As I mentioned when I started this blog, I’m currently studying for a MA in Folklore at the University of Hertfordshire. Whilst many of the modules deal with analysing the work of others, for one module we were tasked with collecting what is known as “primary sources” ourselves. This assignment fell during one of my Ukraine trips; thus began The Chevrons Project.
During my time in Ukraine, I’ve seen patches everywhere- or “chevrons”, as they are known there. They’re worn by a large range of people including the military, volunteers, municipal workers, and fashionable teenagers. You see them for sale in clothing stores, in souvenir stalls, in military surplus stores. They’re displayed on clothing, in cars, in volunteer hubs, and in bars.
I’ve ended up with a growing collection of chevrons during my time in Ukraine. Some I’ve bought, others I’ve been gifted. I began to wonder: what are the practices around gifting chevrons during wartime Ukraine? I decided to conduct my research via a mixture of interviews, and documenting the chevrons I saw during my time in Ukraine.
Initially I planned to primarily conduct my interviews in person, and speak with a mixture of five Ukrainian nationals and five international volunteers. My usual translator was on standby to help translate interviews as needed. Unfortunately, I was not able to speak to all the Ukrainian nationals I had intended. Two of the people that agreed to be interviewed were soldiers. One was incredibly busy making him very hard to pin down for a prolonged chat. The other was recovering from significant injuries sustained during combat, and so I didn’t want to push him on availability.
In the end I was able to speak with three Ukrainian nationals, and six international volunteers. These interviews, along with the large amount of chevron imagery I collected, resulted in a pretty massive assignment. I’m going to be breaking this huge corpus of data down into smaller parts for dissemination via this blog. Watch this space!
General posts as part of this project:
- The practicalities of research in Ukraine
- Chatting about chevron design with a NAFO Fella Forger
- The meanings of my chevrons
Interviews about the cultural meaning of chevron gifting:
- Ukraine Interviews: Tony Keane
- Ukraine Interviews: Richard Woodruff
- Ukraine Interviews: Michelle
- Ukraine Interviews: Mary Heslin
- Ukraine Interviews: Andrey
- Ukraine Interviews: Olha
- Ukraine Interviews: Andrey and Olha
- Ukraine Interviews: Aidan Lynch
- Ukraine Interviews: Roman
- Ukraine Interviews: David Mitch
Images of chevrons (posting in progress):
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