480097 KO Literatur- und kulturwissenschaftliches Konversatorium (2022W)

From the beginning of the 1920s Ukrainian literature and art developed within the totally new state formation of a new type – Soviet Ukraine. The 1920s is characterised by a strong interweaving and overlapping of artistic practices and modern socio-political changes in the name of “catch-up development” of the new socialist republics.
The building of national culture and identity in the 1920s in Soviet Ukraine had an entirely different ideological foundation than in previous historical periods. This new foundation consisted of the “national” and “communist” components. Almost every literary text possessed a certain political intention—and furthermore, was read from different ideological perspectives as delivering (or hiding) a political message. The “technique of the craft of writing” took a crucial place in this development.
One of the most interesting aspects of this period is that the “modernization” of Ukrainian culture, both artistic and literary, was taking place under the strong influence of Russian avant-garde and modernism in their Soviet phase (including literary theory).
The course is dedicated to the analyses of both artistic texts of prominent Ukrainian writers (Pavlo Tychyna, Maik Yohansen, Mykola Zerov, Mykhail’ Semenko, Mykola Bazhan, etc.) and theoretical articles that form the core of the phenomenon known as the “Ukrainian formalism.”

The course consists of the Introduction which is supposed to provide the students with historical context of the formation of early Soviet literature and art, and a series of colloquiums where cultural cases (texts and theoretical works) will be discussed. In the end of the course a wrap-up discussion is supposed to sum up some of the conclusions.

Lectures, discussions, workshops, group screening of the movies etc.