Russian Jewish Cultural Continuity
in the Diaspora

 

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Call for Papers
The Legacy of the Russian Jewish Diaspora
International Conference
8-9 April 2010
 Department of European Studies and Modern Languages
University of Bath

The Jewish emigration from Russia which set in after the Revo­lution of 1917 changed the face of Jewish culture in Western Europe. Russian Jewish immigrants brought with them the visions of a national Jewish lit­e­rature in Hebrew, Yiddish or Russian as well as new concepts of secular Jewish mu­sic and art. In many cases they acted as intermediaries between Jewish centres in different parts of Europe and made significant contributions to a se­cular Jewish culture in Europe with its own institutions and me­dia.

The concluding conference of the project “Russian Jewish Cultural Conti­nuity in the Diaspora (1917-1937)” will focus on the historical legacy of this period. Considering literature and scholarship as well as fine and performative arts, it will ad­dress in particular the following aspects:

1) Reception: What impact did works created by Russian Jews have in Europe and Israel (from the 1930s)? How did the multilingual element introduced by Russian Jews influence Western European culture? How did the Russian Jews who emigrated to Western Europe conceive their own legacy? Which historical points of reference did they chose for the visions of a Jewish culture in Europe?

2) Repositories: Where can infor­mation about Jewish artists and intellectuals who came to Western Europe during the interwar period be found?  Which are the most significant archival and other sources? How could a database on the Russian Jewish diaspora be created?

3) Intermediaries: In which ways did Russian Jews act as intermediaries between Jewish centres in Europe? How did they contribute to the creation of a common sphere of Jewish culture in Europe?

Abstracts (of no more than 250 words) for a 20-minute presentation should be sent by January 20, 2010 to Dr Jörg Schulte. A limited number of travel grants will be available for participants, with preference for scholars from Eastern Europe. Please indicate if you wish to be considered for a travel grant.

The research Project “Russian Jewish Cultural Continuity in the Diaspora” is sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust (UK).

Dr Peter Wagstaff        
Dr Olga Tabachnikova
Dr Jörg Schulte

Department of European Studies and Modern Languages
University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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April 8-9, 2010
 

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