Call for papers

Slovo 16: Textual and visual representations of the world in Slavic cultures

The text and image have historically been employed as means of exerting dominance over the surrounding world through the construction of compelling representations of this world or, rather, a multiplicity of perspectives on the world. These representations have played a pivotal role in the evolution of literary and visual traditions. Both literary and non-fictional texts can be positioned at the nexus of the aesthetic and the ideological, serving as a conduit for social and political messages and imparting a set of values and educating a reading public. The visual representation of the world, whether religious or secular, plays an integral role in the dissemination of beliefs, values, and norms that shape our understanding of the world and our place within it. The variety of literary and artistic trends, the aesthetic preferences of writers, painters or filmmakers, and their ideological positions serve to highlight the diversity of perspectives on the world and life in these traditions. From this standpoint, the moments of change in these perspectives, the transitions from one current to another, the polemics between different creators, and the bridges that are built between different generations, cultures, and spaces, which propose analogous approaches, are particularly noteworthy.

This call for papers invites contributions to a volume of studies that aims to bring together research on pivotal moments in the history of world representation within Slavic cultures. In particular, this thematically organized volume aims to explore a wide range of methodologies, encompassing cultural, visual, literary, linguistic, historical, scientific and media studies, as well as sociological and anthropological approaches.

We encourage the submission of papers focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on the following topics:

  • Representations of women and femininity;
  • Spaces and spatial mutations;
  • Identity and otherness;
  • Art – between creation and life;
  • Ideology and propaganda;
  • Religion and spirituality;
  • Education;
  • War and revolution.

Interested authors are kindly requested to send the title of the proposed article, a 300-word abstract and a short bibliography, mentioning the institutional affiliation (university, faculty, specialization, year of study) and the supervising professor, by June 1, 2026, to slovo@lls.unibuc.ro.

Bibliography

Biedarieva, S., 2024, Art in Ukraine between identity construction and anti-colonial resistance, New York: Routledge, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003459873.

Boym, S., 2001, The future of nostalgia, New York: Basic Books.

Epstejn, M. N., Genis, A. A., Vladiv-Glover, S., 2016, Russian postmodernism: New perspectives on post-Soviet literature, New York, Oxford: Berghahn.

Kivelson, V. A., Neuberger, J., 2008, Picturing Russia: Explorations in visual culture, New Haven (Conn.): Yale university press.

Mickiewicz, E. P., 1999, Changing channels: Television and the struggle for power in Russia, Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.

Plokhy, S., 2006, The origins of the Slavic nations: Premodern identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, Cambridge, UK New York: Cambridge University Press.

 

Slovo 15: Gender and Otherness in Russian Culture

In a world where borders, both geographical and symbolic, are constantly contested and renegotiated, two fundamental themes for understanding modern society inevitably intersect: the social status of women and the construction of national identity. Both are defined by a complex set of norms and herald, precisely because of their complexity, an enormous potential for emancipation as well as the risk of alienation.

Being historically and culturally determined, women’s status in any society is a subtle indicator of freedom and power dynamics, and can only be understood in relation to the social norms that shape it. These social norms, transmitted through upbringing, tradition, culture and laws, often function as a system of constraints and expectations that define ‘acceptable’ parameters for corporeality, behavior and aspirations. Yet women’s relationship to these norms is dialectical and tense: women can be submissive and passive, but also active agents who negotiate them, redefine their meaning or reject them. The central concern of this theme lies in how internalized social-patriarchal norms become invisible barriers on the path to self-determination, and the struggle to redefine the status of women takes place precisely on this contested terrain of normativity.

On the other hand, national identity emerges as one of the most powerful collective constructions of modernity. It is formed through selectively remembered or forgotten historical narratives, shared symbols, a common language, a shared cultural heritage and participation in collective rituals. This identity is not a given, but is actively constructed at a social level, providing its members with a framework for understanding the world and a sense of continuity and belonging. To live a national identity is to identify with a common narrative project, to share a supra-individual sense of belonging to a nation. But this sense is fragile, as national identity can be lost or eroded through dispersion (diaspora), forced or voluntary cultural assimilation, the ascendance of rival narratives, or the breakdown of the communities that sustain it. Moreover, it can become an instrument of exclusion and the struggle to preserve it can degenerate into fundamentalism. The loss of national identity is not always a physical erosion, but sometimes a spiritual and symbolic one – an inability to recognize or validate the common narrative in a rapidly changing world, leaving behind a vacuum of meaning and connection.

This call for papers invites contributions to a volume of studies that aims to bring together research on gender and otherness in Russian culture. In particular, this thematically organized volume aims to explore a wide range of methodologies, encompassing cultural, visual, literary, linguistic, historical, scientific and media studies, as well as sociological and anthropological approaches.

We encourage the submission of papers focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on the following topics:

  • Representations of women and femininity;
  • Diaspora and diasporic identity;
  • Identity and otherness;
  • Gender and sexuality;
  • Ideology and identity;

Interested authors are kindly requested to send the title of the proposed article, a 300-word abstract and a short bibliography, mentioning the institutional affiliation (university, faculty, specialization, year of study) and the supervising professor, by September 1, 2025, to slovo@lls.unibuc.ro.

Bibliography

Bassin, M., Kelly, C. (eds.), 2012, Soviet and post-soviet identities, Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511894732.

Berman, A. A., 2024, “The Russian woman” in E. Widdis, R. Reich, S. Franklin (eds.), The New Cambridge History of Russian Literature, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 772–787, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108655620.046.

Byford, A., Doak, C., Hutchings, S. C. (eds.), 2020, Transnational Russian studies, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.

Franklin, S., Widdis, E. (eds.), 2004, National identity in Russian culture: An introduction, Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511720116.

Marsh, R. J. (ed.), 1996, Gender and Russian literature: New perspectives, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Scheller-Boltz, D., 2018, The discourse on gender identity in contemporary Russia: An introduction with a case study in Russian gender linguistics (Volume 25), Georg Olms Verlag.

Vlaeminck, E. J. S., 2020, Masculinity politics in post-soviet Russian fiction: From Viktor Pelevin to Aleksandr Prokhanov, The University of Edinburgh, https://doi.org/10.7488/ERA/262.

 

Slovo 14: Individuals, societies and ideologies: literary and cultural explorations

The 19th century has been designated by some historians as an “age of ideologies.” However, this designation is not based on the widespread use of the term “ideology” during that period. Instead, it reflects the fact that a significant portion of the intellectual discourse during the era exhibited distinctive features that could be classified as ideological. Encyclopaedia Britannica’s entry on ideology explains that, in general, ideology “(1) contains a comprehensive explanatory theory about human experience and the external world; (2) sets out a generic, abstract programme for social and political organisation; (3) conceives the realization of this program in terms of a struggle; (4) attempts not only to persuade but also to recruit loyal supporters by demanding their commitment; (5) addresses itself to a wide public but often tends to confer a leadership role on intellectuals.” [1]

It is no accident  that this age of ideologies coincides with the flowering of the novel in European literature. Since the dawn of writing, literature has always served as a medium for the dissemination of the various ideologies propagated by philosophers and princes. But literature has also become a tool for challenging various ideologies, by approaching them polemically or by demonstrating the harmful consequences of “committing” to an idea. Nineteenth-century literature, and perhaps even more so twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature, has shown us that ideology can be a propaganda tool for control and conformity, but also that different ideologies can coexist and compete for a place in the minds and hearts of a world hungry for change. Whether progressive or revolutionary, pragmatic or utopian, ideology is very often a call to action, and literature brings to the fore characters who embody the response to that call.

This call for papers solicits contributions to a forthcoming volume of studies that aims to bring together research articles on the influence of diverse ideologies on individuals and society. In particular, this thematically organised volume aims to explore a wide range of methods and approaches, including cultural, visual, literary and linguistic studies, as well as history of science and media studies, sociology and anthropology.

Thematic analysis may encompass, but is not limited to, the following areas:

  • Women’s status and empowerment;
  • Ideology and geography;
  • Identity and otherness;
  • Art – between individualism and conformity;
  • The interplay of individuals and society;
  • Religion and ideology;
  • Education as a form of ideological propaganda;
  • War and revolution;
  • Effects of different ideologies on individuals and society.

Interested authors are kindly requested to send the title of the proposed article, a 300-word abstract and a shortbibliography, mentioning the institutional affiliation (university, faculty, specialization, year of study) and the supervising professor, by June 1, 2024, to slovo@lls.unibuc.ro.

[1] Cranston, Maurice, „Ideology”, Encyclopedia Britannica. Disponibil online: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ideology-society (Accesat: 22 noiembrie 2024).