DECOLONIZED IMAGE OF THE KOBZAR IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CONTEMPORARY UKRAINIAN LITERATURE: PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECT

Abstract

The article attempts to analyze the self-perception and self-awareness of Ukrainian society during the transitional (postcolonial) era through the prism of the work and image of Taras Shevchenko, whose cult as a «prophet», «guide», «father of the nation» in Ukrainian society began to take shape in the second half of the nineteenth century. The issue of a new reading of the creative heritage of the Ukrainian poet and the modern perception of his work is investigated in view of the postcolonial period of the development of Ukrainian society and in accordance with the current demands of society. The most conflictogenic aspects in the interpretation of the image of the Kobzar in the Soviet tradition (as a fighter for the freedom of the working people), in foreign Shevchenko studies (as the creator of the Ukrainian myth) and in modern humanitarian science (as the spiritual father of the Ukrainian nation) are characterized. The phenomenon of translation and popularization of Taras Shevchenko's works as an instrument of colonization in Soviet times and as one of the possibilities of representing Ukrainian culture at the international level in the modern globalized world is studied. Attempts at a modern reading of the image of T. Shevchenko in the works of Ukrainian and foreign researchers Ageeva V., Gosh M., Grabovych O., Grabovych G., Zabuzhko O., Sverstyuk E. and others are analyzed. The author emphasizes the need for a comprehensive, objective study of the poetic and artistic achievements of the Ukrainian poet and artist with the purposeful goal of overcoming the colonial legacy in modern humanitarian science as soon as possible. The author draws a conclusion on the need to integrate the latest Shevchenko’s studies and humanitarian research into the Ukrainian cultural and educational space in order to form a Ukrainian-centric worldview in our society and educate a patriotic generation of young Ukrainians.