American Research Center in Sofia at ASEES conference: invitation

Dear Friends of ARCS,

Some of you may be going to the ASEEES conference in San Antonio this month (November 20-23). ARCS will be hosting again a small get-together for its friends to share a drink in a nearby bar. If you plan to be at the convention, please join us!

Enclosed is an invitation with details about the gathering - please feel free to forward it.

With warm regards,

Dilyana Ivanova

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​

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Dilyana Ivanova, Ph.D.

Administrator

American Research Center in Sofia

usadmin@arcsofia.org

Zeitschrift für Balkanologie 50.1 now available

 The following information comes from Petra Himstedt-Vaid:

Dear Readers: Zeitschrift für Balkanologie has just published its latest issue at http://www.zeitschrift-fuer-balkanologie.de/index.php/zfb/index. We invite you to review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review
articles and items of interest.

Thanks for the continuing interest in our work,
Petra Himstedt-Vaid Petra.Himstedt-Vaid@t-online.de Zeitschrift für Balkanologie
Vol. 50, Nr. 1 (2014)
Table of Contents http://www.zeitschrift-fuer-balkanologie.de/index.php/zfb/issue/current 

Articles
--------
Fifty years Zeitschrift für Balkanologie
    Victor Friedman
Foreword
    Sevasti Trubeta,    Christian Voß
Konstantinos Gardikas: German Connections of a Greek Criminologist and
Liberal Politician in the Interwar Period
    Stratos Georgoulas
Transferring Knowledge: Bulgarian Female Scientists in Bulgarian-German
Scientific Networks (1920s -1950s)
    Georgeta Nazarska
Cultures of Defeat : Reflections on the Adoption of German Racial
Anthropology and Racial Hygiene in Bulgaria (1878 -1941)
    Christian Promitzer
The Secrets of Titograd in 1989: On Entanglements and Fragile Networks
between the Intellectuals of West Germany and Socialist Yugoslavia
    Nenad Stefanov
Researching the Scientific Networks between Germany and Southeastern Europe.
Multiplex Scholarly Paths through Opportunity and Choice
    Sevasti Trubeta
Modernizing Through Medicine: Knowledge Transfer, State-Building, and the
Role of Athens University during the 19th Century
    Maria Zarifi

Reviews
--------
Gerhard Neweklowsky: Der Gailtaler slowenische Dialekt. Feistritz an der
Gail/Bistrica na Zilji und Hohenthurm/Straja vas
    Harald Bichlmeier
Miloje Djordjevic , Ulrich Engel: Srpsko-nemacki recnik valentnosti
glagola. Wörterbuch zur Verbvalenz Serbisch-Deutsch
    Bozinka Petronijevi c
Elka Agoston-Nikolova (ed.: Shoreless Bridges. South East European Writing
in Diaspora
    Olga Stojanovi c-Fréchette

2015 Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute

The Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute is accepting applications for its 2015 summer language programs in the U.S. and abroad.

CLI offers intensive courses in Russian and in East European, Mediterranean, and Central Asian languages, either in the U.S., overseas, or if integrated “combination” courses that include both U.S. and overseas components.

Students selected for CLI pay a flat fee of $960 for up to 13 semester credits, plus study-abroad fees if they opt to join an overseas program.

Scholarships are available for undergraduate students, graduate students, and non-students. ROTC Project GO funding is available for selected languages.

Funding and priority admission deadline is January 30, 2015.

THE ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY CRITICAL LANGUAGES INSTITUTE

COMBINATION COURSES: STUDY AT ASU, THEN ABROAD:

2 months intensive study at ASU with optional 1 month study in country, for 8–13 academic credits.
- Albanian (ASU + Tirana)
- Armenian (ASU + Yerevan)
- Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (ASU + Sarajevo)
- Modern Hebrew (ASU only)
- Macedonian (ASU only)
- Persian (ASU + Samarqand)
- Polish (ASU + Poznan)
- Russian (ASU + Kazan, Bishkek, or St. Petersburg)
- Turkish (ASU + Izmir)
- Uzbek (ASU + Samarqand)

Sessions in ASU include daily co-curricular programming, grant mentoring and career planning opportunities.

Sessions abroad feature academically challenging study, extensive co-curricular programming, integrated into academic coursework and conducted in 1-on1 or small-group format by local language coaches.

OVERSEAS PROGRAMS: SPEND THE SUMMER ABROAD

2-month intensive programs providing 8–10 academic credits
- Armenian (Yerevan) 3rd-year and up
- Russian (Kazan, Bishkek) 2nd–4th-year
- Russian (St. Petersburg) 5th–6th-year
- Tatar (Kazan) 1st–2nd-year

Programs feature homestays, extensive co-curricular programming, integrated into academic coursework and conducted in 1-on1 or small-group format by local language coaches, and internships at the 5th-year level and up.

---

APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 30, 2015
APPLICATION AND FULL DETAILS: (http://cli.asu.edu)

Hot and Cold: Revolution in the Present Tense

Update about the public art project in Romania (Timisoara and Cluj) from December 11th-20th.

Ms. A. Harsanyi and her co-curator have put together a crowdfunding campaign on Tilt which will help fund the artists' projects.

For more information please take a look at this link: http://tilt.tc/aZdS.

Hot and Cold: Revolution in the Present Tense -- An upcoming public art project in Romania

Anna Harsanyi   <anna.harsanyi93@gmail.com>  writes: 

I am an independent curator co-organizing Hot and Cold: Revolution in the Present Tense, a public art project in Timisoara and Cluj-Napoca, Romania that will take place in December during the 25th anniversary of the Revolution that ended Communism. The interactive artworks in Hot and Cold will bring together diverse audiences to discuss themes of democracy, civic participation and urban life in Romania today.

On September 3rd we'll be launching a crowdfunding campaign on Tilt, and I wanted to ask if you would spread the word to your network. Each person who donates will receive a link to a website we've created that collects experiences from people all over the world about 1989 and the end of Communist governments in Eastern and Central Europe. Our campaign is a community effort and a way for people to connect and engage with themes of democracy and civic action at this historic time.

We would love to have the participation of you and your colleagues at the Southeast European Studies Association of America in this endeavor, and I hope that you will help us get the word out about our campaign.

Thank you, I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Anna Harsanyi

Call for Papers

Association for the Study of

Eastern Christian History and Culture, Inc. (ASEC)

Call for Papers

Sixth Biennial Conference

Rhodes College

September 18-19, 2015

(pre-conference reception on the evening of September 17)

The Association for the Study of Eastern Christian History and Culture is pleased to invite scholars of all disciplines working in Slavic, Eurasian, and East European studies to submit proposals for individual papers and panels for its biennial conference, to be held at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee and The Westin Memphis Beale Street Hotel.  Scholars from the U.S. and around the world are welcome.  All participants must be members of ASEC.

Proposals for individual papers and panels should be submitted by email to Dr. Randall Poole, Acting Vice President of ASEC (rpoole@css.edu) no later than December 1, 2014.  All proposals should include:

--Participant name, affiliation, and email contact information                                  

 --For individual papers:  title and brief description (50-75 words)                             

--For panels: panel title + above information for each participant and discussant (if applicable).

Limited funding is available to provide graduate students with assistance for travel expenses.  General information regarding the hotel and meeting, and the conference registration form, will be available after October 1, 2014 on the following website of Rhodes College:

https://in.rhodes.edu/academic/modernlanguages/Pages/Russian-Studies.aspx

Fullbright opportunities in Southeastern Europe for 2015-2016

From Michelline Granjean, Fulbright program officer:

The Fulbright Scholar competition for academic year 2015-2016, launched on February 1, 2014, features awards in a number of countries throughout Southeast Europe, including the former Yugoslav states. My organization, the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, administers the Fulbright Scholar Program on behalf of the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Some awards in the Southeast Europe region are highlighted below:

Romania offers a number of grants for scholars from a wide variety of fields and specializations: All Disciplines, American Studies, Business Administration and Economics, Sciences and Engineering, and Social Sciences. There are also two awards hosted by specific universities: Stefan cel Mare University in Suceava and University of Bucharest. These opportunities are for teaching or a combination of teaching and research and are open to all scholars, including early career. Additional information about Romanian universities and awards can be found at www.fulbright.ro/

Greece offers a number of research or teaching/research grants within the fields of Education, Engineering, International Relations, as well as an All Disciplines award for teaching or research within the scholar’s area of expertise. Additional information about Greek universities and awards can be found at www.fulbright.gr.

Turkey is offering approximately 15 grants for teaching and research. Awards are open to scholars at all levels, except early career. Categories include: All Disciplines, American Studies or American Literature, Business Administration and Economics, Science and Technology, and Social Sciences and Humanities. Turkey also features a Collaborative Teaching and Research award for an American scholar and a Turkish scholar to collaborate on designing a single joint teaching or teaching/research project. The Turkish scholar must submit an application to the Fulbright Commission in Turkey, and the American scholar must include a copy of the Turkish scholar's curriculum vitae with their own application to the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Albania offers awards in the categories of All Disciplines, Architect in Residence, Business Administration/Innovation Management, and International Family and Community Studies. A PhD (or other terminal degree) is not required for the All Disciplines Award.

Croatia also features an All Disciplines category for teaching or a combination of teaching and research and one for research only in any area. Further awards offered in Croatia include, American Studies, Business Administration or Economics, Law, and Social Sciences. These awards are open to all levels of scholars, including early career.

Bosnia and Herzegovina features an All Disciplines award, with preferred specializations that include American studies, constitutional and administrative law, education and teaching, journalism, mass communication, linguistics, criminology, religious studies, and psychology.

Serbia offers an award in American Politics, Government or American History, as well as up to two awards in the All Disciplines category for teaching or teaching/research.

Montenegro offers an All Disciplines award for teaching, research, or a combination of the two within the scholar’s area of expertise. Preferences include, but are not limited to: arts, journalism, accounting, computer science, political science, sociology, architecture, tourist industry, environment, maritime law, American literature and civilization, law, business administration, marketing and economics, mechanical engineering and wood processing. This award is open to all levels of scholars, including early career.

Macedonia features an All Disciplines award as well as an award focused on Rule of Law, Judiciary Reform, and Civil Society. The All Disciplines award seeks scholars in a wide range of institution-building fields, including business development, quality assurance management and standardization, and education and research development. Awards are open to all levels of scholars, including early career, but each award has more specific qualifications information.

Slovenia features an All Disciplines award for teaching, research, or a combination of the two within the scholar’s area of expertise. Preferred specializations include journalism (investigative, print, photography, television, and online journalism), environmental sciences, law, economics, engineering, and the pure and applied sciences. For those in the Biomedical Sciences, there is an also an award that seeks specializations in biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics, pharmaceutical sciences, clinical biochemistry and laboratory medicine, microbiology, toxicology, otorinolaringology, and veterinary medicine . Both awards are open to all levels of scholars, including early career.

More information about the Fulbright Scholar Program can be found on our website, www.cies.org, and the complete catalog of awards can be accessed online at http://catalog.cies.org/. The current competition will close on August 1, 2014.

I hope I have provided sufficient information for you to share this news with your networks.

Best Regards,

Michelline

Michelline Granjean
Program Officer, Europe/Eurasia

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES)

Institute of International Education (IIE)

1400 K Street, NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20005

Phone +1.202.686.8644 | Fax +1.202.686.4029

EuropeEurasia@iie.org | www.iie.org/cies  

The Fulbright Scholar Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, is administered by CIES, a division of IIE.

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Google+| Vimeo | Blog | My Fulbright

ZfB Newsletter

Dear Readers:

Zeitschrift für Balkanologie has just published its latest issue at http://www.zeitschrift-fuer-balkanologie.de/index.php/zfb/index. We invite you to review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review articles and items of interest.

Thanks for the continuing interest in our work,

Petra Himstedt-Vaid
Petra.Himstedt-Vaid@t-online.de

Zeitschrift für Balkanologie Vol. 49, Nr. 2 (2013) Table of Contents

http://www.zeitschrift-fuer-balkanologie.de/index.php/zfb/issue/current

Articles

--------

Infinite Konstruktionen mit eigenem Subjekt (Heteroprosopie) in den Balkansprachen

    Norbert Boretzky, Wilfried Fiedler

Auf der Trennlinie des Lebens: Migrantenfiguren und ihre Marginalisierung in der Literatur

    Milica Grujičić

Explicit Verbal Irony and the Means of Marking It in the Journalistic Style of the Serbian and Croatian Languages.

    Virna Karlić, Goran Koletić

Der Mensch und die Stadt im Roman „Dilettant“ von Čavdar Mutafov

    Ilija Pačev

Nationale Symbole der Ungarn und deren Narrative

    Gabriella Schubert

Schriftkultur in Siebenbürgen im 16. Jahrhundert

    Anita Andrea Széll

Reviews

--------

Marc Halder: Der Titokult. Charismatische Herrschaft im sozialistischen Jugoslawien

    Rayk Einax

Hermann M. Ölberg: Untersuchungen zum indogermanischen Wortschatz des Albanischen und zur diachronen Phonologie aufgrund des Vokalsystems

    Joachim Matzinger

Stefan Michael Newerkla, Fedor B. Poljakov, Oliver Jens Schmitt (Hrsg.): Das politische Lied in Ost- und Südosteuropa

    Eckehard Pistrick

Konstantinos Christomanos: Η κερένια κούκλα

    Walter Puchner

Julia Egleder: Peace through Peace Media? The media activities of the international missions (KFOR and UNMIK) and their contribution to peacebuilding in Kosovo from 1999 till 2008

    Henrique Schneider

Hannes Grandits, Holm Sundhaußen (Hrsg.): Jugoslawien in den 1960er Jahren. Auf dem Weg zu einem (a)normalen Staat?

    Henrique Schneider

Bisera Dakova, Henrike Schmidt, Galin Tihanov, Ludger Udolph (Hrsg.): Die bulgarische Literatur der Moderne im europäischen Kontext. Zwischen Emanzipation und Selbststigmatisierung?     Stefan Simonek

Orbituaries

--------

In memoriam Prof. István Futaky

    Michael Knüppel

In memoriam Oda Buchholz

    Gerd-Dieter Nehring

Notice

The next planned issue 50 (2014) 1 is a special issue to the conference entitled “Mainstream and Dissident Scientific Networks Between The Balkans and Germany”. The contributions are the following:

Konstantinos Gardikas: German Connections of a Greek Criminologist and Liberal Politician in the Interwar Period

    Stratos Georgoulas Transferring Knowledge: Bulgarian Female Scientists in Bulgarian-German Scientific Networks (1920s–1950s)

    Georgeta Nazarska

“Cultures of Defeat”: Reflections on the Adoption of German Racial Anthropology and Racial Hygiene in Bulgaria (1878–1941)

    Christian Promitzer 

The Secrets of Titograd in 1989: On Entanglements and Fragile Networks between the Intellectuals of West Germany and Socialist Yugoslavia

    Nenad Stefanov 

Researching the Scientific Networks between Germany and Southeastern Europe. Multiplex Scholarly Paths through Opportunity and Choice

    Sevasti Trubeta Modernizing Through Medicine: Knowledge Transfer, State-Building, and the Role of Athens University during the 19^th Century
    Maria Zarifi

New Books / Books for review

Bopp-Filimonov, Valeska: Erinnerungen an die „Nicht-Zeit“. Das sozialistische Rumänien im biographisch-zeitgeschichtlichen Gedächtnis(1989–2007). Balkanologische Veröffentlichungen 61. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014.

Brunnbauer, Ulf; Grandits, Hannes (eds.): The Ambigous Nation. Case Studies from Southeastern Europe in the 20th Century. München: Oldenbourg 2013.

Corpus Draculianum – Dokumente und Chroniken zum walachischen Fürsten Vlad der Pfähler, Band 3: Die Überlieferung aus dem Osmanischen Reich Postbyzantinische und osmanische Autoren. Herausgegeben von Bohn, Thomas M.; Gheorghe, Adrian; Weber, Albert. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014.

Demiraj, Bardhyl (Hg.): Aktuelle Fragestellungen und Zukunftsperspektiven der Albanologie. Akten der 4. Deutsch-Albanischen kulturwissenschaftlichen Tagung „50 Jahre Albanologie an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München“ (23.–25. Juni 2011, Gut Schönwag bei Wessobrunn). (= Albanische Forschungen Band 32). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014.

Destani, Bejtullah D.; Elsie, Robert: The Balkan Wars. London: Tauris 2014.

Dimitrova, Tanya; Kahl, Thede (eds.): Migration from and towards Bulgaria 1989–2011. Berlin: Frank & Timme 2013.

Fata, Márta (Hg.): Migration im Gedächtnis. Auswanderung und Ansiedlung im 18. Jahrhundert in der Identitätsbildung der Donauschwaben. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner 2013.

Glass, Hildrun: Deutschland und die Verfolgung der Juden im rumänischen Machtbereich 1940-1944. München: Oldenbourg 2014.

Heinen, Armin; Schmitt, Oliver Jens (Hrsg.): Inszenierte Gegenmacht von rechts. Die "Legion Erzengel Michael" in Rumänien 1918-1938. München: Oldenbourg 2013.

Kristo, Ema: Politische Schlagwörter im postkommunistischen Albanien (1990-2001). Albanische Forschungen 36. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014.

Leustean, Lucian N.: Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought (Fup). Fordham University Press 2014.

Myuhtar-May, Fatme: Identity, Nationalism, and Cultural Heritage under Siege. Five Narratives of Pomak Heritage – From Forced Renaming to Weddings. Leiden: Brill 2014.

Petrović, Tanja: Mirroring Europe: Ideas of Europe and Europeanization in Balkan Societies. Leiden: Brill 2014.

Petrovszky, Konrad: Geschichte schreiben im osmanischen Südosteuropa. Eine Kulturgeschichte orthodoxer Historiographie des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts. Balkanologische Veröffentlichungen 60. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014.

Richter, Heinz A.: Der Krieg im Südosten: Band 1: Gallipoli 1915. Peleus 65,1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014.

Schumacher, Stefan; Matzinger, Joachim: Die Verben des Altalbanischen. Belegwörterbuch, Vorgeschichte und Etymologie. Unter Mitarbeit von Anna-Maria Adaktylos. Albanische Forschungen 33. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014.

Sundhaußen, Holm: Sarajevo. Die Geschichte einer Stadt. Wien, Köln, Weimar: Böhlau 2014.

Tanner, Markus: Albania's Mountain Queen: Edith Durham and the Balkans. London: Tauris 2014.

Tomic, Dorde et al. (Hrsg.): Mythos Partizan. (Dis-)Kontinuitäten der jugoslawischen Linken. Geschichte, Erinnerungen und Perspektiven. Münster: Unrast 2014.

Traveler, Scholar, Political Adventurer: a Transylvanian Baron at the Birth of Albanian Independence. The Memoirs of Franz Nopcsa. Edited and translated from the German by Robert Elsie. Budapest: CEU Press 2014.

Trubeta, Sevasti: Physical Anthropology, Race and Eugenics in Greece (1880s–1970s). BRILL Academic Publishers (Balkan Studies Library, 11): Leiden, Boston 2013.

van Meurs, Wim; Müller, Dietmar (Hrsg.): Institutionen und Kultur in Südosteuropa. München, Berlin: Otto Sagner 2014.

Voß, Christian; Dahmen, Wolfgang (Hrsg.): Babel Balkan? Politische und soziokulturelle Kontexte von Spache in Südosteuropa. München, Berlin: Otto Sagner 2014.

LinksVirtual Library Ivan Shishmanov
http://bglit.org/page/bg/nachalo.php

CFP: The more they change... Change in the EU and its impact on neighbouring countries, 9-11 October 2014; University Ankara, Turkey

https://europeanizationofturkey.wordpress.com/category/conferences-workshops/

AISEE CONGRES 2015 - 1ere lettre circulaire / 1st circular lettre

Chers Collègues,

Veuillez trouver ci-jointe la première lettre circulaire concernant le 11e Congrès international d’études du Sud-Est européen qui se tiendra les 31 août – 4 septembre 2015 à Sofia, en Bulgarie.
Je vous souhaite une bonne fin de semaine et je vous prie d'agréer, Chers Collègues, mes salutations les meilleures.
Ana-Maria Clopovschi

**********************************

Dear Colleagues,

Please find herewith the 1st circular lettre concerning the 11th International Congress of SouthEast European Studies that will take place in 2015 between August, 31 and September, 4 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Wishing you all a great weekend, I send you my warmest regards.
Ana-Maria Clopovschi



Association Internationale d'Etudes du Sud-Est Européen - A I E S E E
Ana-Maria Clopovschi
Rédactrice de la Revue de l'AIESEE
AIESEE - Le Secrétariat Général
17, rue Daniel Constantin (mansarde)
010631 Bucarest 22
ROUMANIE
Portable : 0721258249
office@aiesee.org
ana-maria@aiesee.org
http://www.aiesee.org

Literary Pax Sovietica, University of Sheffield, UK May 16-18, 2014

Literary Pax Sovietica

Late Stalinism in Eastern Literatures

International Conference

University of Sheffield, UK

May 16-18, 2014

The relationship between Literature and ideology in the communist Eastern Bloc after WWII represents a very important field of research that can contribute significantly to a wider understanding of the foundations of the new political and social order in post-World War II Eastern Europe. Although there have been comparative studies of the Cold War period by scholars, historians and literary critics, studies that were encouraged by the changes that occurred in the 1990s,  we are still lacking in in-depth comparative study related to the process of the institutionalization of literature and socialist realism in Eastern European countries. Therefore, 23 years after the collapse of the communist regimes in Europe there are still many issues concerning the relationship between literature and politics, between literature and state ideology issues which need to be deeply investigated by scholars whose academic interest is the East and South-East European Studies.

The establishment of the communist regime and the establishment of the method of Socialist Realism during the first post-War decade in the Eastern Bloc were the main focus of Literary Pax Sovietica: Late Stalinism and East European Literatures, an international conference organized by the Department of Slavonic Studies at the University of Sheffield on May 16-18, 2014. This conference brought together scholars from Europe and the USA whose field of expertise is literature and history of Eastern Europe and the national cultures of these countries during the communist regime.

Professors Evgeny Dobrenko and Natalia Skradol were the organizers of this noteworthy and insightful academic event. This conference was successful not only in accomplishing its goals but also in presenting an example of how can we tackle issues related to literature and communism in Eastern Europe in the present ever-changing context.

The introduction to the conference in day 1 was delivered by Neil Bermel and Evgeny Dobrenko from the University of Sheffield. The conference was organized in six panels. The first panel focused on the concept and application of soft power, brutal force and the significance of words. Scholars from the University of Texas, Arlington - Dr. Patryk Babiracki, from the University of Sheffield - Dr. Natalia Skradol, from the University of Zagreb - Ivana Peruško and from the New University of Bulgaria – Plamen  Doinov respectively gave the following presentations: “Soft power and Eastern Europe 1945-1956; “Socialist realism in the Soviet zone: concept and practice”; “Croatian ‘No’ to socialist realism: From Miroslav Krleža's ‘Dialectical Antibarbarus’ to ‘On Cultural Freedom’”; “Writers’ self-criticism: The Soviet model and the Bulgarian experience, 1946–1962”.

The second panel focussed on World Literature in the Eastern Bloc. Professor Katerina Clark (Yale University, USA) presented on ‘World Literature’: Standard Bearer of Soviet Culture in the 1930s and Casualty in the 1940s and cosmopolitanism. Vladislav Zubok from London School of Economics, UK presented on VOKS - Topic TBC. Rossen Djagalov from Koç University in Turkey presented a paper whose focus was Literary Polpredy and the Constitution of ‘The Literature of People’s Democracies’. This session closed with Tatiana Volokitina, from the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Russia, who offered in her presentation the results of the research that she had conducted in the Russian archives about Writers and Political Regimes in Eastern Europe.

The first day of the conference ended with the keynote speaker Galin Tihanov from Queen Mary University of London in UK who presented “The Post-Romantic Syndrome: Intellectual Adventures in Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe, 1917-1989”.

The third panel of the conference took place during day 2 and its main topic was: The Three C’s: Criticism, Censorship and Celebrations. This panel offered a wide perspective on the literatures in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and East Germany. Pavel Janáćek (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Czech Literature, The Czech Republic) presented the paper: “From Literature Censored by Poets to Literature Censored by the Party: Evolution of the Stalinist Censorial System within the Czech Literary Culture of 1945-1955”. Tomáš Glanc (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany) spoke on “Two Kinds of Czechoslovakian Mayakovsky. Death Celebration, 1950”.

Imre József Balázs from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania presented a paper on the Impact of the Mihai Eminescu school of literature and literary criticism on the literatures of Romania, 1950-1955.

            The last speaker of the session was Tamás Scheibner from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary who presented the paper: “Competing Sovietisations: Book publishing and censorship in post-WWII Hungary”.

The topic of the fourth panel was: “Formative Divisions”.

The first speaker in this session was Benjamin Robinson (Indiana University, USA) whose paper was “Representing Opportunity: Between Behaviour and Leadership in the Early GDR”.

            Following this presentation and elaborating further on East Germany’s context were two papers: the one presented by Helen Fehervary (Ohio State University, USA), “Competing Visions: East German Writers and Intellectuals' Efforts to Create a Socialist Culture under Soviet/GDR Governance and in the Cold War Context of a Divided Nation” and the paper presented by Anne Hartmann from Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany: “The Cultural Renewal in Eastern Germany: Mission Impossible for Soviet Cultural Officers and German Antifascists?”

The last speaker of the session was Carl Tighe from the University of Derby, UK who presented the paper: “Number Crunching the Engineers of Human Souls: Polish Writers in Figures.”

The fifth panel which concluded the second day of the conference focused on another important issue of the Literatures in the Eastern Bloc: Establishing the Literary Establishment. The scholars presenting in this panel where Bavjola Shatro (Aleksandër Moisiu University, Albania) who presented on Albanian Literature during the Establishment of the Communist Regime: State, Ideology, Literary Tradition and the New Literature.

            Melinda Kalmár – independent Researcher from Hungary – presented the paper: “Literature and Politics in Hungary, 1945-1956.”

            Zoran Milutinović (University College London, UK) presented a paper which focused on Socialist Realism in Yugoslavia, 1944-1952. This panel was concluded by Katarzyna Śliwińska’s paper (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland): “The Institutionalization of a Doctrine: Socialist Realism in Poland.”

The sixth panel of the conference, which was also the last session, took place during the third day of the conference and focussed on the topic Canons after cannons. The contributions of the scholars who presented in this session are the following:

            Alexander Kiossev from Sofia University, Bulgaria, whose paper focused on Stalinism and the Canon, The Bulgarian Case;

            Andrada Fătu-Tutoveanu from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, presented the paper: “Controlling Culture, Redesigning the Canon: The Post-War ‘Colonisation’ of the Romanian Literature”.

            Wojciech Tomasik (Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland) who spoke on Socialist Literatures in the Polish Canon, 1945-1955; and Nenad Ivić (University of Zagreb, Croatia) whose paper was entitled: “Will Freedom Sing as Beautifully as Captives Sang about It?”: Reshaping the Croatian Canon, 1945-1955.

After the final session of the conference an iconic movie of the Socialist realist cinema - a blockbuster of the communist propaganda at the time: Conspiracy of Doomed (1950) by Mikhail Kalatozov was screened. The film was preceded by an introduction delivered by professor Evgeny Dobrenko and was followed by discussion and conclusions.

Besides the academic opportunities, the Literary Pax Sovietica conference also enabled the participants to socialize during the meals and the activities that took place during the conference. The participants were also able to visit the remarkable city of Sheffield and the beautiful premises of the University of Sheffield, a university which is well-known for his outstanding academic performance and also for its impressive architecture and history.

This invitation-only conference offered the participants an exceptional opportunity to hear the valuable contributions of scholars from several former communist countries in Europe and from the USA and to participate in very fruitful discussions. It also outlined a feasible and useful path for future discussion in a field of studies, which is open to further investigation and research and whose implications are constantly present in European academy and society.
Bavjola Shatro