The 'History and Identity' module as part of the MAPA program aims to contribute to a reconceptualization of regionalism in Ukraine. The project uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to map and analyze sociological data. Mapping data on the region (oblast) level avoids arbitrary scaling into predefined macro-regions, and allows researchers to explore and explain intraregional and cross-regional differences and similarities in the changing social and political context of 2013 and 2015 Ukraine. The “History and Identity” project contributes to the comparative cross-regional analysis of identities and historical memory in today’s Ukraine using the most recent sociological survey data.
The language issue in Ukraine has long historical roots, and even after Ukraine’s independence it remained in the center of the nation- and state-building processes. Different political parties often used language tensions for political mobilization or to draw imagined regional divisions. It also served as an important marker in defining cultural and national identities or allegiances. Through the 'Language' module, we can explore and visualize changes in the sociolinguistic landscape of Ukrainian society between 2013 and 2017.
In the 'Statistics' module, we aim to visualize a number of demographic, social, economic, and political variables and see how they evolved during the key years of presidential elections in Ukraine (1994, 1999, 2004, 2010, and 2014). Over the years, numerous scholars have hypothesized the correlation between specific regions (oblasts), identity, and political outcomes in Ukraine. With the help of these maps, we hope to deepen this discussion and further investigate the changing relationship between politics and the regions of Ukraine.
To facilitate this scholarship, web maps present geographic information in an interactive display that can be used to tell stories and answer questions. Each one includes a basemap, layers, an extent, a legend, charts, queries, and navigation tools, such as zoom, pan, place finders, and bookmarks. A basemap gallery lets users switch between different maps underlying the data, and pop-up windows display the attributes of specific features.
Users can turn data layers on/off using checkboxes. All layers are turned off by default.