holiday rituals and games. The key point of the module will be the active participation of the students. As a final product of the module will be costume presentation (concert) on learned materials.

The uniqueness of Karazin University’s Summer School  2020 “Cultural Heritage of Ukraine as a crossroad of religions, worldviews, and political views» is active learning  with as much “hands-on” activities as possible. In order to achieve that Karazin University will organize involvement in German-Slavonic  Archaeological Expedition where the students is going to learn field labour and enjoy peers interaction around the bonfire which is the best way to learn about the culture. Additionally, the students will proceed their learning in the laboratory where they will analyse the findings. The modules 3 and 4 (Anthropology of Religion and Art/ Architecture) are going to be fulfil with a lot of excursion and trips not only in Kharkiv city but also in the Kharkiv region.