Introduction

TOPIC ONE

Why do students in Ukrainian universities study their native history? Why is our government interested in that? There are several reasons. First, history is a necessary precondition for the development of national consciousness. Without national consciousness Ukraine will not have the future. As an old proverb says, “Those who do not know their past will not have their future.” When Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire the teaching of Ukrainian history was strictly forbidden, along with the Ukrainian language. When the Nazi army invaded the Soviet Union, Hitler also spoke out against teaching native histories in schools in the occupied areas. He argued, that the knowledge of native histories would urge the subjugated peoples to fight for independence.

Secondly, history is a vitae magistra (teacher of life). The knowledge of history is important for avoiding mistakes in the future.

Thirdly, history helps people understand their nation better, since the roots of the present events can be found in the past. The famous Russian writer and philosopher P. Chaadaiev (19^th century) once said, “History is the key to understanding a nation.”

History is often used in politics for manipulation of the masses (during wars, revolutions, election campaigns, etc). To avoid that, a historical interpretation and a fact must be separated. Students should know that each fact or a historical phenomenon can have several interpretations. For example, such a phenomenon as Ukrainian Cossackdom is interpreted differently in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and Turkey (from heroes to bandits). The activity of Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepa is also interpreted very differently in Ukrainian and Russian school textbooks. To find the truth a student must learn to think critically, to check everything, to compare different interpretations, and to find out what lies behind each interpretation (that is, what the aim of a particular historical interpretation is). The students should understand why different interpretations of the past exist and who benefit from each interpretation. History is not about remembering dates and facts but rather about understanding historical events. A student studying history first of all should try to understand why some events happened and other - not.

It is very important that history must not be mythologized (many patriotic writers unfortunately describe our ancestors as idealized superheroes). We should know the truth even if it is painful. The famous Ukrainian patriot P. Kulish said that we must understand the worst traits of our national character in order to correct them. Only the true knowledge of the past can help us improve the present.

Students should also study history to understand politics. There is a famous saying: history is past politics and politics is present history. Thus if you do not know history you will not understand politics and will be easily manipulated by politicians.

ANCIENT PEOPLES AND KYIVAN RUS

Дата добавления: 2015-07-11