aaus-list @ ukrainianstudies.org -- [aaus-list] International Conference on Ukraine and Belarus (fwd)

[M T Znayenko <znayenko@andromeda.rutgers.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2005 20:18:50 +0100
From: Hanna Murauskaya <Hanna.Murauskaya@ens.fr>
To: znayenko@andromeda.rutgers.edu, alois.woldan@uni-passau.de,
     babotova@unipo.sk, goebner@mail.uni-greifswald.de, hkoschar@vc.mq.edu.au,
     jaroslava@takas.lt, jeremy@vms.huji.ac.il, mtz2@columbia.edu,
     nakai@waka.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp, r.senkus@utoronto.ca, ter@slav.uni-sofia.bg
Subject: International Conference on Ukraine and Belarus

CALL FOR PAPERS:
Conference

« Ukraine and Belarus – what neighbors for the European Union? »
March 24-25, 2006, École normale supérieure, Paris
  <http://www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr/> www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr


This conference will bring specialists, scholars, researchers and all those interested in Ukraine and Belarus together around a topical theme. We will examine the new proximity of these two countries to the European Union from multiple points of view, inviting representatives of such various disciplines as history, linguistics, history of art, literature, social and political sciences, etc. Our goal will be to understand better the implications of the fact that these countries now border the European Union and to reveal issues pertinent to the study of these two countries. No one questions the fact that Ukraine and Belarus belong to Europe, but what is particular about this region? How does history align these countries with or distinguish them from other European countries? How do their cultural traditions, borrowing from similar sources, stand sometimes for different values? How does Russia continue to exercise a considerable influence on their political and cultural development? What are these identities that Ukraine and Belarus seek, undertake to support and even to construct in the context of pro-Russian and pro-European interests that divide today as never before their inhabitants?

Presentation of papers, lectures and discussions will take place over two days. We invite all researchers, scholars, specialists and graduate students interested in the subject to participate. E-mail us your CV, a brief description of your research project, and a summary of your presentation by December 15, 2005.
If you would like to participate in discussions without delivering a paper, you should register to attend the conference by e-mail. Preliminary registration is required and free.

The languages of the conference are primarily French and English, or Russian if necessary.

To receive additional information and to apply, contact us at the following e-mail address:  <mailto:Hanna.murauskaya@ens.fr> Hanna.Murauskaya@ens.fr



Конференція

« Україна та Білорусь – які сусіди Европейському Союзу? »
24-25 березня 2006, Вищя нормальна школа (École normale supérieure), Париж
  <http://www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr/> www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr


Довкола цієї актуальної теми на конференцію зберуться науковці, спеціалісти, пошуковці, яких цікавить питання України та Білорусі. Сусідство цих двох країн з Европейським союзом розглядатимуть з різних сторін представники таких дисциплін як історія, лінгвістика, мистецтвознавство, література, соціологія та політологія. Наше завдання поглибити розуміння суті такого сусідства, а також висвітлити деякі питання властиві дослідженню цих двох країн. Ніхто не заперечуватиме, що Україна та Білорусь  належать до Европи, проте що складає особливості цього культурного регіону?  Яким чином історія впливає на зближення чи віддалення цих країн від решти европейських країн? Як культурні традиції, черпаючи з тих же джерел, часом відображають цілком інші цінності? Чому Росія постійно має змогу серйозно впливати на політичний та культурний розвиток цих країн? Чим врешті решт є ураїнська чи білоруська ідентичність, яким чином її формують чи зміцнюють в умовах про-російських та про-европейських інтересів, котрі нині як ніколи розділяють мешканців України та Білорусі?

Презентації доповідей, лекції та дебати проходитимуть протягом двох днів. Запрошуємо всіх науковців, спеціалістів, пошуковців, аспірантів, котрі зацікавлені цією темою, взяти участь. Для цього Вам слід надіслати електронною адресою своє резюме, короткий опис пошукової роботи та реферат вашої доповіді до 15 грудня 2005 року.

Якщо б Ви хотіли взяти участь в дебатах, а не виступати з доповіддю, Вам слід зареєструватися, надіславши нам електронного листа. Попередня реєстрація необхідна і безкоштовна.

Конференція проводитиметься передусім французькою та англійською, а також російською мовами.

За додатковою інформацією, а також задля реєстрації звертайтесь до нас за адресою:  <mailto:Hanna.murauskaya@ens.fr> Hanna.Murauskaya@ens.fr





CULTURAL WEEK OF UKRAINE AND BELARUS IN FRANCE
March 20-25, 2006, École normale supérieure, Paris
  <http://www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr/> www.belarus-ukraine.ens.fr

Ukraine and Belarus, two countries linked by a common history, have often been relegated to a marginal or peripheral position in the world’s consciousness. Their very status, however, as peripheral territories, spaces of not simply conflict but also of exchange, has guaranteed the astonishing richness of this original region.  Caught between Russia and Poland’s territorial disputes, their lands have been the object and the place of long-term political maneuverings with even longer-term effects.  In this region between two worlds, Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox, a fresh loam formed in which blossomed complex cultures. They were always fed by both desired and imposed elements come from near and far. Under the tutelage of one power or the other, this region has seen born a veritable palette of identities, whose languages and dialects themselves have only very recently emerged as distinct entities from a fluid continuum previously resistant to analysis.  Given that peripheries are also borders and in times of war, front lines, Europe’s most devastating tragedies have hit Belarus and Ukraine with equal harshness forcing comparably colossal losses on both.

Complex historical periodizations and reperiodizations, multitudinous political and cultural affiliations, rich and varied influences in the domains of art, culture and religion all render difficult any attempt at global comprehension of this region.  The first objective of this week is, thus, to gather together specialists from different disciplines and different countries, with the hope that the confluence of viewpoints will help identify issues specific to Ukraine and Belarus.  With its ambitious scope, international character and choice of a broad historical and cultural approach not limited to current political questions, this week will constitute an entirely new and original event.

Difficult research conditions in Belarus and in Ukraine often deprive their researchers and academicians of the possibility to present their work abroad and compare their ideas with those of their western colleagues.  Thus, the second objective of this week: fifteen years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, it is time that fruitful academic exchanges be established with both Ukraine and Belarus.  The colloquium will act as a forum for brilliant but unknown researchers who do not currently benefit from the international support that they deserve.  In order to present not only the state of research with regard to Ukraine and Belarus but also the evolution and current state of their cultures, the week will welcome researchers and also important people in the worlds of art, journalism and education.  The presence of current cultural trends next to an academic conference will offer not only useful indications on available research subjects and sources, but also original perspectives on potential research for the future.

The third objective of this week is to raise interest in the region of Belarus and Ukraine amongst western students and young researchers by exposing them to the remarkable richness of this little known world, which stands today at the threshold of the European Union.  The potentially unlimited diversity of historical and cultural subjects and problematics dealing with this region today only incites feeble interest within western universities. As often as not, the rare students who specialize in Ukrainian or Belarusian subjects are Ukrainian or Belarusian nationals motivated by nostalgia or obligated by their sense of identity.  The week of Belarus and Ukraine is not only meant for researchers, but will attempt to sensibilize the public at large to the problems of the region. It will be a memorable event offering, of course, an academic conference, but also a photo-exhibition, film showings and a cultural evening.

By assembling the best specialists worldwide as well as current figures from cultural life in this region, this week will attempt to take stock of current academic and cultural trends both within Ukraine and Belarus and Western academia.  Moreover, it aspires to become a veritable point of departure for the development of further studies and a broader general understanding of these two countries.