Recently, the publishing and research association “Dukh i Litera” published the book Giovanna Brogi: The Cultural Polymorphism of the Ukrainian World. This is the first Ukrainian edition of articles by Professor Giovanna Brogi, a leading specialist in Ukrainian studies in Western Europe.
According to Brogi’s book, the Ukrainian world consists of many worlds within one — a cultural polymorphism of the Ukrainian world. Giovanna Brogi discusses Ukrainian authors such as Petro Mohyla, Dmytro Tuptalo, and Stefan Yavorsky in the context of European literature. The book demonstrates the originality of Ukrainian authors, their real autonomy, and at the same time their openness to the intellectual debates that took place between Kyiv, Warsaw, Rome, Prague, and other cultural capitals of Europe. Brogi, perhaps more than any other Western Slavic scholar, succeeds in showing this by bringing together her teachers, renowned professors, and young researchers who are currently translating Serhiy Zhadan and other well-known authors.
Brogi has linked her work with Ukraine not only academically but also organizationally, becoming the head of the Association of Ukrainian Studies in Italy and later joining the International Association of Ukrainian Studies as its vice-president. Her election as a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and honorary professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy marked recognition of her contribution to the development of Ukrainian studies in Europe and a sign of respect for her work among colleagues in Ukraine.
Her knowledge of both classical and modern Ukrainian literature helps to better understand what Ukrainian culture is today and what makes it original. Polymorphism means diversity of forms.
“Giovanna Brogi refused to accept Ukraine as a mere intermediary that helped Westernize Peter I’s Russia. Ukraine is not an intermediary. Ukraine is an autonomous, culturally strong state, which acts as a locomotive of movements and discoveries in the fields of prose, poetry, philosophy, architecture, and theology. This has a direct impact on politics. Kyiv culture, in its original way, unites the ancient Kyivan tradition with contemporary achievements, discoveries, and ideas.”
Kostyantyn Sigov
The publication of this collection of works is a long-awaited step toward making the author’s research accessible to a broader circle of Ukrainian humanities scholars. The content and title of Giovanna Brogi’s book — The Cultural Polymorphism of the Ukrainian World — help to conceptualize the relevance of the “great migration” of European texts and ideas into the Ukrainian context. Traveling people and ideas shape the dynamics of the narrative of our “cultural polymorphism.”
The full conversation can be accessed via the link.