History and Memory in the Basilian School in Uman (1765-1834)

Abstract

The purpose of the research paper. This paper is an attempt to present the historical education at the Basilian school in Uman (the programmes, methods, didactic aids, qualifications, and professional skills of teachers and caretakers) and the mechanisms which shaped the cultural memory of its alumni (in-school and after-school activities)
 Scientific novelty. By engaging in mnemohistorical reflection, we wish to show the cultural components which may have impacted the construction of the cultural memory of Uman alumni. We will be interested in the science and didactics of history, as well as in answering the question how the Basilian “now” of the 19th century was affected by the past, and how that past was constantly being reinvented, remodelled, rediscovered, and reconstructed by the tutors and their pupils.
 Conclusions. The aim of the Basilian pedagogy was to raise a citizen able to function in the multi-ethnic and multi-denominational Commonwealth. Indubitably, the so-called idea of unity was a fundamental component of Basilians’ thinking-acting. The pupils were, therefore, raised in the sense of a national as well as Catholic, two-rite community (obviously keeping their own, Ruthenian and Uniate distinctness). The bloody events of 1768 in Uman were an important part of imparted knowledge. The teachers created a particular educational trail tracing the pogrom (the monastery, the well, the church, Sofiyivka). This trail formed a complete iconosphere, where each “site of memory” evoked visual experiences and triggered a whole system of associations, agitations, and emotions. Its existence is attested by descriptions found in the accounts and memoirs of former students. The school also employed secular people, filled with new ideas, not always compliant with the Basilian charism. They instilled in young people “secular” ideas and values, such as the adoration for the Emperor of the French and all movements which could tear down the rules established after the Congress of Vienna: restauration, legitimism, and the balance of power.