About us - en — Ukrainian Decolonial Glossary

Project Goals and Objectives

Our goal is to develop a comprehensive glossary for representatives of culture and related fields, serving as a tool for:

consolidating the community of cultural workers in Ukraine to address contemporary challenges related to coloniality, imperialism, and dealing with the Soviet past;
organizing information on the topic and creating a specialized extended dictionary for cultural workers in Ukraine;
popularizing the dictionary and expanding the number of adaptations for different contexts;
fostering dialogue and recognizing subjectivity in the hierarchy of various knowledge archives in foreign institutions.

Preconditions for the Emergence of the Project and the Need for Creating a Glossary

The idea of Ukraine, on one hand, as a buffer zone for the security of the EU, and on the other hand, as an appendage to the empire, long reflected the absence of Ukraine in the European cultural and intellectual space. After the events on February 24, the discourse on the need to reconsider how knowledge about Ukraine was produced globally through the prism of Moscow epistemologies, often disguised as "East European" studies, gained momentum.
A critical and nuanced analysis of Ukrainian contexts through the lens of colonial theories can be found in the works of Vira Ageieva, Tamara Gundorova, Vitaliy Chernetskyy, Oksana Zabuzhko, Mark Pavlyshyn, Mykola Ryabchuk (and many others). We plan to make this rich body of work accessible to a wider audience.

Following the full-scale invasion, the themes of coloniality and decolonization began to gain popularity beyond academic circles like never before. Alongside this, questions arose about the importance of critically using these methodologies, rather than borrowing or copying, as rightly noted by the thinkers mentioned earlier. We aim to contribute to the dissemination and critical use of tools related to post- and decolonial concepts in Ukrainian contexts. This will not only deepen the understanding of Ukraine's past but also actively engage in the global intellectual struggle against colonial epistemologies.

Recording of Live presentation of the project in BAK, basis voor actuele kunst (Utrecht, Netherlands, 17 April 2024)

Team

Yuliia Elyascurator

Anastasiia Omelianiukcurator

Iva Naidenkocurator

Nadiia Kovalproject manager

Olena Prykhodkofinancial manager

Ievgen Velychevbrandind designer

ZapalUI/UX design & website development

Anastasia Prokofievagraphic design

Daria Lisenko PR and SMM manager

Maria Shaidrovafounder of Opora Foundation

Viktoriia Grivinatranslator

Galyna Kotliuktranslator

Oksana Danylevskaeditor for texts in Ukrainian

Clemens Pooleeditor for texts in English

Ivanna-Nikol Posobchuktranslation to Dutch language

Misho Antadzementor, invited guest

Maria Hlavajovamentor, invited guest

Botakoz Kassymbekovamentor, invited guest

Tehmina Goskarmentor, invited guest

Project Goals and Objectives

Preconditions for the Emergence of the Project and the Need for Creating a Glossary

Recording of Live presentation of the project in BAK, basis voor actuele kunst (Utrecht, Netherlands, 17 April 2024)

Team

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