Jewish
areas on the mental map of a Ukrainian town:
the example of Mohylev-Podilsky
Abstract of the report on The 15th World Congress
of Jewish Studies
(Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus Campus, Jerusalem on
August 2-6, 2009)
A study of ethnic stereotypes, concerned with mental mapping of urban
space, is of great importance for cultural geography of multi-ethnic
regions. Stereotypic opinions concerning the place of residence of
ethnic neighbors serve as a valuable material for the study of
cross-cultural and interethnic communication in the area.
Since the XVI century Ukrainian small
towns of Podolia (Nemiryv, Tulchin, Balta, Mohilev-Podilsky) have been
traditional places of residence for Jews. While all these towns were
considered to be Ukrainian, Jews' activities had a great importance for
the local culture. Using memories and stereotypic opinions of townsfolk
we can reconstruct a mental map of a Ukrainian small town, where areas
which specifically identified as Jewish have great importance.
The paper is based on the material of
field interviews, which was conducted in Mohylev-Podilsky in 2007-2008.
The author examines the role of Jewish areas on mental map of the
provincial Ukrainian town, analyses the difference in opinions on them
among Jews and Ukrainians, considers a change in status of these areas
in the XXI century, when the most of the Jewish population had left the
town.
