Call for Papers:
The Other Animals: Situating the non-human in Russian Culture and History
Roanoke, Virginia, May 17-19, 2007
The significance of the animal 'other' to the human condition is oft-noted and increasingly of interest to scholars in the humanities and social sciences. Claude Levi-Strauss' famous dictum, 'animals are good to think with,' Paul Shepard's assertion that "the others" (animals) made us human, and John Berger's insistence that humans must "look" at animals because we rely on the animal other for self-definition, all reference the diverse ways that human cultures have represented and
interacted with animals. The prevalence of animals in everyday life and culture, whether as sources of food, clothing, and other raw materials, as means of transportation and energy, as subjects of scientific research, as objects of entertainment and amusement, as inspiration for artistic and literary creativity, as deities or representatives of the divine, or simply as metaphors, attest to the importance of these relationships.
Increased thinking about animals by cultural theorists, historians, anthropologists, sociologists, literary scholars, and ethicists has resulted in a number of interdisciplinary studies addressing the role of animals in shaping human culture, society, and historical experience. Focusing primarily on Western Europe and North America, these collections are largely silent about the place of the animal in Europe's "other" history and culture, namely that of Russia. On the periphery of the
European experience, and straddling the land masses of Europe and Asia, Russian culture is marked by preoccupations with issues of identity, marginalization, and uniqueness that extend the basic concern with an "animal other" outlined above to more generalized patterns of self-definition.
"The Other Animals" seeks to bring together a group of scholars to present their work and engage in discussions about the significance of animals in Russian history and culture. The goal of the conference is to identify themes and questions specific to the Russian experience as well as the advantages and limitations of comparative perspectives. The organizers hope that the conference papers and discussions will serve as the foundation for an edited volume as well. The conference will be
conducted in workshop format, with panels organized around particular case studies or themes addressed in pre-circulated papers.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to the following:
-animals in folklore
-animals in religion (particularly Russian Orthodoxy, Judaism, shamanism, and Islam)
-animals in literature, art, and film
-animal attractions, such as zoos, circuses, and trained bears
-animal models for medical research and the production of scientific knowledge
-animal welfare and protection
-biodiversity, and the environment
-animals in agriculture and the city
-hunting
-vegetarianism
-warfare
-pet keeping
-theoretical perspectives on the animal in Russian history and culture
Scholars interested in participating are invited to submit a paper title, abstract (no longer than one page), and a brief CV (including relevant publications) by September 15, 2006. Successful applicants will be notified in November, 2006. Participants' lodging during the conference will be provided by the conference sponsors, Virginia Tech and Bates College. Participants also will receive a subsidy to defray travel expenses.
Please send submissions to Amy Nelson (anelson@vt.edu) and Jane Costlow
(jcostlow@bates.edu) by September 15, 2006.
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