MAIN DIRECTIONS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AT THE EDUCATIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND SOCIAL AND HUMANITARIAN DISCIPLINES NAMED AFTER O. M. LAZAREVSKY T. H. SHEVCHENKO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY «CHERNIHIV COLEHIUM» AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH AND 21ST

Abstract

Purpose of the work. The purpose of the work is to highlight the process of formation and development of ethnographic research at the Faculty of History (now the O. M. Lazarevsky Educational and Scientific Institute of History and Social Sciences and Humanities) of the T. H. Shevchenko National University «Chernihiv Colehium»,  their organization, as well as to analyze the issues of ethnographic and oral history research, clarify their results, and explore the possibilities for their implementation in scientific and social circulation.

Methodology. The methodological basis of the article is a set of general scientific and specific historical principles and research methods. The leading place among them is occupied by the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematicity. Among the research methods, priority is given to the use of specific search, historical-descriptive, problem-chronological, analytical, synthetic, and content analysis, which made it possible to properly interpret the data obtained during oral history research and reach reasonable conclusions.

Scientific novelty. The publication provides the first comprehensive summary of the experience of organizing and conducting ethnographic practices at the Institute of History of the T. H. Shevchenko National University «Chernihiv Colehium». The analysis of the main results of ethnographic research, in particular, oral history studies, which took place in 2022–2025 and were devoted to the events of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war in the Chernihiv region, has been further developed.

Conclusions. Ethnographic studies at the History Department of the T. H. Shevchenko National University «Chernihiv Colehium» were introduced in the early 1990s. Their establishment was preceded by the processes of national revival after Ukraine gained independence. The topics of ethnographic studies corresponded to the main areas of research in domestic ethnographic science. The main ones included the study of material and spiritual culture, in particular, folk cuisine, crafts and trades, decorative and applied arts, folklore, calendar and family rituals, public and family life. The organization and subject matter of ethnographic research underwent significant changes during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, when students studied the history and genealogy of their own families under conditions of restrictions and social isolation. Ultimately, with the outbreak of full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, the focus of research shifted to studying the daily life of the population of the Chernihiv region under martial law. The oral history research resulted in the creation of a source base of eyewitness accounts of Russian military aggression, their analysis, processing, and introduction into scientific circulation through publication in the form of reports at scientific conferences and publications in scientific journals.