CALL FOR PAPERS: Cultural Exchange: Russia and the West

April 11th 2011

Hosted by the Graduate School of Arts & Humanities and sponsored by the Bristol Institute for Research in the Humanities and Arts

The University of Bristol is pleased to announce a one-day postgraduate conference which aims to explore the nature of cultural exchanges between Russia and the West. This unique conference is an opportunity to re-examine artistic creativity during the twentieth century, a time of revolutionary and ideological change, and to look at cultural connections between Russia, Europe and the United States.

Russian history is marked by key moments of contact and exchange which have shaped and transformed its cultural heritage. Our aim is to trace the history of cultural production during a period of artistic and political evolution within and outside of Russia. The development of Russian culture within national and international contexts will be considered with a focus on art, literature and music. We aim to challenge the idea that Russia was isolated by geography and politics.

A primary focus will be to examine key moments of contact between Russian artists, writers and composers in different contexts and to explore emigration and moments of cultural interaction. These contacts across geographic, political and cultural boundaries are essential to our understanding of the development of Russian art and culture.

Current postgraduate researchers or recent PhD recipients working on areas of Russian scholarship from a range of academic fields are invited to apply. Our aim is to allow the cross-pollination of ideas and foster debate across a number of different disciplines. We encourage postgraduates from a range of different disciplines including art history, history, literature, politics, film, music and cultural studies to apply.

Confirmed speaker: Dr Mike O’Mahony (University of Bristol)

Abstracts of 300 words are invited from research students in all disciplines to attend. Please email hatrcbristol.ac.uk including your name, institutional affiliation and the title of your proposed twenty minute paper and full contact information (address, phone number, and email).
Participation in the conference is £10 and includes lunch and refreshments. Some help may also be available to assist speakers with the conference fee and/or travel expenses. Please indicate your interest in financial assistance when submitting your abstract.

Deadline for the submission of paper proposals is November 30th.
Organised by Theodora Clarke (University of Bristol).