XI. Read the text to yourself and write the annotation.

Ivakhiv, Adrian

“In Search of Deeper Identities Neopaganism

and ‘Native Faith’ in Contemporary Ukraine”

Slavic Neopaganism or Native Faith (Рідна Вiра (Ridna Vira) in Ukrainian) is a modern reconstructionistic Neopagan religion. Slavians are religious groups or individuals who consider themselves to be the legitimate continuation of pre-Christian Slavic religion. Many such groups do not use the term "Neopagan" for themselves, and generally prefer to use terms cognate to "Slavianism".

The pre-Christian religions of the Slavic peoples probably died out slowly in the countryside after the official adoption of Christianity (988). Those Pagan religious practices that were not adopted into Christian folk practice were probably stamped out by the 15th century. Some modern Slavic Neo-Paganisms, however, make use of recent (19th century) folk practices that may be altered survivals of the earlier religion.

In the 19th century, many Slavic nations experienced a Romantic fascination with an idealised Slavic Arcadia that was believed to exist before Christianity arrived. This Arcadia combined such notions as the noble savage and national spirit. In the absence of extensive written or archaeological evidence for the destroyed Slavic religion, these artistic visions were important in rebuilding interest in the lost Slavic heritage after the unmitigated condemnation of medieval Chrisitian writers. Zorian Dołęga-Chodakowski’s 1818 pamphlet "About the Slavs Before Christianity" would later prove to be an influential proto-Neo-Pagan manifesto with its depiction of “two cultures” in the Slavic lands; one was the original pure Slavic culture of the peasants, the other was the imported foreign culture of the nobility. Unlike earlier authors, he identified Christianity as a negative influence on national character.

In addition to new artistic representations, the 19th century was a period which rediscovered many authentic fragments of Slavic religion, such as the publication of the Tale of Igor’s Campaign (1800) and the excavation of the Zbruch idol (1848).

As in other European countries, many Slavic nations developed autochthonic religious Neo-Paganisms in the first half of the 20th century (Poland by 1921, Ukraine by 1934).

Most, but not all, Slavic Neo-Paganisms place a heavy emphasis on some form of Nationalism as part of their ideology. In some cases, this may be limited to a commitment to preserve national tradition and folklore; in other cases, it may include chauvinism directed against other ethnic groups. Dr. Victor Shnirelman, a cultural anthropologist has written that ethnic nationalism, xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism are core values of many Slavic Neo-Pagan groups. The right-wing associations of certain groups have also interested the popular press, which may have caused some distortion of the popular image of Slavic Neo-Paganism.

Ecology and respect for nature is another shared theme. Piotr Wiench, who has done the most extensive cross-border study of Slavic Neo-Paganisms so far, has claimed that nationalism is less important than ecology to most groups. Many groups use extensive symbolism drawn from the natural world (trees, lightning, sun, moon) and many hold their religious ceremonies outdoors in sparsely populated areas.

Most Slavic Neo-Paganisms draw their material from some combination of written medieval chronicles, archaeological evidence, 19th century folklore, artistic invention and direct divine revelation. Many Slavic Neo-Paganists in Russia and Ukraine use the controversial Book of Veles as a sacred text.

Nova Religia, March 2005

Unit XX

I. Look through the words and expressions and learn them:

Ø to acquaint smb with smth – ознайомити когось з чимось;

Ø tangible objects of some art – матеріальні предмети мистецтва;

Ø to oversee care – здійснювати догляд;

Ø to handle – проводитися; розпоряджатися; розглядати;

Ø corporate body – спільний комплекс/сукупність;

Ø to staff – укомплектовувати штат;

Ø to demonstrate the competence – виявляти спроможність;

Ø to utilize the institution’s facilities – використовувати можливості закладу;

Ø in store, on display, in transit – в сховищі, на виставці, при перевезенні

Ø to monitor the condition – контролювати/перевіряти стан

II. Read and translate the text:

MUSEOLOGY

Museum studies, sometimes called museology, is the field that encompasses the ideas and issues involved in the museum profession—from the practical, day-to-day skills needed to operate a museum to theories on the societal role of museums.

Museologyis the study of how to organize and manage museums and museum collections. More generally, museum studies is a term used to denote academic programs, generally graduate programs, in the management, administration, or theory of museums.

The purpose of the Museum Studies is to introduce students to the history of museums, the various aspects of museum work, to acquaint them with the opportunities and problems faced by museums and museum personnel, and to create career opportunities for students who might seek employment in a museum. Emphasis is placed on practicum experiences involving such basic museum functions as exhibition, curatorial research, cataloguing, acquisition, community service, education and administration.

The Museum Studies Program’s core courses provide a solid foundation in the theories, history, techniques, and problems common to museums, historical agencies and related institutions as well as the specialized operations of such institutions. The program’s curriculum provides an understanding of the nature of museums, historical agencies and related institutions as well as specialized training administered by the Studies Program and the departments of Anthropology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geology, and History.

A variety of careers exist within the discipline of museum studies, including Museum director, curator, educator, docent, graphic designer, exhibit designer, archivist and conservation specialist.

A graphic designer (also known as a graphic artist) is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of art. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and advertising. A core responsibility of the designer's job is to present information in a way that is both accessible and aesthetic.

Curatorin Latin means guardian or overseer. A curatorof a cultural heritage institution (e.g., archive, gallery, library, museum or garden) is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and their associated collections catalogs. The object of a curator's concern necessarily involves tangible objects of some sort, whether it is inter alia artwork, historic items or scientific collections.

A curator may have responsibility for the acquisition and care of objects. The curator will make decisions regarding what objects to collect, oversee their care and documentation, conduct research based on the collection, and share that research with the public and scholarly community through exhibitions and publications. The curator's primary function is as a subject specialist, with the expectation that he or she will conduct original research on objects and guide the organization in its collecting. The physical care of the collection may be overseen by museum collections managers or museum conservators, and documentation and administrative matters (such as insurance and loans) are handled by a museum registrar. In contemporary art, the title curator is given to a person who organizes an exhibition. In this context, to curate means to pick objects and arrange them to achieve a desired effect. Usually, this means finding a theme to link a set of works, or finding works to fit a desired theme. In addition to selecting works, the curator is responsible for writing labels, catalog essays, and other supporting content for the exhibition.

An archivistis a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media (photographs, video or sound recordings, letters, documents, electronic records, etc.). As Richard Pearce-Moses wrote, "Archivists keep records that have enduring value as reliable memories of the past, and they help people find and understand the information they need in those records."

Archivists must also select records valuable enough to justify the costs of storage and preservation, plus the labour intensive expenses of arrangement, description, and reference service. The theory and scholarly work underpinning archives practices is called archival science.

Archivists' duties include acquiring and appraising new collections, arranging and describing records, providing reference service, and preserving materials. In arranging records, archivists apply two important principles: provenance and original order sometimes referred to as respect des funds. Provenance refers to the origin of records, essentially who created them. The idea of respect des funds is applied by keeping records in their original order as established and maintained by the creator(s). This also means that records from one corporate body should not be mixed with records from another. Original order is not always the best way to maintain some collections, and archivists must use their own experience and current best practices to determine the correct way to keep collections of mixed media or those lacking a clear original arrangement.

In American English (but not in British English, where the word is not used), a docent has two meanings. Firstly, a professor or university lecturer; and secondly, the corps of volunteer guides who staff museums and other educational institutions. Docent is derived from the present participle of the Latin word docēre, meaning "to teach".

A docent of a university is one who has the right to teach. Qualifications are: one dissertation and demonstrating the competence of conducting scientific research independently. Unlike professors, docents may not actively take part in senior administrative duties, such as heading a department. In Ukraine, docent is an academic title between assistant professor and full professor. It is an academic title immediately below that of a full professor. It is equivalent to reader in the UK and the associate professor in the USA. Such persons are usually expected to give lectures on their specialties if their professional activities permit this.

Museum docentsare educators, trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collections of the institution. In many cases, docents, in addition to their prescribed function as guides, also conduct research utilizing the institution's facilities. They are normally volunteers. Prospective docents generally undergo an intensive training process, at the expense of the educational institution, which teaches them good communicative and interpretive skills, as well as introduces them to the institution's collection and its historical significance. Docents are kept up-to-date with continuous training and seminars.

Conservatoris the profession devoted to the preservation of cultural property for the future. Conservator activities include examination, documentation, treatment, and preventive care, supported by research and education. Preventive conservation is an important element of museum policy and collections care. It is an essential responsibility of members of the museum profession to create and maintain a protective environment for the collections in their care, whether in store, on display, or in transit. A museum should carefully monitor the condition of collections to determine when an object or specimen may require conservation-restoration work and the services of a qualified conservator-restorer. The principal goal should be the stabilisation of the object or specimen. All conservation procedures should be documented and all alterations should be clearly distinguishable from the original object or specimen. Art conservation can involve the cleaning and stabilization of art work. Cleaning is not a reversible process and can sometimes be controversial due to fears that cleaning would damage a piece or on the grounds that damage or residue forms part of the history of a given piece and should not be modified.

III. Study the given below lexical units and provide their Ukrainian variant:

IV. Find English equivalents for:

§ створити витвір мистецтва;

§ заклад культурної спадщини;

§ предмет турботи куратора;

§ забезпечувати доступ до інформації;

§ застосовувати важливі принципи;

§ бажаний ефект;

§ здійснювати контроль над;

§ виправдовувати витрати на складування та збереження;

§ сприяти розумінню громадськості;

§ пройти інтенсивний підготовчий курс;

§ чітко помітні зміни

V. Give synonyms to the underlined words:

· day-to-day skills;

· to operate museum;

· solid foundation;

· contentspecialist responsible for;

· tangible objects of art;

· artwork;

· to conduct original research;

· long-term value;

· corporate body;

· up-to-date;

· historical significance

VI. Contradict the following statements:

v Museum studies encompasses only theoretical skills needed to manage cultural heritage institution.

v The purpose of the discipline is to present students theories on the societal role of museums.

v The core courses of the program include Anthropology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geology, and History.

v A graphic designer is responsible for museum collections and their catalogs.

v A curator may oversee the physical care of the collections and provide documentation and administrative matters.

v An archivist is a professional who organizes an exhibition.

v In British English a word "docent" has two meanings.

v Museum docents may also conduct scientific research.

v The main conservator’s duty is to monitor the condition of collections.

VII. Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of study is museology?

2. What are the purpose and core courses of museology’s program?

3. Is emphasis placed on practicum or theoretical experiences?

4. What careers exist within the discipline of museum studies?

5. Who is responsible for a cultural heritage institution’s collections and their catalogs?

6. What are core responsibilities of designer?

7. What are the objects of a curator's concern?

8. What principles do archivists apply in arranging records?

9. Haw many meanings has a word "docent"? Explain the difference between them.

10. Why is the conservator’s work so important?