Roundtable on David Cerny at Midwest Slavic Conference (April 16-18, 2009)

[Jessie Labov]

ROUNDTABLE PROPOSAL FOR MIDWEST SLAVIC CONFERENCE, APRIL 16-18, 2009
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACTS DUE FEB 1

Please send submissions to: <labov.1 at osu.edu> AND <csees at osu.edu>
See CFP for Midwest Slavic Conference below for more details.

====> “David Cerny’s Europe and other reflections from the new center”

Last week, the atrium of the European Council headquarters in Brussels
witnessed a Christo-like ‘shrouding’ of the most offending piece of David
Cerny’s sculpture/installation “Entropa”: the country Bulgaria depicted as
an interlocking system of squat toilets. After ruffling diplomatic feathers
from Sofia to Amsterdam, Cerny has offered some explanations and gestures of
apology (such as returning funding for the project). However, he insists
that “The art works, by artificially constructed artists from the 27 EU
countries, show how difficult and fragmented Europe as a whole can seem from
the perspective of the Czech Republic.“ http://www.davidcerny.cz/startEN.html.

Yet just a few decades ago, in his 1984 essay “Wysoki mur” (A High Wall),
the Polish poet Adam Zagajewski suggested that: “The idea of Europe lives
intensely in the dreams and longings of Central European countries. [...]
The fact that such an intense longing for Europe has survived East of the
Elbe should be of interest to Western Europe as well. It has a young mirror
of itself over in the East. If it gazes into that mirror it may see itself
as it once was: more cheerful, more talented. It may even come to like
itself again, who knows.” (CC 6 (1987): 26-27)
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/crossc/. 

Now Europe has looked into its mirror in East of the Elbe, but does not like
what it sees.

The proposed roundtable invites artists/scholars/activists to discuss
reflections of European identity in cultural expressions from the newest
members states. Does Europe expect to see a different image in that
reflection? Has there really been such a shift as suggested by the stark
contrast between Zagajewski  and Cerny’s words? Or do both concepts of
Europe remain in place in the artistic imagination? Finally, how do the
cultural dynamics between new member states (i.e., Czech Republic-Bulgaria)
affect the vision of Europe as a whole?

***************************************************
Midwest Slavic Conference and Short Film Competition at OSU
April 16-18, 2009
Deadline February 1
 
The Midwest Slavic Association and The Ohio State University’s Center for
Slavic and East European Studies (CSEES) are proud to announce the 2009
Midwest Slavic Conference, to be held at the Blackwell Inn and Conference
Center on the OSU campus April 16-18, 2009.
 
Conference highlights include:
  *Keynote address by Dr. Dina Iordanova, St. Andrews University
  *Screening of Katyn, part of a Wajda tribute series at the Wexner Center
  *Welcome reception
  *Luncheon talk by Dr. Beth Holmgren, Duke University
 
Conference organizers invite proposals for panels or individual papers
addressing all disciplines related to Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia,
and the Caucasus. Please send a one-paragraph abstract and brief C.V. to
csees at osu.edu by February 1, 2009. Undergraduate and graduate students are
encouraged to submit presentations. Limited funding will be available to
subsidize graduate hotel lodging. For more information, contact the Center
for Slavic and East European Studies at (614) 292-8770 or at csees at osu.edu.
 
CSEES would also like to announce the first annual Short Film Competition to
showcase the top short films produced by students from all Russian, East
European and Central Asian National Resource Centers and other universities
and colleges from throughout the Midwest. Pieces must be independently
produced by current students, no longer than 20 minutes in length, and
created after April 20, 2008. Monetary prizes will be awarded to the top
rated entries and will be showcased during the conference.
 
All entries must be received by February 1, 2009. 
 
For more information on competition rules please visit
http://slaviccenter.osu.edu.

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