Book Discussion: Soft Matter. The Poetics of Weakness in Late Soviet Socialism, by Julia Vaingurt

Session Submission Type: Book Discussion Roundtable

Brief Description

In her new book, Julia Vaingurt explores the cultivation of weak male subjectivity in Late Soviet culture across mediums of prose, poetry, and theatrical performance. She argues that for the Soviet non-conformist authors this counter-discourse constituted an aesthetic strategy and an ethical code, offering an alternative to the dominant narratives of masculinity intertwined with the state ideology. The roundtable’s purpose, accordingly, is to invite responses to this suggested alternative, tracing its presence within and outside of contemporary Russophone culture. Additionally, roundtable’s participants are invited to consider the political implications of the weak subjectivity model in the current historical moment, when democratic deliberation continues to be under threat around the world.

Sub Unit

• Literature: 20th Century

Chair

• Ann Komaromi, U of Toronto (Canada)

Roundtable Speakers

• Jinyi Chu, Yale U

• Mark N. Lipovetsky, Columbia U

• Ainsley Morse, UC San Diego

• Kristin E. Romberg, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Anton Svynarenko, Swarthmore College