Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Calendar of Events
April 1-15, 2013
Tuesday, April 2
Cold War Studies Seminar
"The USSR, the USA, and the Outbreak of the Cold War"
Michael Dobbs, Author and Former Moscow Bureau Chief, The Washington Post
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
12:15-2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 2
Special Event
2013 REECA Thesis Colloquium
The REECA M.A. thesis colloquium presents the results of the thesis research done by second year students in the Russian, East European, and Central Asian Regional Studies Program. A diverse range of topics will be covered in a series of 20 minute presentations.
Erin Hutchinson, Education and Empire: Examining Nostalgia for the Soviet Union in Gagauzia
Alexander Tedeschi, Nation-building in contemporary Russia: the implications and challenges of integrating religious education into public schools
Molly Perkins, A Vote for Putin: Youth, Elections, and Protest in Voronezh, Russia
Tanvir Hussain, Implementation of Mental Health Law in Kyrgyzstan: A Policy Recommendation for Mental Healthcare Reform through Integration of Folk and Medical Traditions
Sierra Perez-Sparks, Focus on the Farmer: Lending strategies to promote sustainable development of key agricultural sectors in Uzbekistan
Anastasiya Prymovych, Ukraine's Accession to the European Energy Community: Pre-2008 Power Networks to Return, Naftogaz to Default, Dependence on Russia to Evolve
Edward Charlton-Jones, The Sultan of Jazz and the Carpenter: White Russian Émigrés in Constantinople
CGIS Knafel Building, 1737 Cambridge Street, Room K262
2:00-6:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 4
Literature and Culture Seminar
"Gogol as a Reader (and a Gardener), 1842-1852"
Bella Grigoryan, Assistant Professor, Yale University
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
4:15-6:00 p.m.
Friday, April 5
Gender, Socialism and Postsocialism Working Group
Co-Sponsored by the Gender, Politics and Society Working Group, Center for European Studies
"From Kursk Nightingale to Stalin's Singing Spy: Gender and the Performative Life of Nadezhda Plevitskaia"
Pamela Jordan, Independent Scholar
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S153
2:00-4:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 6
Special Event
Human Rights in the USSR & Putin's Russia: Elena Bonner Memorial Symposium
"Human Rights in the USSR and Putin's Russia: A Symposium in Memory of Elena Bonner"
Please join us for a symposium in memory of human rights activist Elena Bonner (1923-2011). Focusing on human rights issues in both the Soviet Union and Putin's Russia, the symposium will feature two panels discussing the role and experiences of Soviet human rights activists, as well as the modern-day legacy of Bonner and her husband, the renowned dissident and physicist Andrei Sakharov. The event will conclude with a commemorative presentation by Bonner's daughter, Tatiana Yankelevich.
Register at elenabonnersymposium.eventbrite.com.
Lessin Lecture Hall (room G115) in Maxwell Dworkin, Harvard University campus
33 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
1:00-5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 9
Cold War Studies Seminar
"Constraining Allies: The United States, the Soviet Union, and Nuclear Nonproliferation during the Cold War"
Eugene Kogan, Research Fellow, Brandeis University
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
12:15-2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 10
Humanities Center Seminar on Jewish Cultures and Societies
Co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University, the Jews in Modern Europe Workshop, and the Literature and Culture Seminar
"Transfer of Goods - Transfer of Knowledge: The Tobacco Monopoly and the Rise of the Modern Jewish Intellectual in the Hapsburg Monarchy"
Louise Hecht, Senior Lecturer in Jewish History, Palacký University, Olomouc; Fulbright Research Fellow, University of Pennsylvania
Mahindra Center for the Humanities, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Mahindra Center Room, Room 133
4:00 p.m.
Friday, April 12
Undergraduate Colloquium on Russian and Eurasian Studies
Opening Remarks | 1:45-2:00 p.m.
Terry Martin, George F. Baker III Professor of Russian Studies, Harvard University; Director, Davis Center
Panel I | 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Angela Lee, Made in the Kremlin: Nashi and the Artificial Pro-Regime Youth Movement, 2005-2012
Nicole Carter, Chechen-Russian Relations in Moscow
Maria Smerkovich, Treading Water in the Ibar: The Paradox of State-Building under Kosovo's Status Neutral
Emily Keamy-Minor, Civil Society and the Politics of HIV Prevention in Russia
Chair: Timothy J. Colton, Morris and Anna Feldberg Professor of Government and Russian Studies, and Chair of the Government Department, Harvard University; Faculty Associate, Davis Center
Panel II | 3:15-4:15 p.m.
Alexander Herbert, Reinterpreting Byzantine/Russian Relations and the Medieval Russ
Aparajita Tripathi, Uncovering a Socratic Phenomenology of Dissent: Jan Patočka on Moral Responsibility
Samantha Barchard, Russia in Space
Chair: Jonathan Bolton, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University; Faculty Associate, Davis Center
Panel III | 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Michael Goncalves, Dialectal Variation in Adyghe: A Language Contact Analysis
James Salamon, Alexander Scriabin: The Sound of Russia
Jesse Nee-Vogelman, Dimitry Krymov and Kama Ginkas: Adaptation in Contemporary Moscow Theater
Christine Herrmann, Witches, Healers, and Shamans - Figures in Russian and Siberian Folklore
Chair: Thomas Dolack, Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian, Wheaton College
1730 Cambridge Street, Room S020 (Belfer Case Study Room) and Concourse
1:45-5:30 p.m.
Friday, April 12
Student Photography Exhibition Opening
"Traversing Eurasia"
Photographs by Harvard, Wellesley, and Wheaton students
1730 Cambridge Street, Concourse
5:30-6:30 p.m.
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Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
Please note the following addition to the seminar calendar:
Wednesday, March 27
Comparative Economics Seminar
"1989 Reconsidered: Internal Government Assessments of Private Preferences in Communist Regimes"
Martin Dimitrov, Associate Professor of Political Science, Tulane University; Associate, Davis Center
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
12:15-2:00 p.m.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
Please join us for the following special event:
Wednesday, March 27
Celebrate Nowruz!
Co-sponsored by the Center for Middle East Studies and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program
Join us in celebrating the opening days of Spring with music, poetry, sweets, conversation and the traditional haft seen table.
Thompson Room, Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
5:30-7:00 p.m.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
On Saturday, April 6, from 1-5:30pm, please join us for a memorial symposium for human rights activist Elena Bonner, to be held on the campus of Harvard University. Registration and more details can be found on the event’s webpage: elenabonnersymposium.eventbrite.com.
[Title: Human Rights in the USSR and Putin's Russia: A Memorial Symposium for Elena Bonner - Description: Saturday, April 6, 2013, 1-5:30 pm Lessin Lecture Hall, Maxwell Dworkin Harvard University 33 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA Focusing on human rights issues in both the Soviet Union and Putin’s Russia, this symposium will feature two panels on the role and experiences of Soviet human rights activists, as well as the modern-day legacy of Elena Bonner (1923–2011) and her husband, the renowned dissident and physicist Andrei Sakharov. The event will conclude with a commemorative presentation by Bonner’s daughter, Tatiana Yankelevich. Free and open to the public. Please register at elenabonnersymposium.eventbrite.com]
Sponsored by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
The ConIH Committee invites you to the Thirteenth Annual Graduate Student Conference on International History to take place at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies on March 14 and 15, 2013. Please see the attached program for details.
Law is often at the heart of international historical inquiry-whether as a subject of study in its own right, a structure providing context for historical analysis, or a source base for amplifying otherwise-unheard voices. This year, ConIH aims to promote a dialogue among historians who use legal sources and ideas in their work. We hope to interrogate the role of law in international, global, and transnational history, and to think critically about law as a concept and a tool in historical analysis.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures,
and the Language Universals and Linguistic Diversity Colloquium of the Department of Linguistics at Harvard University present a
Workshop in Russian Language and Linguistics
All students, teachers, and linguists welcome!
Light snacks and a grand prize provided!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
3:00-5:00
Barker 133
Featuring talks by:
Tore Nesset
University of Tromsø
"In which case are Russians afraid?"
Laura A. Janda
University of Tromsø
“Finding Meaning in Russian prefixes”
If you have any questions, please contact Steven Clancy <sclancy(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:sclancy@fas.harvard.edu>> for more information.
_______________________________________________
Abstracts:
“In which case are Russians afraid?”
Tore Nesset, University of Tromsø
A general rule in Contemporary Standard Russian is that verbs containing the reflexive postfix –sja do not combine with objects in the accusative. For instance, dobit’sja ’achieve’ takes an object in the genitive and zanimat’sja ’engage in’ governs the instrumental case. However, there are some exceptions to the rule. A case in point is bojat’sja ’to be afraid of’, which is attested with accusative objects in modern Russian. How frequent is the accusative with bojat’sja? Which factors motivate the use of the accusative? This talk addresses these questions on the basis of data from the Russian National Corpus.
“Finding Meaning in Russian prefixes”
Laura A. Janda, University of Tromsø
It is commonly assumed that the prefixes in Russian verbs like написать/na-pisat’ ‘write’ and сварить/s-varit’ ‘cook’ are semantically empty because the corresponding imperfective verbs писать/pisat’ ‘write’ and варить/varit’ ‘cook’ have the same meanings. There are nearly 2000 prefixed verbs like these, formed by combining approximately 1400 imperfectives with 16 prefixes. Textbooks simply require learners to memorize these combinations and linguists have not previously provided any comprehensive analysis.
We set forward a new hypothesis, namely that the Russian verbal prefixes function as verb classifiers. The purpose of the prefixes is to convert amorphous states and activities into discrete events and to group verbs according to the types of events they express. In other words, Russian prefixes are in effect a verb classifier system similar to those proposed for Mandarin Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, and a number of Australian languages.
Our hypothesis is tested on the basis of quantitative research on corpus data and statistical models (chi-square, logistic regression, etc.). Our webpage http://emptyprefixes.uit.no/book.htm houses links to our database and statistical models.
The description of Russian prefixes as a verb classifier system has pedagogical value since we can redesign our curricula to teach students the system according to its meaningful groupings rather than requiring rote memorization.
In short, the proposal to recognize Russian prefixes as verb classifiers supports the community of people interested in Russian grammar to be better linguists, better instructors, and better learners.
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
Calendar of Events
March 16-31, 2013
Wednesday, March 27
Central Asia and Caucasus Seminar
"The Coming Invasion: How Azerbaijani Politics play out in Social Media"
Katy Pearce, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Washington
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
4:15-6:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 28
Comparative Politics Seminar
"Putin's Presidency in a New Political Context"
Andranik Migranyan, Director, Institute for Democracy and Cooperation
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
12:15-2:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 28
Literature and Culture Seminar
"DAS GANGSTA KAPITAL: Post-Soviet Art and World Revolution"
Matthew Jesse Jackson, Associate Professor, Art History Department, University of Chicago; author, The Experimental Group: Ilya Kabakov, Moscow Conceptualism, Soviet Avant-gardes (2010, http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo8334051.html)
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
4:15-6:00 p.m.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
Please note that the following seminar has been postponed until further notice:
Friday, March 8
Gender, Socialism and Postsocialism Working Group
Co-Sponsored by the Gender, Politics and Society Working Group, Center for European Studies
"How Much Land Does a Woman Need? Women, Property Rights and Privatization (1900-2012)"
Esther Kingston-Mann, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts Boston; Associate, Davis Center
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S153
2:00-4:00 p.m.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, The Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures,
and the Department of Linguistics at Harvard University present a
Workshop in Russian Language and Linguistics
All students, teachers, and linguists welcome!
Light snacks and a grand prize provided!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
3:00-5:00
Barker 133
Featuring talks by:
Tore Nesset
University of Tromsø
"In which case are Russians afraid?"
Laura A. Janda
University of Tromsø
“Finding Meaning in Russian prefixes”
If you have any questions, please contact Steven Clancy <sclancy(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:sclancy@fas.harvard.edu>> for more information.
_______________________________________________
Abstracts:
“In which case are Russians afraid?”
Tore Nesset, University of Tromsø
A general rule in Contemporary Standard Russian is that verbs containing the reflexive postfix –sja do not combine with objects in the accusative. For instance, dobit’sja ’achieve’ takes an object in the genitive and zanimat’sja ’engage in’ governs the instrumental case. However, there are some exceptions to the rule. A case in point is bojat’sja ’to be afraid of’, which is attested with accusative objects in modern Russian. How frequent is the accusative with bojat’sja? Which factors motivate the use of the accusative? This talk addresses these questions on the basis of data from the Russian National Corpus.
“Finding Meaning in Russian prefixes”
Laura A. Janda, University of Tromsø
It is commonly assumed that the prefixes in Russian verbs like написать/na-pisat’ ‘write’ and сварить/s-varit’ ‘cook’ are semantically empty because the corresponding imperfective verbs писать/pisat’ ‘write’ and варить/varit’ ‘cook’ have the same meanings. There are nearly 2000 prefixed verbs like these, formed by combining approximately 1400 imperfectives with 16 prefixes. Textbooks simply require learners to memorize these combinations and linguists have not previously provided any comprehensive analysis.
We set forward a new hypothesis, namely that the Russian verbal prefixes function as verb classifiers. The purpose of the prefixes is to convert amorphous states and activities into discrete events and to group verbs according to the types of events they express. In other words, Russian prefixes are in effect a verb classifier system similar to those proposed for Mandarin Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, and a number of Australian languages.
Our hypothesis is tested on the basis of quantitative research on corpus data and statistical models (chi-square, logistic regression, etc.). Our webpage http://emptyprefixes.uit.no/book.htm houses links to our database and statistical models.
The description of Russian prefixes as a verb classifier system has pedagogical value since we can redesign our curricula to teach students the system according to its meaningful groupings rather than requiring rote memorization.
In short, the proposal to recognize Russian prefixes as verb classifiers supports the community of people interested in Russian grammar to be better linguists, better instructors, and better learners.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>
Please note the following seminar reminders for this week:
Tuesday, March 5
Cold War Studies Seminar
"Stalin's Death and Its Repercussions: A 60 Year Retrospective"
Ivan Kurilla, Professor of History, Volgograd State University; Visiting Scholar, George Washington University
Joshua Rubenstein, Senior Adviser, Amnesty International USA; Associate, Davis Center
Nina Tumarkin, Professor of History, Wellesley College; Associate, Davis Center
Chair: Mark Kramer, Program Director, Project on Cold War Studies, Davis Center
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S354
4:15-6:00 p.m.
Friday, March 8
Gender, Socialism and Postsocialism Working Group
Co-Sponsored by the Gender, Politics and Society Working Group, Center for European Studies
"How Much Land Does a Woman Need? Women, Property Rights and Privatization (1900-2012)"
Esther Kingston-Mann, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts Boston; Associate, Davis Center
CGIS South Building, 1730 Cambridge Street, Room S153
2:00-4:00 p.m.
---
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies<http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/>
Harvard University
Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS), South Building
1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
T 617-495-4037
F 617-495-8319
Find us on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/DCRES>
Davis Center Calendar of Events<http://thyme.hmdc.harvard.edu/davis/index.php?v=m>
Directions to the Davis Center<http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/contact/directions.html>