What is Galicia? From Myth to Brand

The Galicia forgotten in the Soviet times faced a real renaissance after Ukraine’s independence. By no means, did the "fashion" to Galicia come from within Ukraine, but from literary works of German speaking Galician writers. Their plots received a new special voice after the disaster of the Second World War. In the basis of constructing the myth of Galicia, there was a literary topos that started with nostalgic reminiscences and later transformed into an open political instrumentalization. Glorification and idealization of the Galician past appeared to be a necessary precondition to generate a new national unification narrative, and also to develop an exclusive Galician project. The instrumentalization ranged from "Galicia, the most Ukrainian Ukraine" to even "Galicians are not Ukrainians." Public expressions of the "Galicianism" and their instrumentalization were the topic for the announced lecture.

Lecture was held as a part of the lecture and discussion program of the cultural forum "PogranKult: GaliciaKult" and supported by the International Renaissance Foundation.

Credits

Сover Image: Vlodko Kostyrko, "Galicia and Coloman", 2001