Peter Viazemsky (1792–1878): “The Lively Recollection of a Great Epoch”

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

The four presentations suggested for this panel will look at Prince Peter Viazemsky (1792–1878) as “a lively recollection of a great epoch” (as he called himself in his acceptance speech of 1861) and, to some extent, the very personation of memory. Using an unpublished archival source, Joe Peschio will discuss Viazemsky’s confrontation with the censorship policies of the early 1820s. Elena Petrova-Libgober will talk about Viazemsky’s Journey to the East (1849–1850), compared to Nikolai Gogol’s letters of 1848. Daria Solodkaia will account for the evolution of the theme of memory in its connection with the image of a house / home in Viazemsky’s poetic heritage from 1826 till 1860. Matt McGarry will speak about Viazemsky’s take on history as reflected in his polemics with Leo Tolstoy in 1868.

Sub Unit

• Literature: 19th Century

Chair

• Emily Wang, U of Notre Dame

Papers

• Young Viazemsky Takes on the Censorship Apparatus (1821–24) - Joseph Peschio, U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

• Petr Viazemskii and Nikolai Gogol: Russia’s Jewish Question and the 'Holy Land' - Elena Petrova-Libgober, U of Southern California

• 'Nam Pamiat’ Mir Svoi Berezhet': Home and Memory in Peter Viazemsky’s Poetic Collection 'V Doroge i Doma' (1862) - Daria Solodkaia, Independent Scholar

• Petr Viazemskii and the Content of the Form of Russian History - Matt McGarry, UNC at Chapel Hill

Discussants

• Emily Wang, U of Notre Dame

• Sarah Sally Pratt, U of Southern California