Call for papers: Spaces and Territories in Russia and the Slavic World

[Genevieve Cloutier]

Call for papers

Spaces and Territories in Russia and the Slavic World: 
Understanding, Constructing and Setting Boundaries

Second Annual Conference of the Quebec Network for Slavic Studies / Réseau québécois d'études slaves
Université de Montréal
May 17-18, 2012

Whether they are already delineated or in the process of becoming so, spaces can be described as representations that bear an individual or – more typically – collective value. They are normally founded on cultural, social, ethnic, religious, linguistic or ideological grounds. The concept of “territories,” in contrast, can be used to designate physical, that is, essentially geographical, realities. Quite unsurprisingly, between spaces and territories, the conjunction is not always natural or harmonious. It implies the confrontation of conflicting interests, self-affirming processes, and geopolitical tensions, negotiations, alliances, and reactions of voluntary isolation.

For the second edition of the annual conference of the Quebec Network for Slavic Studies, we invite scholars to take part in a multidisciplinary reflection on these notions of space and territory in the context of Russia and the Slavic world.

Possible topics include but are not limited to:

-	The meanings assigned to particular spaces and territories
-	The general or historically determined mechanisms that underlie these concepts
-	The creation, formation, mental and/or material construction of borders
-	The permeability and mobility of these borders; their transgression or sublation
-	Zones of inclusion/exclusion
-	Experiences of exile and expatriation
-	Cultural responses to the notions of spaces and territories
-	Armed presence and military strategies 
-	Political and ideological discourses of the soil
-	Ruptures and continuities in the environment
-	Artistic and literary representations
-	Exploration of the notions of space and territory through text, image, and/or sound
-	Imaginary spaces and territories
-	Topographies and cartographies of the Slavic world

The conference is open to scholars from Quebec and beyond. Paper proposals in French or English (approximately 300 words) are to be submitted to qnss.rqes at gmail.com by January 15, 2012.

Quebec Network for Slavic Studies / Réseau québécois d'études slaves: http://rqes.wordpress.com/

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