Deadline to submit abstracts: February 25th, 2018
University of Oxford
16-17 May 2018
Description
The concept of otherness has always played a pivotal role in the human condition. Finely interwoven into human nature, otherness can take many shapes and forms – from an accent, a dress code, or the colour of one’s skin, to less visible markers of perceived and felt otherness. But what is the scope of otherness in the context of Russia, a country whose endless swathes of land are home to a myriad array of people of diverse and multifaceted backgrounds and identities? Where does Russia end and the Other begin, and how have perceptions of these identities changed throughout the ages? Can otherness be positive, or is it always a negative phenomenon?
This interdisciplinary conference invites proposals for papers from a variety of disciplines in Russian studies, including, but not limited to: literature, film, art, music, gender studies, history, politics, anthropology and digital humanities.
Topics
Topics related to otherness may include, but are not restricted to:
» Russia and the outside world
» Intranational and ethnic otherness
» The good vs. the bad Immigrant
» The Exiled Other
» Otherness and Identity
» Memory and otherness
» Race, Class, Gender and the Other
» Post-Soviet Politics and otherness
» Cultural Hybridity and the Other
» Westernism vs Slavophilism
» Linguistic otherness
» Fantasy and the Other
We also intend to hold a panel on speakers’ experiences of otherness in Russia, comprising of four 15-minute presentations, followed by a discussion. Please indicate in your application whether you are submitting an abstract for a paper and/or a personal discussion.
Submission date for abstracts: 25 February 2018
Notification of acceptance: 4 March 2018
Please send your paper abstract and/or personal discussion abstract (no more than 300 words each), along with a short biographical note (no more than 50 words), to Gilly Mroz (University of Oxford) and Anne Liebig (University of Edinburgh) at othernessinrussianculture@gmail.com.