CFP: On the Edge: The Long 1940s in Soviet and Post-Soviet Culture

[Maria Khotimsky]

Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University
A Graduate Student Conference, April 16, 2010

On the Edge: The Long 1940s in Soviet and Post-Soviet Culture
						
Call for Papers 

Marked by the social and historic upheavals of such dramatic proportions that 
even the decade leading up to the Russian revolution pales in comparison, the 
impact of the 1940s on Soviet society and culture is tangible to this day. Like 
the twentieth century itself, the decade overstepped its chronological 
borders. Beginning on August 24, 1939, with the signing of the Molotov-
Ribbentrop Pact, it lasted until Stalin’s death in March, 1953. Its crises 
included the Second World War, the beginning of the Cold War, mass 
deportations of various nationalities, and the notorious campaign 
against “rootless cosmopolitanism.” Its anguish gave birth to a generation of 
thinkers, writers, and artists, who both monumentalized the “fateful forties” 
and helped to deflate the state-generated hyperboles of the era's sacredness 
and purifying ethical power in the post-Soviet years.

“On the Edge: The Long 1940s in Soviet and Post-Soviet Culture” will examine 
the history of this period through the double lens of cultural analysis and 
cross-cultural interpretation. Its goal is to bring together scholars from various 
spheres of the humanities and to generate discussion on the subjects outlined 
by, but not limited to the questions below:


•	What are the characteristic modes of intellectual, rhetorical, and 
artistic expression of Soviet and Western responses to the political upheavals 
of the period? How did those original modes of expression differ from post-
Soviet responses to the same events? 
•	Which rhetorical devices of the Soviet 1940s were later rejected by 
Russian and/or Western culture and mass media? Which metaphors of the 
Second World War and the Cold War are still in broad circulation? 
•	Did the intellectual and artistic paradigms of the 1940s resemble or 
depart from the models generated during the decade leading up to the First 
World War and the 1917 Revolution?  How did Soviet and émigré Russian 
intellectuals react to the Soviet Union’s new role on the international stage? 
How did they respond to the postwar re-interpretation of Russian cultural 
capital?
•	What is meant by “official” and “unofficial” Soviet culture during this 
decade? Through what artistic forms did artists and intellectuals support or 
challenge the idea of war-generated national unification?
•	Which literary and artistic responses to the Second World War 
became cornerstones of Russian national identity? How did the post-Soviet re-
evaluation of the past affect the appropriation of these responses by artists 
and intellectuals? 
•	How did the arts register and/or resist the patriotic rhetoric of the 
decade, with its frequent changes in tone and direction? 
•	What influence did the Cold War have on the Soviet and post-Soviet 
understandings of Russian imperial isolationism, cultural “independence,” 
and “subservience towards the West”?
•	How can we characterize what can be arguably seen as the recent 
come-back of the rhetoric of the 1940s? What can be said about the 
chauvinistic campaigns conducted by the current Russian government and 
disseminated through popular culture?

We invite papers that consider these and other questions using a variety of 
methodological approaches, and explore the treatment of war in literature, 
music, and film, as well as in ideology and public discourse. The conference 
seeks to create an interdisciplinary discussion of the 1940s as a critical 
historical moment, recorded in the Soviet culture and frequently referred to in 
present-day artistic and political discourse. We also welcome researchers from 
adjoining disciplines, including the interpretive social sciences, history, English, 
American, and comparative literature, and media studies. 

The goals of the conference are to establish connections between emerging 
scholars working in the field, to offer a possibility to exchange ideas and 
receive constructive feedback, and to create a basis for future collaboration 
in panels and round table forums. Participants will be encouraged to make their 
papers available to maximize the discussion time and to ensure productive 
feedback on their work. Professors Louis Menand (Harvard University) and 
Laura Engelstein (Yale University) have confirmed their participation in the 
conference as discussants.

Submission Details
Please submit abstracts (up to 500 words) to Olga Voronina and Maria 
Khotimsky (voronina at fas.harvard.edu; khotimsk at fas.harvard.edu). In 
addition, please include your contact information, departmental affiliation and 
a brief CV in your message. The deadline for submissions is January 20, 2010. 
All participants will be notified of acceptance by February 10th. To foster 
productive discussion and feedback, participants are invited to exchange their 
papers prior to the conference, by March 15.  Accommodation and meals are 
included in the conference attendance. 

Conference Organizing Committee
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Harvard University 

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