Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas 70409-2071
Prof. Collopy (language): [email protected]
Prof. Qualin (literature): [email protected]
Prof. Tracy (society, politics, or culture): [email protected]

The Russian Language and Area Studies Program at Texas Tech University announces a conference on "Society, Language, and Culture in Post-Communist Russia, the Other Former Republics of the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe."

The demise of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe has ushered in a mass of changes in nearly every aspect of the lives of the people in these nations. There have been changes not only in the political system, but also in the way the people of these nations lead their everyday lives and perceive their place in the world. The fall of communism has altered the way the people in former communist countries work, shop, rest, travel, etc. These changes in day-to-day life combined with the removal of state control over literature and the press have affected the way the people of these nations write and the way they read. Profound differences in language, style, and content can be found in the works of leading literary figures and in the pages of any newspaper. Similar changes have taken place in other spheres of art and life. How do the people of former communist countries deal with decades of a communist cultural legacy? Do they attempt to return to their pre-communist heritage, hoping to adapt these older cultural values to a modern world? How do these nations deal with the deluge of social , material and cultural imports from their long-time capitalist foes? How do they cope with the collision of traditional, communist and mass culture and to what degree are elements of each present in their culture today?

The conference will be held April 2-4, 1998 at Texas Tech University. Depending upon our resources we hope to downlink the conference to other sites around the nation. We also hope to publish a volume of selected papers from the conference.

Papers and panels from all disciplines and areas are welcome. The deadline for proposals is Jan. 15, 1998. Please address proposals on language to Erin Collopy, proposals on literature to Anthony Qualin, and proposals on society, politics, or culture to Lewis Tracy using the address or e-mails provided above.

The URL for this page is: http://www.friends-partners.org/~ccsi/announce/fsulang.htm
Last updated: September 2, 1997

Center for Civil Society International [email protected]