“The Polyphony of Nature: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue in Contemporary Ecocritical Studies”

30.4.2025

On April 29, 2025, the Departments of Romance and Germanic Philology and Literary Studies, Eastern Philology and Translation of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology and Journalism hosted the Interregional Scientific and Methodological Online Seminar for Lecturers and Higher Education Students with International Participation “The Polyphony of Nature: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue in Contemporary Ecocritical Studies” as part of the “Science Days – 2025”.

The event was inaugurated with welcome speeches by the Rector of the State Institution “Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University,” corresponding member of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor Olena Karaman; Director of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology and Journalism, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Viktoriia Dmytrenko; Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, and Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages at Polissia National University, Svitlana Sytniakivska; Head of the Department of Philology and Translation, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor Elizaveta Isakova; and the seminar moderator, Acting Head of the Department of Romance and Germanic Philology, Professor of the Department of Literary Studies, Eastern Philology and Translation, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor Nataliia Yuhan.

This interregional seminar for lecturers and students with international participation was held within the framework of the DAAD scholarship programme «Sprache, Geschichte und Kultur der deutschen Minderheiten in MOE/GUS: Fortbildungs- und Forschungsaufenthalte  DAAD» (Germany). Co-organizers of the seminar included Polissia National University (Department of Foreign Languages), Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design (Department of Philology and Translation), and the Horlivka Institute for Foreign Languages of the State Higher Educational Institution “Donbas State Pedagogical University” (Departments of Linguistics and European Languages, and of World Literature). Heads and professors of these departments – Snizhana Vasylivna Kubrak, Svitlana Mykhailivna Sytniakivska, Elizaveta Pavlivna Isakova, Olena Leonidivna Kolesnichenko, and Serhii Anatoliiovych Komarov – contributed significantly to the event. Sincere gratitude was extended to the co-organizers for their active participation in the project, valuable advice on organizing the event, warm support, and efforts to involve a large number of students at all educational levels.

The seminar also received support from scholars abroad – from Poland (Universities of Warsaw and Rzeszów), Germany (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and Saarland University), and Turkey (Istanbul University). We are genuinely delighted by the expansion of our international network of partners and like-minded colleagues!

The interdisciplinary eco-seminar was attended by scholars and students from other Ukrainian institutions of higher education, including Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, Kyiv National Linguistic University, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv), Ivan Franko State University of Zhytomyr, the National Academy of Internal Affairs, and the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering. Also participating were teachers from the private school EnglishDrive and the international IT company Digicode, based in Zhytomyr. The seminar organizers expressed sincere appreciation for the University’s attention to the seminar and hope for future communication and cooperation.

The aim of the event was to create a platform for interdisciplinary exchange of achievements and experiences in the space of modern ecocritical studies, uniting linguistics, literary studies, education, and ecological practices. Therefore, the structure of the plenary session presentations followed a logical sequence – from linguistics and literary studies to issues of translation studies, methodology of teaching philological disciplines, and educational projects on environmental themes, moving further to the exploration of broad cultural questions within the scope of ecostudies and interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of the humanities and ecology. Sectional sessions were also organized according to this logic (in total, 7 sections were presented during the online seminar). A total of 103 speakers participated in the event.

The plenary session featured the following speakers:

Antonina Andriivna Plechko, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages at Polissia National University (Traditional and New Zoonyms in the Face of Contemporary Challenges);

Svitlana Pavlivna Matsenka, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor of the Department of German Philology at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (The Poetics of Ruderality: Imagery, the Experience of Presence, and Text Genesis in Contemporary German Literature);

Olena Yevhenivna Bondareva, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Chief Research Fellow at the Department of Ukrainian Literature, Comparative Studies, and Grinchenkology at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University (Overcoming the Voodoo Doll, or the Monologue of a Kherson Woman after the Destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station (based on the play “The Anti-Tank Witch” by Olena Maliarenko));

Svitlana Mykhailivna Sytniakivska and Kateryna Yakivna Klymova, Doctors of Pedagogical Sciences, Professors of the Department of Foreign Languages at Polissia National University (Nature and Humans in the Works of Ukrainian Writers);

Nataliia Leonidivna Yuhan, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Acting Head of the Department of Romance and Germanic Philology, Professor of the Department of Literary Studies, Eastern Philology and Translation at Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University (Eternity in Armor: The Immortal Existence of George the Tortoise and the Linguistic Labyrinths of Bonn Park);

Vladyslav Serhiiovych Nekrut, Bachelor’s student in Secondary Education (German and English Language and Literature) at Luhansk Taras Shevchenko  National University (scientific advisor – Olha Yevhenivna Yunina, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor) (Ecoterminology in Different Languages: Translation Specifics and Cross-Cultural Differences);

Sofiia Andriivna Nedohybenko, Bachelor’s student in Eastern Languages and Literatures (Chinese Language and Literature) at Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University (scientific advisor – Nataliia Leonidivna Yuhan) (Floristic Symbolism in Literature: Linguistic Aspects and Translation Practices);

Daria Oleksandrivna Perepadia, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Literary Studies, Eastern Philology and Translation at Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University (Features of Chinese Garden and Park Art);

Sofiia Olehivna Filonenko, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University (Lviv) (“Green Studies, Blue Planet”: Experience in Designing and Teaching a Course in Ecocriticism at the Ukrainian Catholic University);

Pavlo Illich Kiper, Bachelor’s student in Landscape Gardening at Polissia National University (scientific advisor – Svitlana Sytniakivska) (The Impact of Climate Change on Landscape Design);

Oleksandr Savchenko, third-year Bachelor of IT at Polissia National University (scientific advisor – Svitlana Sytniakivska) (The Role of the Ukrainian IT Sector in Environmental Sustainability).

Following the discussion of plenary presentations, sectional sessions began, where scientific discussions continued on topics such as ecolinguistics, challenges and strategies of translating natural motifs and images between languages and cultures in contemporary translation studies; the peculiarities of the ecocritical dimension in Ukrainian literature; depictions of nature in the mirror of world literature (ecological motifs and interpretations); methodological principles of teaching languages through an ecological lens (formation of eco-oriented competence); and interdisciplinary intersections – ecology, art, and the humanities in a shared space of dialogue.

These academic discussions were highly productive and continued until 16:00. As a result of the conference, it was decided to continue cooperation among educational institutions, maintain the tradition of the seminar in the coming year, explore new interdisciplinary paradigms in the field of ecocriticism, and prepare materials of the scientific event for publication.

The organizers express their sincere gratitude to all speakers, session moderators, and guests for their active participation and scientific engagement!

For a more detailed overview of the online seminar, please refer to the programme.