THE ROLE OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY IN THE PROCESS OF FORMING THE NATIONAL UNITY: UKRAINIAN MEASUREMENT

Abstract

The «Memorial boom», which began in the 60s of the 20^th century, currently is not slowing down, as it is an important factor in the self-identification of any local or global community. It encompasses a growing diversity of historical themes, attracting more and more scholars who focus on the studying of national, historical, family and individual memories. Meanwhile, the phenomenon of collective memory, which has wide prospects for the formation of some integrative theoretical and methodological approach to studying the uniqueness of the functioning of memory at the individual and collective levels, acquires a special significance in this context. The indicated tendency was initiated by the well-known ideas of the French researcher, Maurice Halbwachs, who, in the 20s of the 20^th century substantiated the sociocultural constraint of individual memory and introduced the concept of «collective memory». The approach, proposed by the researcher, made it possible to show that collective memory is the unchanging phenomenon that gives the group its own image, which, of course, unfolds in time, but in such a way that this collective memory always recognizes itself despite the fluidity of events recorded by it. At the same time, collective memory is capable of defining and outlining the prospects for the future development of the community.

The purpose of the work is to cover the historical events that «live» in the collective memory of the Ukrainian people and the formation of the most effective strategies of historical memory on this basis. Methodology. The study is conducted on the basis of a sociological survey carried out among students and professors of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine) and Vasyl Stefanyk Pre-Carpathian National University (Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine). Despite the localization of respondents, social survey reflected a rather wide spatial spectrum of analysis, primarily of Ukrainian youth, which, according to the study, is currently identifying themselves as representatives of the region in which their parents live. The research has covered Ivano-Frankivska, Volynska, Zhytomyrska, Kyivska, and Poltavska regions. During the course of the work, the method of content analysis was widely used, which allowed to reveal the level and direction of the emotional coloring of those images of the past, which are common in the memory of Ukrainians. The research also used the results of a survey conducted by experts of the Razumkov Center, which provided a thorough and complete analysis of the topic under study. The scientific novelty is to reveal the powerful influence of collective memory on the peculiarity of the value requests of the Ukrainian society, which, however, do not find the corresponding reflection in the state policy. This situation leads to the formation of a citizenship type, which is in opposition to the state, which, without any doubt, is one of the main obstacles to the formation of national unity. Conclusions. In the course of the study, the expediency of preserving in intellectual discourse such meaningfully related terms as «historical memory» and «collective memory» has been shown. It has been found that the term «historical memory» is used to investigate institutionalized memory, images and events which are deliberately instilled in the community in order to underline their historical continuity and (or) consolidation of the population around certain defined values. Instead, the term «collective memory» should be used when it comes to memories that are acquired in direct experience and reflect the most valuable value system for a particular community. It has been emphasized that collective memory is an integral part of social consciousness, and therefore it is able to determine the direction of social action, especially in the absence of a thoroughly developed policy of memory that is clearly visible in modern Ukraine.