Dynamics of Russification and Cultural Amnesia in Soviet Ukraine

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

This panel deals with the topic of Russification in Soviet Ukraine in terms of cultural amnesia. The papers are related to a recently launched research project, “De/colonizing Ukraine: Practices of Russification and Modes of Resistance 1922–1991,” which targets contexts of cultural production: the making of dictionaries, the translation of foreign literature, and the publishing process. These areas are seen as open to both Russification and actions directed at negotiating and countering it, thus forming what may be called “spaces of de/colonization.” Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and drawing on both print and archival sources, the project aims at throwing new light on the cultural dynamics of Russification in Soviet Ukraine with a focus on cumulative workings and synergy effects of Russification policies on culture as a whole. Each of the three papers of the panel is devoted to one of the above-mentioned cultural contexts.

Sub Unit

• Linguistics/Language Pedagogy/Translation

Chair

• Liz Sevcenko, Humanities Action Lab

Papers

• Shadow Dictionaries: The Silent Battle for Ukrainian Synonyms - Valentyna Savchyn, Lund U (Sweden)

• The Roles of Pseudo-Editors and Pseudo-Translators in the Soviet Ukrainian Book Market - Lada Kolomiyets, Taras Shevchenko National U of Kyiv (Ukraine)

• The Ukrainian Journal Vsesvit as Cultural Mediator during the Late Soviet Era - Susanna Witt, Stockholm U (Sweden)

Discussant

• Victoria Somoff, Dartmouth College