Post-Soviet heritage and university development in Ukraine: The case of Uzhhorod National University

Abstract

How do European universities deal with their problematic heritage? Compared to recent work in North America to question university legacies, the European continent remains somewhat of a blind spot. If popular discontent has risen in both public spaces and universities, the diversity of contentious issues, histories and responses across different institutions is rarely seen together. Furthermore, nuances and differences across different European contexts are rarely considered in the images of the predominantly West European discourse. This book challenges straightforward narratives of universities as heroic pioneers of intellectual progress and societal development alone. Instead, it brings into the debate the remembrances of colonial pasts, material legacies, racialised inequalities and problematic histories. It offers a decentred deepdive and comparative perspective on the different kinds of university heritage values in both tangible and intangible forms. It is the outcome of an emerging collaboration among European universities undertaking conversations on their ‘problematic’, inconvenient or ‘difficult’ heritage.