Studying the history of Georgia has long been a pertinent subject, but its significance has grown even more today. Modern Georgian historiography strives to break free from Soviet stereotypes and undertake research within a transnational framework.
The post-Soviet period of Georgian history, though seemingly familiar, still holds many unanswered questions that warrant scholarly investigation and documentation. Academic papers on this subject should not only cater to the curiosity of readers interested in their country's history but also serve as valuable resources for the professional community in history education. In 2020, a Georgian historian stated, "We are dealing with many problems. The manipulation of fantastical and non-existent facts ultimately disrupts the Georgian collective consciousness, leading it in the wrong direction. If we don't teach a healthy and well-thought-out history of Georgia, we will go back to the same circle. Embracing modern standards in history education in Georgia can serve as a catalyst for long-term improvement in politics, the economy, and education." We also share the aforementioned idea and believe that this vacuum primarily refers to the history after the 90s of the 20th centuries.
The project aims to bridge this gap. In the history bachelor’s degree program at the Caucasus School of Humanities and Social Sciences, we have implemented a course titled "History of Georgia from the National Movement to 2016." This course, now in its third year, is designed to educate students about the recent history of Georgians. The learning process demonstrated the increasing interest of students in the events of the mentioned period. However, it also highlighted the shortage of literature essential for teaching the history of Georgia during the same timeframe. Despite the efforts of the head of the subject to deliver lecture handouts to students in a timely and consistent manner, in the process of working on mandatory literature, students have to search for the few available publications one by one and process the material accordingly. However, optimal teaching cannot rely solely on handouts. This leads to the complication of the learning process and some dissatisfaction of the students. Based on the above, taking into account the subject of the course, the variety and scope of the content, we consider it appropriate to create a study "Georgia: from the 90s to the present day - essays".
The head of the project is Guranda Chelidze, the research is financed within the framework of the internal university funding competition of Caucasus University.