Volume 1, Number 1 September 1996
Welcome to inflections, a new periodical superseding Kolokol. The aim of this newsletter, metaphorically reflected in both title and logo, is to be as inclusive as possible in presenting the issues faced by and programs produced by our Duke-UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies. Our Center is concerned with a broad variety of ethnic groups (for whom nationhood is largely defined by language, hence a variety of linguistic inflections). These peoples are undergoing profound and unprecedented transitions (inflections in the more abstract sense of the word: 'modifications, changes') as they struggle to break free from traditional paradigms and reinvent their pasts. Indeed, the greatest challenge of the post-cold war era, in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, is nurturing the expression of ethnic identities without engendering chauvinistic nationalism and explosive conflict. Since the primary meaning of inflect is 'bend, turn inward', the title is further intended to symbolize the possibility of peaceable compromise and pursuit of national pride through the celebration of traditions and cultural treasures.
It is hoped that this newsletter will be inclusive in terms of both coverage and input. In order to succeed in this goal, we depend on the participation of our readership. We ask you all to contribute articles and inform us of both upcoming events and recent achievements. Four issues are planned for each academic year, in the first half of September, November, January, and March.
With the launching of this publication and the opening of the academic year, we are experiencing a number of new beginnings this fall. We have a new director at the UNC campus, Laura A. Janda of the Slavic Department, and we are also preparing our application for Title VI funding for 1997-2000. It is both a busy and an exciting time, as we map out the directions our Center will take over the next three-year cycle. Fortunately many of the initiatives begun in the past few years are also identified as priorities for Title VI, encouraging us to continue to reach beyond the traditional disciplinarian boundaries to forge new alliances with professional schools, public schools, business and media, and the community at large. The Duke campus is presenting a new course in legal and business Russian, UNC is planning a conference/concert series in East European music, and both campuses continue to develop programming in environmental sciences.
This is your Center and your newsletter. Please stop by and visit our offices at the Languages Building on the Duke campus and at 223 E. Franklin St. (across from the planetarium) at UNC. Mark your calendar for the upcoming events listed herein. And send us articles, news, and announcements.
Best wishes to you all.
On September 19, NCSU Campus Cinema will show the film "Vukovar," depicting the struggles of a married couple in former Yugoslavia, at the Witherspoon Student Center, Raleigh, at 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Admission $2. For more information, call 515-5146.
The Center will co-sponsor a Conference on Ethnic Relations in Romania and Bulgaria on Saturday, September 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Breedlove Room in Perkins Library at Duke, to discuss the ethnic conflict in these countries. For more information, contact the Duke Center at 660-3157.
The first 1996-1997 session of the Piedmont Slavic Colloquium, a colloquium sponsored by the Center and designed to provide an opportunity for faculty and graduate students in Slavic areas to share their current research with the University community and general public, has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 24, 1996 beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Conference Room at 223 E. Franklin St. on the UNC campus. There will be a break for dinner. Talks will be given by Christopher Putney of UNC, who will speak on "Nechistaia sila' and Other Devilish Pollution in the Literature of Medieval Rus'", and Denis Mickiewicz of Duke, who will speak on "Russian Modernism: Criteria and Import". Future Piedmont Colloquium dates are October 22 at Duke, December 3 at UNC, January 21, 1997 at Duke, February 25 at UNC and March 25 at Duke. Programs for future colloquia will be announced as details become available. For more information, please contact the Center.
The Center will be sponsoring a Forum on Russia after the Presidential Elections on Thursday, September 26 at 4:30 p.m. in Toy Lounge in Dey Hall at UNC. Speakers will include Joel Schwartz, Eric Mlyn, Donald Raleigh and Jonathan Weiler. Everyone is welcome to attend this roundtable discussion. For more information, please contact the Center.
Anthony Oberschall, professor of sociology, will present his video documentary "Privatization in Hungarian Agriculture" (in English, length: 28 min.) on October 3 at 4:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Center.
The Center will co-sponsor a Conference on World Religions: Remedies to Misconceptions and Stereotypes on October 11-12 at the University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill. Anticipated is a presentation by Roy Robson of Fayetteville State University on Russian Old Believers. The program will be distributed when it becomes available. For more information, view the conference program or contact Bogdan Leja.
UNC will host the 22nd annual Byzantine Studies Conference on October 24-27 at the Friday Center. The Conference is dedicated to the exploration of topics connected with Byzantine civilization and this year will include presentations by several scholars on early Slavic themes and their connections to Byzantium. For more information on the Conference, its agenda and registration, please contact Carolyn Connor, Classics Department, at 962-7191 or Jaroslav Folda or Dorothy Verkerk, Art Department, at 962-2015. This event is co-sponsored by the Center.
The Center is sponsoring a one-day workshop on "Internationalizing the Curriculum: Deepening Course Instruction in Language and Linguistics," tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 2, at Duke. Professor Catherine Chvany (MIT) will be speaking at the event. More information will be provided in the next issue of inflections or contact the Duke Center at 660-3157.
Simon Karlinsky, professor emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Berkeley, will be giving talks on Thursday and Friday, November 7 and 8 on the UNC Campus. On November 7 he will be speaking on "Nabokov and the Poets of Russian Modernism" beginning at 5:00 p.m. in Dey Hall Room 402. On November 8 his talk will be titled "Debates about Tchaikovsky's Life and Death" beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Toy Lounge in Dey Hall. For more information, contact Christopher Putney at 962-3977. This event is co-sponsored by the Center.
Congratulations to Christopher Putney, who completed his Ph.D. dissertation entitled "Diabolic Conditionality: Nikolaj Gogol's Aesthetics of Evil" and received his degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of California, Berkeley, in May 1996.
Paul Debreczeny, professor of Russian Literature in the Slavic Department at UNC gave a talk on "Social Functions of Literature: Alexander Pushkin and Russian Culture" in June before the Institute of Literary Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Science and Letters in Budapest. Professor Debreczeny gave the talk, which covered the subject of his forthcoming book, in Hungarian, for the first time in 40 years. Congratulations.
Micol Hutchison, a graduate teaching assistant in the Slavic Department at UNC, has recently won a University-wide competition for teaching assistants. She was one of 6 TAs chosen for her outstanding teaching skills to be a mentor to new TAs at the Center for Teaching and Learning. Congratulations.
The Center welcomes its new staff for 1996-1997. Sharon Kowalsky, a first year graduate student at UNC in Russian History has joined us as an assistant for the Center. Joining the Duke Center as an assistant is Kevin Cook, a graduate student in Russian Literature.
New acquisitions and research collections purchased in 1995-1996 by the UNC Library system with funds made available through the Center's Title VI Grant include Russian History and Culture and the B. I. Nikolaevskii Archive on microfilm, as well as many current publications in Russian, Czech, Polish, Bulgarian and other Slavic languages. The UNC Library system currently holds approximately 348,402 volumes in its Slavic collection (including microforms) and acquired 12,450 new volumes in 1995-1996. For more information on the UNC Library system's Slavic collection, please contact Nadia Zilper, Slavic and East European Resources bibliographer, in Davis Library (tel. 962-3740).
The summer 1996 Center for Co-operation with the Economies in Transition Newsletter, featuring an economic survey of Poland, is available free of charge by request to Transition Brief Newsletter, OECD/CCET, 2 rue Andre-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France, fax: (33-1) 45-24-18-43, e-mail: ccet.brief@oecd.org.
Fulbright Grant opportunities are available to graduate students for travel, study and research in East Central European countries and the Baltic States for 1997-98. Knowledge of the appropriate local language is required. The UNC Campus deadline for applications is October 2. For more information and applications, contact the Fulbright Program Advisor, Anne Scaff, 207 Caldwell Hall (tel. 962-5442).
Junior and Senior Level undergraduates at UNC who attended high school in North Carolina are invited to apply for the Francis L. Phillips Travel Scholarships. These scholarships provide a grant of $5000 for 2-6 months of independent travel. The deadline for applications for travel in 1997 is October 15. Interested students should contact the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, 205 Vance Hall.
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is offering a variety of fellowships and grants for East European Studies, including postdoctoral research, dissertation, travel and language training grants. Deadlines are November 1, 1996 and January 31, 1997. Information and applications are available from ACLS, Office of Fellowships and Grants, 228 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017-3398 (fax: 212-949-8058; e-mail: grants@acls.org).
The Calgary Institute for the Humanities is offering visiting postdoctoral fellowship stipends of $25,000 Canadian for 1997 to support research in traditional humanities fields. Applications are due by November 8. Interested persons should already hold or expect to hold a Ph.D. before the start of the fellowship period and should request applications from the Director, The Calgary Institute for the Humanities, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4 (tel. 403-220-7238; fax 403-282-7822).
Spend the New Year in St. Petersburg. The Center at Duke is organizing an 11-day sight-seeing trip to Russia from December 27 to January 6. Itinerary includes a city tour, visits to historical sights and museums and a performance of the Kirov Ballet. The cost is $1245, which includes airfare, hotel, meals and excursions. For more information, please contact Edna Andrews at 660-3157.
Students interested in working for the government should take the Foreign Service Exam. The exam is given in November. Those interested should contact Career Services at their respective campuses.
Coming up . . . the next edition of inflections will feature the impressions of a summer language-study trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. Written by Alison Rowley, History graduate student at Duke, these observations provide an insight into the changes, conflicts and confusions of life in Russia now as seen from the perspective of a student abroad.
Any contributions and announcements that you would like included in inflections should be sent to the Center. The deadline for the next issue is October 21. For more information on any of the above events or opportunities, please feel free to contact the Center on either campus or stop by and browse through our bulletin board postings. We can be reached as follows:
UNC at Chapel Hill Center tel.: (919) 962-0901 223 E. Franklin St. CB#5125 fax: (919) 962-2494 UNC Chapel Hill, NC 27599-5125 e-mail: slavic@email.unc.edu
Duke University Center tel.: (919) 660-3142 302 Languages, Box 90260 fax: (919) 660-3141 Durham, NC 27708-0260
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Institutions. This publication was produced without the use of State Funds.
inflections is a quarterly publication of the Joint Duke-UNC Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European studies. Editor: Laura A. Janda; Associate Editor: Nicolae Harsanyi; Managing Editor: Sharon Kowalsky.