Group on Geographies of Identity
The working group "Geography and Identity" is broadly concerned with the multiple ways in which identity in Russia has been and is articulated geographically, and how geography itself (understood in the most catholic sense) constitutes a part of the identity structure. The specific objective of the group is two-fold: a) to allow individuals to pursue-in a collaborative and strongly interactive framework-individual and highly focused research projects; and b) to encourage the group to reflect collectively about the more general intellectual issues that are implied in the thematic focus. It is expected that both of these objectives will be fully represented in the final texts of the members' research products.
The composition of the group is deliberately wide-ranging and heterogeneous. It is transdisciplinary in that it crosses the line between the two fields of history and geography. The research topics will involve the problem of identity in both historical and contemporary contexts. Finally, a diversity of geographical representation has been sought, and the proposed research team represents institutions in four urban centers across European Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, and Pskov.
The group as a whole breaks down
into three distinct sub-groups, devoted to the themes landscapes,
boundaries, and provincialism. These particular topics hardly
exhaust the range of possible geographical takes on identity,
to be sure. They do however provide a useful range of perspectives
for comparison and contrast, which does at least some justice
to the complexity of the problem. And not least of all, they
are all powerfully relevant to the Russian example. The activities
of the working group are structured to allow the sub-groups both
to work autonomously and to come together to share insights and
critique each other's work. As well, each sub-group, and the
working group as a whole, will benefit from the participation
of external specialists, both Russian and Western.
Click on the links below to download copies of working papers for the Geography and Identity Group. All papers are PDF files that can be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader software. If you do not already have a copy, Acrobat Reader is available free for either Macintosh or Windows from Adobe.
Additional papers and proposals for individual Working
Groups are located on their respective pages. Papers for
the Russia CRN as a whole are in the Paper
Archive.
Papers
in English (Papers in Russian below)
| Author(s) | Title | Date Posted |
| Thematic Framework: Geography and Identity | ||
| Letter of Invitation | ||
|
|
New: The Winding Road to Poklonnaia Hill: the History of Building the Soviet and Russian National World War Two Memorial in Moscow |
|
Papers
in Russian (Papers in English above)
Website Contact: benjamin.forest@dartmouth.edu
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