Another meeting in the “Decolonization Studies” online coworking series took place, dedicated to the 192nd anniversary of the birth of the outstanding educator Mykola Oleksandrovych Korff. The event provided an opportunity not only to honor his memory but also to reexamine his legacy through a decolonization lens.
Participants were presented with a practical case study on M. O. Korff, prepared using the “Decolonial Lens” methodology. The collaborative work allowed participants to test this approach, discuss its effectiveness, clarify points of debate, and outline directions for further development. This format proved to be productive for analytical work on historical figures.
A practical outcome of the meeting was a reevaluation of the figure of Mykola Korff and an update to approaches for presenting him in the public sphere. The emphasis has shifted from the imperial narrative to an objective historical context: Korff is portrayed as a European-oriented reformer of public education who worked in Ukrainian lands under the colonial conditions of the Russian Empire.
His activities are viewed as an example of an intellectual’s work under colonial constraints. The decolonization of Korff’s image does not consist in changing his identity, but in restoring his own voice and historical agency.
Despite his lack of political affiliation with the Ukrainian national movement, he clearly articulated the problems of colonial education, in particular the harmful effects of Russification and the disconnect between imperial schools and the needs of the local population.
The meeting laid the groundwork for further professional collaboration, the exchange of experiences, and the development of new analytical approaches in the field of decolonizing cultural heritage.