Quality of Life in Left-Bank Ukraine in the Second Half of the 18th – early 20th Century: Problem Areas and Promising Methodological Approaches
Abstract
The purpose of the research paper is to analyze the main theoretical approaches to studying the quality of life and identify promising research directions and productive research methodologies for studying the problem using the example of Left-Bank Ukraine of the 18th and 19th centuries.
The scientific novelty: methodological studies and theoretical advances related to the issue of quality of life are analyzed. Previous scientific works related to Left-Bank Ukraine in the second half of the 18th – early 20th century are studied. The potentially most important areas for further research and prospective approaches to their implementation are identified. Thus, for the first time, a scientific problem that has not been studied on Ukrainian material is articulated and actualized.
Conclusions. As of today, there is practically no historiography that would consider the history of Left-Bank Ukraine in the second half of the 18th – early 20th century through the prism of quality of life (as an interdisciplinary category). Instead, there is a significant body of research devoted to related aspects: economy, demography, development of medicine and sanitation, cultural changes, everyday life, etc. These studies are conducted in different scientific environments; however, they are an important source of factual information for studying the quality of life in this territory. Despite the methodological primacy of sociologists, historians still have the greatest prospects in this field. The need to understand the local specificity, the peculiar features of the era, and critically interpret the sources is essential.
In the paper, it is proved that the study of certain economic aspects, the spread of new foodstuffs, medicalization, and educational initiatives alone can provide little insight into the quality of life in the region. The use of some additional markers (for example, demographic) and broader territorial comparisons is inevitable. At the same time, modern quantitative (first of all, sociological) methods will allow to compare and search for dependencies between various aspects and markers. Here, even with the use of already well-known sources, it is possible to study new problematic issues using our documentary material, involving methods tested by foreign colleagues.
Funding. The research paper is prepared within the framework of Project No. 2020.20/0237 ‘Quality of Life and Demographic Characteristics of the Population of Dnipro Ukraine in the Second Half of the 18th –early 20th Century’, funded by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine.
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