On December 13, 2023, an online presentation was held of the edited volume WOMEN’S DIMENSIONS OF THE PAST: IDEAS, EXPERIENCES, REPRESENTATIONS, edited by Oksana Kis (Lviv: Center for Urban History, 2023).
The book was prepared for publication through a cooperation between the Center for Urban History and the Ukrainian Association for Research in Women’s History in partnership with the Institute of Ethnology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Ukraine.
The volume examines little-known aspects of the historical experience of Ukrainian womankind in the context of prevailing social perceptions, legal norms, social institutions, and customary practices of the respective era (from the late 17th to the early 21st century). Through the lens of literature, correspondence, folklore, cinema, and visual art, the cultural (self-)representations of women are traced. The book explores the successes and challenges women faced in entering and establishing themselves in professional environments and urban spaces of the early 20th century. Complex processes of women’s solidarity and self-organization in their interactions with authorities, in the diaspora, and in the dissident movement reveal the ambiguity of women’s activism. The historical dimensions of gender-based violence are examined through the analysis of court cases, archival documents, and oral history materials.
The volume presents diverse approaches to studying key issues in women’s history, demonstrates the analytical potential and limitations of various types of historical sources, and uncovers previously unknown pages of women’s past.
The co-authors of the volume are: Viktoriia Ivashchenko, Mariana Baidak, Olena Haleta, Oksana Kuzmenko, Anastasiia Kanivets, Kateryna Yakovlenko, Ihor Karpenko, Anastasiia Bozhenko, Sofiia Rosa-Lavrentii, Mayhill Fowler, Olena Hanusyn, Anastasiia Myshusta, Maryna Voronina, Olha Labur, Iryna Savchenko, Alina Doboszewska, Oleksii Vynnychenko, Olha Posunko, Ivanna Cherchovych, Daria Mattingly, Olena Kondratiuk, Olesya Khromeychuk.
The book discussion featured the academic editor of the volume, Doctor of Historical Sciences (habilitation equivalent) Oksana Kis (Ukrainian Association for Research in Women’s History); women’s history researcher, Doctor of Philological Sciences (habilitation equivalent) Alla Shvets (Franko Institute of Literature, NAS of Ukraine); and Tamara Zlobina, editor-in-chief of the portal “Gender in Detail.”
Project team:
- Academic editor: Oksana Kis.
- Reviewers: Olena Stiazhkina, Oksana Malanchuk-Rybak, Oksana Hodovanska.
- Design and layout: Iryna Tsimerman.
- Literary editing: Yuliia Kolesnikova.
- Proofreading: Khrystyna Vorobii.
- Project coordination: Viktoriia Panas.
Sincere gratitude to the Center for Urban History team for their support and collaboration!
Yaryna Paniv (financial management), Sofiia Andrusyshyn (logistics), Mariana Mazurak, Yelyzaveta Bobrova (communications), Sofiia Diak, Anastasiia Kholiavka, Oleksandr Makhanets, Olha Zarechniuk, Valentyna Shevchenko (consulting), Oleksandr Dmytriiev, Oleksandr Korman (assistance and technical support).
The e-version of the book available free of charge at the CUH website
We invite you to watch the video recording of the event!