call for panel papers, ASEEES '11

[alexei lalo]

Call for Panel Papers 
ASEEES 43rd Annual Convention in Washington, DC
November 17-20, 2011


Following call is posted on the behalf of Leah Feldman (UCLA) and Alexei Lalo (UT-Austin)

Remapping Russia as an Empire: Memory, Postcoloniality, Neoimperialism

Russia has often been considered by scholars as a special case of imperialism or a second-world empire because of its geopolitical location on the border between Europe and Asia and the proximity of its bordering colonies. In his article, "Russian History and the Debate over Orientalism," Adeeb Khalid writes that "the dichotomy between the Occident and the Orient is not clear in the case of Russia, but is rather replaced by an 'uneasy triptych.'" Indeed, many scholars of the Russian empire and Russian Orientalism have highlighted the intimate relationship not only between Russian Orientalism and Anglo-French Orientalist discourses, but also the similarities in its colonial policies to French Algeria and British India. What exactly makes the Russian Empire different from / similar to Anglo-French imperialism? How did Russia's proclaimed identity as an Orthodox nation impact its relationship to non-Russian Orthodox colonized territories, or as Alexander Etkind argues, its "internal colonization" of non-Orthodox sects?

The threat of Russification (both cultural/linguistic and political/military imperialism) has also impacted the postcolonial borderlands of the former USSR including Western Ukraine, Belarus, Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Siberia/Far East. The current leaders of Russia appear to be interested in restoring Russia's influence within the borders of the former Soviet Union and beyond. What do we make of Russia's neo-imperial pursuits and to what extent is the danger of Russification real or imaginary? What is the relationship between Russian expansionist ideologies in contemporary and historical discourse to other imperial ideologies including: Sinification, Globalization/Americanization, European expansion, Pan-Islamism, and Pan-Turkism? What role did religion (namely dominant Orthodoxy, Islam, as well as sectarian groups) play in animating discourses of imperialism in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union? Why does Russia's post/neo-imperial condition seem to be characterized by an increase of xenophobia, interethnic violence, and interconfessional intolerance?

We invite paper proposals from colleagues in social sciences and humanities grappling with any issues pertaining to Russia's imperial history and current affairs, including cultural discourses of resistance to Russification (in art, music, film, literature or popular culture). We would especially welcome papers on Russian imperialism's interface with issues of utopianism/antiutopianism, gender and sexuality, migration and demography, democracy and human rights.



Please send your paper title and brief abstract to alalo at mail.utexas.edu by January 10, 2011.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------