CFP: UC Berkeley Conference: "The Pleasures of Backwardness: Consumer Desire and Modernity in Eastern Europe" - April 23-25, 2015

[Elena Gapova]

I wonder if I am the only one having problems with the conference title.

Elena Gapova

On 23 September 2014 14:16, Zachary Kelly <zwkelly at berkeley.edu> wrote:

> Call for Papers
>
> *THE PLEASURES OF BACKWARDNESS:*
> *CONSUMER DESIRE AND MODERNITY IN EASTERN EUROPE*
>
> Conference
> University of California, Berkeley
>
> April 23-25, 2015
>
> Consumption has recently emerged as a prism through which to view the
> cultural and social history of Eastern Europe from an exciting new angle.
> Especially in the study of life under state socialism, the emphasis on
> consumer practices has led scholars to rethink familiar themes such as
> human agency and personal autonomy, the grey zone between official and
> unofficial cultures and the relationship between Western capitalist
> modernity and the “shortage economies” of the East. Light has also been
> shed on the many forms of consumption—smoking, drinking, tourism, music,
> sport and much else—that reflect and drive political change in the region.
> Whether scrutinizing TV viewing in Czechoslovakia or the enjoyment of
> tobacco in Bulgaria, hitchhiking through Poland or Budapest nightlife,
> scholars present consumption as an expression of everyday agency and the
> creative potential of ordinary people.
>
> This conference will bring together junior and senior scholars to examine
> the place of consumption, entertainment and leisure in Eastern Europe and
> to explore the implications of the latest consumer studies for the region’s
> wider history. Not only in state socialism did consumption lend flexibility
> and creativity to a system commonly thought of as stagnant and stultified.
> In what ways can the consumer perspective change our understanding of
> development, politics and power in the region over the centuries? How does
> a focus on the lives of consumers illuminate Eastern engagement with the
> West over the long term, not just during the cold war? Does attention to
> the rise of consumption in the East problematize Western narratives of
> consumerism and modernization? Were consumer cultures of the East mere
> imitations of a more developed West, or were there pleasures of
> backwardness peculiar to the region?
>
> Ten participants and a number of senior scholars will be invited to
> discuss new research and provide expert feedback. Although proposals for
> single-country projects are welcome, we are especially eager to receive
> proposals that involve comparison, whose scope transcends national borders,
> and papers that situate Eastern Europe into a larger European or global
> context. Those interested in participating should send a short CV and a
> brief summary (250-500 words) of their papers to event organizer Michael
> Dean (PhD in History, UC Berkeley) at *michaelwdean at gmail.com*
> <michaelwdean at gmail.com> by *October 31, 2014*. Invitations will be
> issued in mid November. While lodging and a portion of travel will be
> covered by the event’s organizers, participants should try, wherever
> possible, to obtain funding from their home university.
>
> Cosponsored by the Townsend Center for the Humanities, UC Berkeley; the UC
> Berkeley History Department; the Institute of Slavic, East European and
> Eurasian Studies at UC Berkeley; the Center for Interdisciplinary Polish
> Studies at the Viadrina University in Frankfurt (Oder); and the EU Center
> for Excellence at UC Berkeley.
>
> --
>
> Zachary Kelly
> Program Coordinator
> Institute of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
> University of California, Berkeley
> 260 Stephens Hall, #2304
> Berkeley, CA  94720-2304
>
> tel   (510) 642-7904
> fax   (510) 643-5045
> email zwkelly at berkeley.edu
> web   http://iseees.berkeley.edu
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