SCHOOL DRAMA IN THE CHERNIHIV COLLEGIUM

Abstract

The article analyzes the phenomenon of school drama in the Chernihiv Collegium as a component of the educational and cultural process of Ukraine in the 17th–18th centuries. The historical conditions for the formation of dramatic practices in the collegium, their connection with the courses of poetics and rhetoric, genre and language features, as well as ideological and educational functions are considered. Special attention is paid to the role of school drama as a form of public representation of an Orthodox educational institution. The study is based on works on the history of Ukrainian theater, the history of education, and materials devoted to the activities of the Chernihiv Collegium.

Purpose of the article. The purpose of the article is a comprehensive analysis of school drama in the Chernihiv Collegium as a component of the educational, cultural, and ideological process of Ukraine in the late 17th–first half of the 18th centuries, as well as determining its role in the formation of the traditions of Ukrainian theater.

Methodology. The study combines historical-cultural and comparative approaches, supple­mented by elements of interpretive analysis. This approach makes it possible to examine school drama as a component of Baroque culture and the educational practice of Orthodox collegiums, to compare the theatrical practices of the Chernihiv Collegium with those of other educational institutions, and to identify the genre, linguistic, and ideological features of dramatic works and their functions. The research is conducted within an interdisciplinary framework, enabling school drama to be interpreted as a complex phenomenon of the early modern period.

Scientific novelty. The article presents a comprehensive analysis of school drama in the Chernihiv Collegium as a component of the educational practice and the Baroque cultural environment of Left-Bank Ukraine. It clarifies the functional role of school drama within collegium education, particularly its didactic, rhetorical, worldview, and representative dimensions. The study demonstrates the systemic character of school drama as an integral element of instruction closely connected with the courses of poetics and rhetoric. It also deepens the understanding of the Chernihiv Collegium as a regional educational center in which the traditions of Ukrainian school theatre were formed in the early modern period.

Conclusions. School drama in the Chernihiv Collegium can be understood as an integral cultural and educational phenomenon embedded in the educational process and the Baroque culture. It fulfilled a set of interrelated functions – didactic, rhetorical, ideological, and representative – contributing to the development of students’ communicative skills and intellectual outlook. The study demonstrates the systemic character of dramatic practices and their role as a means of public representation of an Orthodox educational institution. The Chernihiv Collegium exemplifies the significant contribution of regional educational centers to the formation of the Ukrainian theatrical tradition in the early modern period.