This conference seeks to further explore cultural, environmental, economic and political aspects of the steppe in the Soviet Union (1917-1991).
How did the steppe serve as a cultural space for the production of meaning and identity? How did the steppe and its transformation interact with Soviet environmental and economic thinking? How did the steppe provide a geopolitical imaginary for center-periphery relations and Soviet political rule?
How did the steppe relate to other ecological spaces, in particular the forest? The conference aims at creating a space for fruitful interdisciplinary discussion.
It seeks to explore the interplay between cultural, political, ecological and economic aspects and to make first attempts to characterize the place of the steppe in Soviet and Eurasian history.
| When? | 15.02.2019 09:00 - 17:45 |
|---|---|
| Where? | MIS 02 2122AB Avenue de l'Europe 20, 1700 Fribourg |
| speaker | Session 1:
Stephen Brain, Mississippi State University, USA “An Environmental Prehistory of Soviet Collectivization on the Steppe” Alexander Chibilev, Steppe Institute, Orenburg, Russia “Eurasian Steppe: Territory, Differences, Common Fate, Future” Nazikbek Kydyrmyshev, independent researcher, Kyrgyzstan “Sedentarism and Soviet Historiography of the Steppe” Comment: Mark Bassin, Södertörns University, Stockholm Session 2: Stephan Rindlisbacher, University of Bern, Switzerland; University of Wisconsin, USA “The Steppe as Object of Economical Exploitation and Screen of National Pride: The Contested Borders between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, 1956-1971” Adolat Rakhmakulova, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agriculture, Uzbekistan “The Hungry Steppe: The Population Transfer Politics of the Soviet State, 1920-1960” Timm Schönfelder, University of Tübingen, Germany “Making Stavropol’s Steppes Bloom: On the Promises and Perils of Soviet Irrigation Engineering” Visual presentation by Sergei Meshcheriakov, Russia “Virgin Lands: Photographic Practices of Perception” |
| Contact | Department of Geosciences Ekaterina Filep ekaterina.filep@unifr.ch Chemin du Musée 4 0 1700 Fribourg +41 26 300 9010 |
| Registration | Please, register via email to: ekaterina.filep@unifr.ch Registration fee: 30 CHF (to be paid on the spot, covers lunches and coffee breaks) |