Shevchenko Studies School of S. Smal-Stotskyi: Figures and Concepts (Kitsman-Kolomyia Center)

Abstract

The paper offers an overview of the achievements of S. Smal-Stotskyi’s students in Shevchenko studies, which continued, to a greater or lesser extent, to explore and popularize the works of T. Shevchenko in the cultural space of Bukovyna and Pokuttia. The main accent is made on the Kitsman-Kolomyia center, where the early 20th century graduates of the Chernivtsi University lived and worked, O. Tsisyk, D. Nykolyshyn, M. Ravliuk, M. Kharzhevskyi, O. Kovbuz, B. Levytskyi being among them. They continued to develop the traditions originating from the seminar on Shevchenko studies conducted by S. Smal-Stotskyi. Modern scholars recognize that in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries the Chernivtsi University was the leading educational institution in terms of contribution to Shevchenko studies. Students picked up the instructions of the professor S. Smal-Stotskyi and not only showed interest in the works by T. Shevchenko but also expressed their views in public, actively engaging in activities of the national movement that took place outside the university. The work within the circles continued profound reading of the Kobzar’s works, initiated at the university. The Circle of Kobzar Studies was one of them; it united university graduates who became teachers of Kitsman high school – Mykola Ravliuk, Omelian Tsisyk, Pavlo Diakiv, Oleksa Kovbuz, etc. The members of the circle continued collecting and analyzing the scholarly and critical material that might help in making comprehensive analysis of Shevchenko’s works. Such activity formed a good basis for teaching and inspiring students to explore Shevchenko’s legacy that was fundamental for shaping the national outlook and national consciousness of contemporary Ukrainians. However, the regular research of the works by T. Shevchenko also played an important role in the Kitsman-Kolomyia center. This direction was represented mainly by the works of D. Nykolyshyn and O. Tsisyk.