Fwd:International Conference on Belarus and Ukraine in Paris, March 2006]

Wed Nov 2 19:29:07 UTC 2005

Subject: International Conference on Belarus and Ukraine in Paris, March
2006 From:    "Hanna Murauskaya" <Hanna.Murauskaya at ens.fr>
Date:    Tue, November 1, 2005 11:54 am

CALL FOR PAPERS :

Conference

« Ukraine and Belarus  what neighbors for the European Union? »
March 24-25, 2006, École normale supérieure, Paris
www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr <http://www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr/>

This conference will bring specialists, scholars, researchers and all
those interested in Ukraine and Belarus together around a topical theme.
We will examine the new proximity of these two countries to the European
Union from multiple points of view, inviting representatives of such
various disciplines as history, linguistics, history of art, literature,
social and political sciences, etc. Our goal will be to understand better
the implications of the fact that these countries now border the European
Union and to reveal issues pertinent to the study of these two countries.
No one questions the fact that Ukraine and Belarus belong to Europe, but
what is particular about this region? How does history align these
countries with or distinguish them from other European countries? How do
their cultural traditions, borrowing from similar sources, stand sometimes
for different values? How does Russia continue to exercise a considerable
influence on their political and cultural development? What are these
identities that Ukraine and Belarus seek, undertake to support and even to
construct in the context of pro-Russian and pro-European interests that
divide today as never before their inhabitants?

Presentation of papers, lectures and discussions will take place over two
days. We invite all researchers, scholars, specialists and graduate
students interested in the subject to participate. E-mail us your CV, a
brief description of your research project, and a summary of your
presentation by December 15, 2005.
If you would like to participate in discussions without delivering a
paper, you should register to attend the conference by e-mail.
Preliminary registration is required and free.

The languages of the conference are primarily French and English, or
Russian if necessary.

To receive additional information and to apply, contact us at the
following e-mail address:  <mailto:Hanna.murauskaya at ens.fr>
Hanna.Murauskaya at ens.fr

CULTURAL WEEK OF UKRAINE AND BELARUS IN FRANCE
March 20-25, 2006, École normale supérieure, Paris
www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr <http://www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr/>

Ukraine and Belarus, two countries linked by a common history, have often
been relegated to a marginal or peripheral position in the worlds
consciousness. Their very status, however, as peripheral territories,
spaces of not simply conflict but also of exchange, has guaranteed the
astonishing richness of this original region.  Caught between Russia and
Polands territorial disputes, their lands have been the object and the
place of long-term political maneuverings with even longer-term effects.
In this region between two worlds, Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox, a
fresh loam formed in which blossomed complex cultures. They were always
fed by both desired and imposed elements come from near and far. Under the
tutelage of one power or the other, this region has seen born a veritable
palette of identities, whose languages and dialects
themselves have only very recently emerged as distinct entities from a
fluid continuum previously resistant to analysis.  Given that
peripheries are also borders and in times of war, front lines, Europes
most devastating tragedies have hit Belarus and Ukraine with equal
harshness forcing comparably colossal losses on both.

Complex historical periodizations and reperiodizations, multitudinous
political and cultural affiliations, rich and varied influences in the
domains of art, culture and religion all render difficult any attempt at
global comprehension of this region.  The first objective of this week is,
thus, to gather together specialists from different disciplines and
different countries, with the hope that the confluence of viewpoints will
help identify issues specific to Ukraine and Belarus.  With its ambitious
scope, international character and choice of a broad
historical and cultural approach not limited to current political
questions, this week will constitute an entirely new and original event.

Difficult research conditions in Belarus and in Ukraine often deprive
their researchers and academicians of the possibility to present their
work abroad and compare their ideas with those of their western
colleagues.  Thus, the second objective of this week: fifteen years after
the fall of the Iron Curtain, it is time that fruitful academic exchanges
be established with both Ukraine and Belarus.  The colloquium will act as
a forum for brilliant but unknown researchers who do not currently benefit
from the international support that they deserve.  In order to present not
only the state of research with regard to Ukraine and Belarus but also the
evolution and current state of their cultures, the week will welcome
researchers and also important people in the worlds of art, journalism and
education.  The presence of current
cultural trends next to an academic conference will offer not only useful
indications on available research subjects and sources, but also original
perspectives on potential research for the future.

The third objective of this week is to raise interest in the region of
Belarus and Ukraine amongst western students and young researchers by
exposing them to the remarkable richness of this little known world, which
stands today at the threshold of the European Union.  The
potentially unlimited diversity of historical and cultural subjects and
problematics dealing with this region today only incites feeble interest
within western universities. As often as not, the rare students who
specialize in Ukrainian or Belarusian subjects are Ukrainian or
Belarusian nationals motivated by nostalgia or obligated by their sense of
identity.  The week of Belarus and Ukraine is not only meant for
researchers, but will attempt to sensibilize the public at large to the
problems of the region. It will be a memorable event offering, of
course, an academic conference, but also a photo-exhibition, film
showings and a cultural evening.

By assembling the best specialists worldwide as well as current figures
from cultural life in this region, this week will attempt to take stock of
current academic and cultural trends both within Ukraine and Belarus and
Western academia.  Moreover, it aspires to become a veritable point of
departure for the development of further studies and a broader
general understanding of these two countries.

----- End forwarded message -----

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