Literature, Languages, and Civilizations
Guests : Victoire Feuillebois (Professor of Literature at Unistra) and Ilya Guerassimov (Historian and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Ab Imperio)
Abstract :
Since the start of the war in 2014, and particularly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian and Ukrainian languages and literatures have been subject to unprecedented politicization. The Kremlin’s claim to promote and intervene within a “Russian world” not limited to the borders of the Russian Federation, the disappearance of the term “war” from public discourse—replaced by the notion of a “special operation” in Russia—as well as the removal of statues and monuments dedicated to Pushkin from public spaces in Ukraine, as well as accusations that Russian literature fosters an imperial vision, all attest to the significance of culture in war and its role in fueling and disseminating narratives with civilizational and/or universal scope.
In the form of a roundtable discussion, this session featuring Victoire Feuillebois (Professor of Literature at Unistra) and Ilya Guerassimov (historian and editor-in-chief of the journal Ab Imperio) aims to better understand how the disciplines of history and literature, in the context of the war in Ukraine, approach Russian and Ukrainian languages and literatures as subjects of study. It will specifically aim to examine the links between language, culture, and civilization, and how researchers are working on new subjects and employing new methodologies in the context of the war. The goal is thus to better understand how culture serves both as a vehicle for the legitimization of war narratives and as a source of resistance in Russia, and how it acts as a crucible for promoting visions of the future in Ukraine and Russia in the post-war era.
Event in collaboration with ArtAtWar ANR project.
Date, hours : Friday 10th April, 10h30-12h30 (CEST)
Place : Inalco (65 rue des Grands Moulins, 75013 Paris), Room 311
Format : hybride (lien Zoom envoyé la veille)
Coordination of the axis (WP7) : Étienne Boisserie (Inalco), Frédéric Gloriant (Université Paris Sciences et Lettres), Jérôme Heurtaux (Université Paris Sciences et Lettres), Emilia Koustova (Université de Strasbourg), Julien Vercueil (Inalco). Avec Pierre-Louis Six, postdoctorant, programme DÉCRIPT.
Registration for the seminar is open until February 11 at 4:00 p.m. (Paris time):