Autonomism in the late Stalin Era Musicology

• In Event: The Question of Autonomy in the Late-Stalin-Era Humanities

Abstract

Stalin's ‘Great Break’ (1928–1929) facilitated a generational shift in Soviet scholarship, ushering in a new cohort of 'proletarian' scholars to the Soviet cultural stage. While this new generation adhered to Stalinist directives, particularly in their critique of academic professionals, they also displayed the hallmark traits of any emerging generation in their pursuit of new ‘truths’ and intellectual directions, ultimately, negotiating their perspectives with those of the older generation within a politically unstable environment. Through an analysis of scholarship, this paper aims to explore the extent to which these two generations of musicologists believed in professional autonomy and how they conceptualized its meaning within the context of late Stalinism.

Author

• Elina Kristiina Viljanen, U of Turku (Finland)