Historical and Rhetorical Analysis of Letters from Early Soviet Russia

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This interdisciplinary panel focuses on analyzing letters written in Russia during the period from 1913 through 1937. Though these historical documents come from different public and private archives, they all provide first-hand accounts of the socio-historical, political, and cultural contexts in which these documents were created. Written in Russian or a German dialect, they tell stories of crisis, famine, repression, and famine relief efforts in the Volga Region as well as individual and communal experiences of ethnic German families. The panel presenters will use historical and rhetorical perspectives to show the ways the “small-scale” stories of these letters inform and broaden our understanding of the bigger picture of Russia’s tumultuous twentieth century.

Sub Unit

• History: Russian and Eurasian, since 1924

Chair

• Kathleen Macfie, UNC at Greensboro

Papers

• ‘Dear children, Jacob and Amalie’: A Rhetorical Analysis of Letters from Russia to a Volga German Immigrant Couple in the Midwest - Tatjana Schell, North Dakota State U

• Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913-1937 - Eric J. Schmaltz, Northwestern Oklahoma State U

Discussant

• Sarah Cameron, U of Maryland, College Park