Preface
What is the history and why do we need to learn it? The questions, which may raise, when we turn to learn this subject. Answering the first question, the History is the science that studies the development of society from the past to the present.
Using a historical experience, modern people construct a lot of their environment and daily activities. The History shapes the social memory and the history also shapes social expectations. The history looks at us through literature, architecture, art, oral tradition, rumors (for example, rumors about the Soviet past), music, etc. Other sciences, among which there is the Economics, also examine a historical experience to get their own results. It is no wonder that the successful financier David Rockefeller was indebted to his teachers of History, which tought him to think critically and establish firm conclusions [25, c. 3]. A clear example of the historical influence on economic activities may be those modern business relations, which depend on traditional rules of etiquette and erudition.Thus, we find one of the possible answers to the second question (why do we need to learn the History?). The History gives a person, who is studying it, erudition and analytical skills, which are needed for the personal success in a competitive environment of today. This is a very important function of the historical science.
The object of this summary of lectures is the development of the Ukrainian nation and its state formation, social transformations and economical changes, which took place in the history of the Ukraininan people throughout all historical periods, from the 1st century A.D. up to the early 21st century.
The purpose of the summary of lectures is to broaden the scientific outlook of the students in the area of the History of Ukraine, presenting it as the part of the History of the Central and Eastern Europian region.
After working with the summary proposed the students get the following professional competencies:
to think independently basing on the non-fiction data;
to establish own firm conclusions;
to explain the reasons and tendencies of historical development of the Ukrainian nation;
to analyze critically the historical data.
The lectures concentrate on the conceptual-categorical apparatus and creative tasks, ways of solving them. Students will be able to find cause-and- effect, chronological connections between historical events. It would be useful analyzing historical data relating to the present days and in the context of world historical processes.
The Ukrainian nation has a very long history, from the beginning of the first Slavic settlements on the Ukrainian territory up to the modern Ukraine (appendix A) with its complicated and mingled social relations. Throughout this wide historical period the national consciousness, having once appeared, grew up, despite the constant foreign oppression. Of course, the shaping of national culture and mentality depends on the changes of political and economical conditions. Knowing about that and following the syllabus of the History of Ukraine [25] we may define 16 historical stages and make 16 lectures respectively.
The useful discussion on themes proposed may be grounded on the questions that follow each lecture. In order to help the reader in his learning the history the summary of lecturers includes a short glossary of terms, which are used in the lectures, and a map of the historical and geographical regions of Ukraine.
Working with lectures student must understand that the last word on the Ukrainian history is far from being said. There is need for more research and further discoveries. The best hope of getting more information would seem to be in the field of libraries, museums, archives, historical monuments, conferences, discussion clubs, round-tables, etc.