Fwd: conf.: Ethnicity, Language and Culture in a Post-Soviet City

[Johanna Laakso]

Forwarded from nyelvész-infó, with usual apologies for cross-postings!
--
Univ.Prof. Dr. Johanna Laakso
Universität Wien, Institut für Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft (EVSL)
Abteilung Finno-Ugristik
Campus AAKH Spitalgasse 2-4 Hof 7
A-1090 Wien
johanna.laakso at univie.ac.at • http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Johanna.Laakso/
Project ELDIA: http://www.eldia-project.org/ 




Välitetty viesti alkaa:

> Lähettäjä: "Nyelvesz Info" <nyinfo at nytud.hu>
> Päiväys: 18. tammikuuta 2012 10.46.55 UTC+1.00
> Vastaanottaja: nyelvesz at nytud.hu
> Aihe: conf.: Ethnicity, Language and Culture in a Post-Soviet City
> 
> Ethnicity, Language and Culture in a Post-Soviet City
> Berlin, Germany
> 22-Aug-2012 - 24-Aug-2012
> Call Deadline: 31-Jan-2012
> http://www.sociolinguistics-symposium-2012.de/
> 
> The last decade has witnessed a rise in scholarly interest towards the
> post-Soviet language situation. The agenda remains being dominated by
> research in language policy and macro-sociolinguistics (Korth 2005,
> Hogan-Brun et al. 2008) as well as overall descriptions of the status
> change of Russian (Pavlenko 2008a, 2008b). 
> 
> Under post-Soviet conditions one of the most topical sociolinguistic
> dilemmas covers variety of issues related to changing language
> hierarchies (Russian versus titular languages). Numerous manifestations
> of this radical turn include top-down initiatives of the so called
> nationalizing states (including the legislative measures) as well as
> shift in individual linguistic behaviour and cultural orientations (in
> the everyday life, in career building, educational choices, marriage
> preferences, etc.). Big cities, especially capital cities, provide a
> very good site for exploring these changes, with their thick
> communicative environment; variety of cultural products produced and
> consumed; rapidly changing public spaces; visualization of ‘national
> revival’ measures embodied in changes in toponymy, re-symbolization of
> city space, appearance of new cultural markers, etc. In addition,
> population of many cities of the New Independent States (NIS) has
> undergone serious ethno-cultural transformation after the break-up of
> the USSR, starting with massive outflow of the so called
> Russian-speakers (ethnic Russians and other non-titular Russophones)
> during the 1990s, and ending with influx of transnational and/or
> internal rural migrants during the current decade.
> 
> The general aim of the session is to throw light on everyday linguistic
> practices and identities’ (re)negotiation of urban dwellers
> contextualized within transformation of post-Soviet urban socio-cultural
> and linguistic environment. As far as more concrete objectives are
> concerned, we expect contributions which will take into account striking
> heterogeneity of regions within post-Soviet space and between the
> countries within these regions in what is related to de facto and de
> jure status of the Russian language and popular perceptions of
> challenges provoked by changes in sociolinguistic situation. Thus, as
> minimum, two distinct regions might be defined; these are the Baltic
> countries and those of Central Asia (the cases polarity of which in
> regard to Russophones’ position and Russian language status is deeply
> rooted in the pattern of colonization of the two regions). These
> territories within the post-Soviet space, in their turn, provide a
> contrasting picture in comparison with Ukraine, Byelorussia and
> Azerbaijan, also being the regions with a noticeable presence of
> Russian-speakers. 
> 
> Questions to be raised by the session participants may include, but not
> are limited to, the following ones: 
> - Can mastering of Russian as a native language be taken as a synonym of
> urban culture and a base for urban identity? 
> - Do parameters of cultural identity overlap or not with those of ethnic
> self-identification? 
> - What urban ethno-cultural groups are most liable to this kind of
> divergence/convergence? 
> - How is identity negotiated in bilingual (multilingual) environments? 
> - To what extent do post-Soviet cities of the NIS, being multi-ethnic,
> still retain practices of Russian or titular monolingualism? 
> - What ethno-cultural groups are most successful in
> maintaining/enriching these practices? 
> - Can Russian linguistic and cultural space in post-Soviet cities be
> taken as a ‘Cheshire cat smile’, functioning without Russians
> themselves? What could be the factors contributing to
> maintenance/erosion of this space? 
> 
> The other themes of interest might include: 
> - Russian-based cultural urban spaces versus those dominated by titular
> languages 
> - Monolingual versus multilingual public spaces (linguistic landscapes) 
> - Pragmatism versus cultural nostalgia as motors of titulars’ interest
> towards studying of the Russian language 
> - Last but not least, differences in attitudes towards above-mentioned
> issues among Russian-speakers, members of titular groups and non-Russian
> and non-titular minority groups 
> 
> Abstracts have to be submitted via the conference website.
> 
> 

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