Join the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures and the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies for the second event in the 2021-22 Public Lecture Series.  

ABOUT THE EVENT
This presentation situates the indigenous literatures of Russia within broader critical discourses on indigenous cultural expression. With a focus on writers from Siberia and the Russian Far North whose careers span the Soviet and post-Soviet eras, including Iurii Rytkheu (Chukchi), Vladimir Sangi (Nivkh), Oktiabrina Voronova (Saami), Elena Keptuke (Evenki), Maria Vagatova (Khanty), and Yeremei Aipin (Khanty), the presentation examines the role of literature in shaping conceptions of indigeneity and practices of sovereignty in the midst of rapidly changing political and ideological circumstances. Additional attention is given to formal, stylistic, and thematic innovations of the texts themselves, particularly the ways authors write in, between, and across Russian and indigenous languages, while fusing together elements of oral and written traditions. In doing so, the presentation highlights the relevance of the Russian context to the study of indigenous literatures worldwide.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Naomi Caffee is an Assistant Professor of Russian and Humanities at Reed College. Her research focuses on Russophone and multilingual authors from Central Asia, the Caucasus, Siberia, and the Russian Far North, from the 19th century to the present. Together with the Tbilisi-based scholar Robert Denis, she also manages “Beyond Caricature,” a digital collection of early 20th century political caricature from the South Caucasus.