Ethnographic practice
The heads of ethnographic practice methodologists are ethnologists with extensive experience in field ethnographic expeditions Petro Leontiyovych Kostyuchok and Svitlana Petrovna Boyan-Hladka
The bases of ethnographic practice are scientific research institutions, specialized institutes, museums, cultural institutions, education departments of district state administrations that meet the requirements of the practice program, are provided with highly qualified personnel and meet the requirements of the practice program of the relevant educational and qualification levels –
National Museum of Folk Art of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya named after Y. Kobrynsky
National Reserve “Ancient Halych”
Dolyna Local History Museum “Boykivshchyna” named after Tetyana and Omelyan Antonovych
National Natural Park “Hutsulshchyna”
National Natural Park “Verkhovynsky”
Ethnographic production practice is conducted in the 3rd year in the 6th semester among students of the specialty 032 “History and Archaeology”. The duration of the internship is 2 weeks in the second half of June. This internship provides an opportunity to thoroughly and comprehensively study certain local manifestations of public and family life, customary law, the ceremonial sphere and other elements of the spiritual culture of the population of the studied settlements of the Hutsul region, Boykiv region, Opillya and Pokuttya.
Ethnographic practice occupies an important place in the system of professional training of a future historian. Its introduction in 2013 at the Institute of History and Political Science of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University is explained by the need to update the study of the historical and cultural heritage of the ethnic group, the formation of a careful and respectful attitude to the cultural treasury of the people, the emotional and moral sphere of the personality, the development of spiritual needs and value orientations of the individual. The knowledge and skills acquired during ethnographic practice organically complement the educational courses on the history of Ukraine, ethnology of Ukraine, ethnology, etc.
The purpose of the practice is to consolidate the knowledge obtained by students from the theoretical course “Ethnology of Ukraine”, the formation and expansion of students’ professional knowledge about the history, culture, life of the Ukrainian people and other peoples inhabiting the territory of Ukraine, mastering the acquired knowledge and observing the speech of informants, knowledge of oral and song folk art. Deepening students’ interest in intergenerational traditions will contribute to the acquisition of professional and pedagogical skills, which leads to the awareness of the originality of the people, fosters a sense of respect for other peoples, develops cultural studies, ethnography, methodological, pedagogical competence of the future history teacher. Based on the set goal, the tasks of the practice are presented: to develop in students the skills of practical research, scientific and collecting work on monuments of material and spiritual culture in the process of organizing and conducting the educational process; to develop in them the desire for self-education, systematic acquisition and replenishment of knowledge; to acquaint trainees with the methodology of field research; to teach the main forms of work in an expedition: personal observation, skills of communication with informants, methods of recording material materials and collecting ethnographic collections; to teach the rules of maintaining and preserving field documentation and, based on best practice, to teach students the methodology of using field materials in research, educational and practical work in a professional direction.
Ethnographic practice involves stationary field research with visits to places where students are engaged in direct study of the ethnographic specificity of the population, research of traditional forms of economy, life, customs. Stationary field research of students involves a three-week collection of materials of direct empirical data, their analytical processing and reconstruction of the remnants of traditional culture. Ethnographic practice is educational, as it takes into account the knowledge gained by students from the courses “Ethnology of Ukraine”, “History of Ukraine”.
The practice will be carried out with other institutions: research institutes, museums, cultural institutions. During the practice, students collect information through questionnaires and interviews. Recording is carried out using video and audio equipment using mapping and collecting artifacts. Photographs, drawings, maps-schemes can serve as an appendix. After completing the ethnographic practice, the student submits the following documents to the supervisor: practice diary, report, ethnographic practice plan, audio and video recordings, mapping of the area, collecting artifacts.
After completing the ethnographic practice, the student evaluates and realizes his own experience of search work, which contributes to his development as a scientist, citizen and individual.
Ethnographic production practice was first carried out in 2012 – 2013 academic year. The expeditionary work of the practice was stationary and was successful. The practice bases were formed: Dolyna Local History Museum “Boykivshchyna” named after Tetyana and Omelyan Antonovich (villages of Vytvytsia, Roztochky, Kalna, Lypa, Luzhky, Tserkivna, Sloboda Bolekhivska) and the village of Zelene Verkhovyns
ky district, for which the methodologist leaders were assigned and the student interns were distributed.
On the eve of the practice, the methodologist leaders developed methodological documents for students and expedition routes, which made it possible to cope with the set goals and objectives of the practice (to collect as much field ethnographic materials, maps of microtoponyms of settlements, to collect artifacts, photo and video documents as possible). Each student was provided with the necessary methodological literature, because each had a questionnaire on the topic of the survey, which simplified the work.
The collection of ethnographic material by the student interns was carried out by the bush method with route survey. As a result of the internship, the students enjoyed collecting field materials among the rural population, skillfully applying the methods of field ethnographic research: interviews, surveys, etc. After completing the internship, each student prepared a folder of documents (electronic and paper versions): a report, a field diary, brief information about the settlement, a topographic map of the settlement, audio and video recordings, collected artifacts, a passport of respondents with live text. All these results of the internships were transferred to the Scientific Ethnographic Archive of the Institute of History, Political Science and International Relations, which operates at the Department of Ethnology and Archaeology.
In the future, the methodologists plan to develop questionnaires-forms for residents of settlements in advance of the internship to determine the boundaries of the spread of certain phenomena of traditional culture. Questionnaire survey is most effective when studying manifestations of modern ethnoculture or such cultural elements that have disappeared not so long ago and still continue to be held in the memory of respondents of the older generation.
Educational ethnographic practice occupies an important place in the system of professional training of a future historian. The introduction at the Faculty of History, Political Science and International Relations of the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University is explained by the need to update the study of the historical and cultural heritage of the ethnos, the formation of a careful and respectful attitude to the cultural treasury of the people, the emotional and moral sphere of the personality, the development of spiritual needs and value orientations of the personality.
A feature of ethnographic practice is that it is in its process that students acquire the skills to work with informants, while mastering some practical basics of scientific and research fieldwork. The acquired skills and materials of field ethnographic practice involve the upbringing of a careful attitude towards historical monuments and folk culture and everyday life, its rational use in the educational process of students, their writing of course and diploma theses, and their application in further scientific and research activities.