Intellectual de-occupation and the word as a weapon: Science Days launched at the Department of Ukrainian Language and Journalism

On May 12, 2026, the Department of Ukrainian Language and Journalism of the Faculty of Social and Humanities joined the university-wide Science Days, which started the day before. The solemn meeting of the student section became a platform for discussions of future specialists who were looking for intellectual ways to solve the most complex questions of our time.

The moderator of the departmental event was the candidate of philological sciences, associate professor Anzhelika Shulzhenko. Addressing the young researchers, she emphasized the special mission of the humanities in times of war: “Today we are opening up space for intellectual maneuver. In times when the word has become a powerful weapon, science for you is a way to decipher the world that is trying to confuse us. Your research is the foundation for intellectual de-occupation and cultural revival tomorrow”.

The work of the section covered a wide range of topical topics, divided into two key vectors:

Journalism and media communications

Under the guidance of the department’s lecturers (Roman Kostromytskiy, Yulia Melnikova, Krystina Pyrogovova, Natalia RULA and Anzhelika Shulzhenko), students presented an analysis of the modern information field.

The participants paid special attention to the issues of information security, which is critically important in modern conditions. In particular, Oleksandr Kaminskiy presented an analysis of manipulative headlines, and Maria Stoyanova outlined the fine line between objective information and clickbait in online media. The ethical aspects of advertising content in popular Telegram channels became the object of research by Deriya Ozdemir.

An important part of the discussion was media transformations caused by a full-scale war.  Danylo Peychev traced the evolution of entertainment television after February 24, 2022, and Valeria Yereomenko analyzed how world agencies, in particular Reuters, broadcast the official position of Ukraine to an international audience. Along with this, young scientists considered the role of TikTok as a platform for informal education (Elizaveta Pugach).

The section also covered modern communication strategies and tools of influence. Anastasia Gorbunova proposed effective methods for promoting higher education institutions on social networks, and Alyona Kutyepova revealed the potential of meme culture as an effective means of PR communication with a youth audience.

 Philology and linguistic analysis

The scientific search of philologists (under the supervision of candidates of philological sciences, associate professors Olga Sopina and Valentyna Yunosova) focused on the linguistic picture of the world: emotional states in the novel by I. Pavlyuk (Oksana Bilopolska) and modern Ukrainian song (Viktoria Dubinets) were studied. Special attention was paid to non-verbal communication (Daria Kizilova, Yulia Tymoshenko) and diminutives in folklore (Anastasia Kharchenko).

The event demonstrated not only the high level of students’ preparation, but also became a lively platform for discussions. Higher education students proved that they are able not only to consume information, but also to critically interpret it, building strategies for promoting brands, ethical use of AI, and countering propaganda.

 Congratulations to the participants on a successful start of the scientific marathon! May your words always find their audience, and your thoughts remain free.

Kutyepova Alyona, Pugach Alina,
graduate students of the specialty 061 Journalism