“My travel abroad will give definitely positive impacts…”: Foreign missions of teachers of higher educational establishments in the 1920s and early 1930s

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the dynamics of foreign missions of teachers of higher educational establishments of the Ukrainian SSR during the 1920s – early 1930s, the goals and results of their cooperation with the international scientific centers in the context of the communication strategies of scientists in general. Research methods: methods of sociocultural and local analysis have become important for the writing of this article, in particular for the study of individual experiences of international communication of teachers, bringing microhistorical analysis into a single system of interconnection, the transformation of the multiplicity of individual “stories” into a holistic picture, as well as general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, retrospective and historical-comparative. Main results. The analysis of the basic principles of organization of foreign missions of scientists of Ukraine: financial, formal-organizational, by scientific directions and by scientific status. Summary. It has been established that during the 1920s, the previous contacts of scientists with foreign colleagues were maintained, the new contacts were made. The majority of business trips were provided to the representatives of industrial, technical and agricultural verticals. It was noted that only representatives of higher educational establishments of the USSR, mainly Kharkiv, had the opportunity to visit European scientific centers, and only known scientists could constantly maintain contacts with foreign countries. For the postgraduate students and young scientist quotas were set aside for international business trips at the expense of People’s Commissariat of Education, but they were not enough to establish the strong communication with a particular scientific community abroad. It was proved that communication practices were not limited to the scientific cooperation of individual scientists or institutions, they were also the examples of cultural interaction with the general public – teachers were invited to read public lectures in front of diverse audiences, to give speeches at solemn receptions, to visit colleagues abroad at home. The sightseeing programs were also an integral part of this process, helping to establish closer contacts. Practical implication. Results and conclusions can be used to further explore the problem outlined. Originality. The research was carried out a thorough analysis of a large number of archival documents, most of which were first put into circulation. Scientific novelty. Data on the number of business trips received during the 1920s were clarified. The issue of state funding of business trips was first solved, the requirements for candidates for business trips were analyzed, and the achievements of the Ukrainian SSR scientists were evaluated by the international community and the reasons of the decline of communication activity. Article type: empirical.