Creative Achievements and Prospects for the Development of Ukrainian Studies. Philosophical and Methodological Analysis

Relevance of the research. Modern challenges encourage strengthening the scientific and methodological substantiation of Ukrainian studies, bringing its subject and object into line with the requirements of historical time, and determining areas of application as an applied methodology. Ukrainian studies is the science of Ukraine and world Ukrainians, the concenters of Ukrainian studies help to structure Ukrainian studies, and their analysis helps to track concentral dynamic processes. One of the main tasks of the Institute has always been coordinating relations with the Ukrainian diaspora and world Ukrainians. Creating means and determining methods of modern interaction between Ukrainian communities in the world on the basis of Ukrainian studies is an urgent task of the Ukrainian studies science. The purpose is to renovate the systemic components of Ukrainian studies as a science about Ukraine and world Ukrainians. The main attention is focused on establishing the methodological status of t`he term "concenters of Ukrainian studies", which should result in giving the concentrates the properties of a dynamic research tool. Conclusions. According to the proposed review and conclusions regarding the term “concenters of Ukrainian studies”, the evolutionary process of its understanding in the methodological tools of Ukrainian studies, the modernization of methodological approaches, theoretical ambiguity, and the lack of a coordinated position on determining the status of “concenters of Ukrainian studies” as a term, notion, concept, doctrine, etc., the author proposes as a hypothesis the application to the definition of concenters of Ukrainian studies of such a concept from the modern philosophy of science as “scientific metaphor”. That is, “concenters of Ukrainian studies” is a term from the methodological tools of Ukrainian studies, a stable concept in Ukrainian studies concepts and a scientific metaphor during the implementation of applied Ukrainian studies research, means of dynamic application in integration proceedings of the Ukrainian studies direction.