Literary (Colonial) Encounters: Indigenous Authors in Dialogue with Russian Imperial Discourses

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

This roundtable invites scholars of literary studies, history, and anthropology to explore the long history of Indigenous literary traditions in dialogue with Russian national literature. We frame these dialogues through the lens of colonial encounters, which help uncover both the institutional influence on Indigenous literary production -- such as the role of the Gorky Institute of Literature in Moscow and the Institute for the Peoples of the North in Leningrad -- and the discursive subordination of Indigenous voices within that production. As we argue, these colonial disparities have been openly or subtly reflected in the prose and poetry of Indigenous authors. The discussion will focus on writers from the Volga region, Siberia, and the Far East.

Sub Unit

• Literature: 20th Century

Chair

• Naomi Caffee, Reed College

Roundtable Speakers

• Eeva Kuikka, Tampere U (Finland)

• Andrey Ridling, Ohio State U

• Brian Yang, U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign