Rootlessness and Care for Identity: Ukrainian émigré Literature through the Lens of the Artistic Ukrainian Movement

This article examines the concept of “rootlessness” (“bezgruntianstvo”) and its relationship with the ethics of care in the Ukrainian émigré literature of the Artistic Ukrainian Movement (“Mystetskyi Ukrainskyi Rukh”), referred hereafter as AUM. Formed between 1945 and 1949 in Germany, it brought together displaced Ukrainian intellectuals and writers who sought to preserve their cultural identity and literary traditions amidst the challenges of exile. By exploring themes of belonging, cultural continuity, and mutual care, AUM's literary works reflect an ethical response to displacement and the fragmentation of identity. This study focuses on how the ethics of care were expressed in AUM literature as a counterbalance to the experience of rootlessness, demonstrating how these principles contributed to the preservation and transformation of Ukrainian cultural identity in exile. The notion of “rootlessness” in AUM literature functions not only as a reflection of physical displacement but also as a metaphor for the existential crisis tied to the search for meaning and belonging. Through its works, AUM writers symbolically reestablish connections to their lost homeland, offering a literary response to the fragmentation of identity and a means of cultural preservation in the face of exile.