Cultural heritage and national Ukrainian narratives

Abstract

Historical and cultural monuments are unique witnesses of our past. Among many problems our modern Ukrainian society tries to solve, there is one connected with overcoming our post-colonial experience that still exists in objects of public memorialization. Unfortunately, during the years of Ukrainian independence, we still have not formed full-fledged national narratives. However, the war with Russia should accelerate this process, including cleaning the public space from the so-called imperial markers and Russian narratives. In 2023, a team of researchers from Sumy State University won the competition «Science for the Reconstruction of Ukraine in the War and Post-War Periods», having received a collective grant support from the National Research Fund of Ukraine for the implementation of the scientific research project «Digital Archiving of Monuments as Objects of Public Memorialization for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Ukraine». The work aims to develop a methodology for collecting attributive information, description, systematization, analysis, and interdisciplinary interpretation of data regarding the physical condition and socio-political indicators of monuments through their digital archiving on a bilingual website to ensure the sustainable development of Ukrainian society.