BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures - UCLA - ECPv6.17.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures - UCLA X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures - UCLA REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20220313T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20221106T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20230312T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20231105T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20240310T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20241103T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20250309T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20251102T090000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241113T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241113T203000 DTSTAMP:20241112T175831Z CREATED:20241101T005738Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241112T175831Z UID:8169-1731526200-1731529800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:CANCELLED Cultural Forces of Ukraine Presentation and Live Concert DESCRIPTION:THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.\n  \n\n\n  URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/cultural-forces-of-ukraine-performance/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241113T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241113T113000 DTSTAMP:20241021T223129Z CREATED:20241021T223018Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241021T223129Z UID:8126-1731492000-1731497400@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Literature\, Politics\, and Identity: A Conversation with Andrey Kurov DESCRIPTION:The International and Area Studies Department is pleased to invite you to a special event in the UCLA Library’s “Opening the Doors to Contemporary Literature” series\, titled “Literature\, Politics\, and Identity: A Conversation with Andrey Kurkov.” \nJoin via Zoom on November 13th from 10:00 to 11:30 am Pacific time for a thought-provoking virtual program with acclaimed Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov\, who will be in conversation with Dr. Roman Koropeckyj\, UCLA professor of Slavic\, East European\, and Eurasian languages and cultures. Kurkov will discuss his literary journey\, share insights into his experiences as a contemporary writer in Ukraine\, and reflect on the current political landscape. \nDr. Koropeckyj\, an esteemed scholar in Eastern European literature\, will guide the discussion\, providing an in-depth exploration of Kurkov’s unique perspectives on how literature intersects with politics and identity. \nRegistration and Additional Information\nFor more information and to register\, please visit: Literature\, Politics\, and Identity: A Conversation with Andrey Kurkov \nMore information about the speakers publications: Opening the Doors to Contemporary Literature URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/literature-politics-and-identity-a-conversation-with-andrey-kurov/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241030T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241030T180000 DTSTAMP:20241021T221732Z CREATED:20241021T221714Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241021T221732Z UID:8113-1730304000-1730311200@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Perpetrator as Victim: Putin's War in Ukraine and Criticism of Title IX DESCRIPTION:The Center for European and Russian Studies\, in cosponsorship with the Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\, UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy\, and UCLA Center for the Study of Women – Barbra Streisand Center\, invites you to a book talk with Joy Neumeyer to discuss her book\,  A Survivor’s Education: Women\, Violence\, and the Stories We Don’t Tell (2024). The talk will be followed by discussion with Professor Jared McBride\, UCLA Department of History. This book talk will take place at Bunche Hall Room 10383 on  October 30th at 4 PM. \nRegister to attend here.\nAbout the Book\n\nIn this poignant self-investigation\, historian and journalist Joy Neumeyer explores how violence against women is portrayed\, perceived\, and adjudicated today. Interweaving the harrowing account of the abuse she experienced as a graduate student at Berkeley with those of others who faced violence on campus and beyond\, Neumeyer offers a startling look at how the hotly-debated Title IX system has altered university politics and culture\, and uncovers the willful misremembrance that enables misconduct on scales large and small. Deeply researched\, daringly inquisitive\, and resonant for our times\, A Survivor’s Education reveals the entanglement of storytelling\, abuse\, and power–and how we can balance narrative and evidence in our attempts to determine what “really” happened. \n\n\nAbout the Author\nJoy Neumeyer is a journalist and historian of Russia and Eastern Europe. She received a PhD in History from the University of California\, Berkeley and was a Fulbright Fellow in Russia and a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. She has also worked as a reporter in Moscow and Warsaw. Her writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times\, The Nation\, Foreign Policy\, The Washington Post\, The Atlantic\, New Left Review\, The Los Angeles Review of Books\, Aeon\, The Baffler\, Vice\, ARTNews\, the Guardian\, Tablet Magazine\, The Moscow Times\, Calvert Journal\, and Cat Fancy. \n\nHer first book\, A Survivor’s Education: Women\, Violence\, and the Stories We Don’t Tell— an investigative memoir about the abuse and tension between narrative and evidence in understanding the past— was released on August 20\, 2024 by PublicAffairs. \n\nAbout the Discussant\nJared McBride is a historian who examines Russia\, Ukraine\, and Eastern Europe in the 20th century with a focus on nationalist movements\, mass violence\, interethnic conflict\, and war crimes prosecution\, related to both the Second World War and Cold War periods. He also has a strong interest in the politics of archival research and access to freedom of information. His research has been supported by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation\, the Fulbright-Hays Foundation\, and the Social Science Research Council\, among others\, and he has published in Holocaust and Genocide Studies\, Journal of Genocide Research\, The Carl Beck Papers\, Ab Imperio\, Kritika\, and Slavic Review. \nPrior to starting at UCLA\, Dr. McBride held post-doctoral positions at Columbia University\, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum\, the Kennan Institute\, and USC’s Shoah Foundation. Over the past five years\, he has directed and instructed “Political Violence in the Modern World\,” a year-long Cluster course that one thousand first-year students have completed at UCLA. He also teaches courses on the Soviet Union\, 20th century Eastern Europe\, the Second World War\, and on History and Film. Presently\, he is completing a book manuscript concerning interethnic violence and local perpetrators in Nazi-occupied western Ukraine. Dr. McBride is available for media inquiries concerning Ukraine and Russia. \nVenue\nBunche Hall 10383\n(10th floor of Bunche Hall)\n315 Portola Plaza\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nParking\nParking Structure 5 is closest to the event venue. Parking Structure 5 is accessible from Royce Drive\, south of Sunset Boulevard\, and west of Hilgard Ave. (in the northeast section of the campus). Alternatively\, Parking Structure 4 is also close to the venue and has Pay-By-Space Visitor Parking available. Guest drop/Ride-share drop off is closest at the turnaround at the front of Royce Hall located at: 10745 Dickson Court\, Los Angeles\, CA 90095. Accessible parking: If you have accessibility needs\, you may park in the Pay-By-Space/Visitor Parking area on the rooftop (level 5) of this structure\, and proceed to the Self-Service Pay Station machine to pay by credit card. URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/perpetrator-as-victim-putins-war-in-ukraine-and-criticism-of-title-ix/ LOCATION:10383 Bunche Hall\, 11282 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States CATEGORIES:Humanities END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241017T171500 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241017T190000 DTSTAMP:20241011T201150Z CREATED:20241004T214333Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241011T201150Z UID:8065-1729185300-1729191600@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Ukrainian Poetry in a Time of War: A Reading and Discussion with Olena Huseinova and Lyuba Yakimchuk DESCRIPTION:[gravityform id=”54″ title=”false” description=”true” ajax=”true”]\n\nOlena Huseinova (poet\, prose writer\, radio host and producer; Ukraine) is the author of three poetry collections\, most recently Нічний ефір [Night Air] (2024). Huseinova also writes short fiction and essays\, some of which are featured in the anthology Ukraine 22: Ukrainian Writers Respond to War (2023). As the editor in chief at UA: Radio Culture\, part of Ukraine’s Public Broadcasting\, she oversees radio theater and literary programming\, leads a team producing radio documentaries on Ukrainian culture\, and hosts of her own live radio programs. From February 26\, 2022\, until August 2023\, Huseinova was a key voice in 24-hour news broadcasting on Ukrainian Radio. She has since expanded her activities to include documentary writing about the Russian-Ukrainian war\, particularly focusing on the impact on civilians during the Russian occupation. She is currently on fellowship with the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.  \n\nLyuba Yakimchuk (poet\, playwright\, screenwriter\, performance artist; Ukraine) is the author of the poetry books Абрикоси Донбасу [Apricots of Donbas] (2015) and Як мода [Like Fashion] (2009)\, as well as the plays Wall and Schrödinger’s Cat. She also wrote the screenplays for both the film Slovo House. Unfinished Novel (2021) and the documentary Slovo House (2017). Yakimchuk was a songwriter and spoken word artist on the album Ukrainian Songs of Love and Hate (2022) and coauthor with Mary Branley of the libretto for the musical Freedom Letters. Her writing has been translated into more than twenty languages\, and she read her poetry as part of John Legend’s performance during the 2022 Grammys. Her work has been covered by The New York Times\, BBC\, CBC\, and CNN. She is currently on fellowship with the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.  URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/ukrainian-poetry-a-reading-and-discussion-with-olena-huseinova-and-lyuba-yakimchuk/ LOCATION:348 Kaplan Hall\, 415 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241016T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241016T170000 DTSTAMP:20240926T012301Z CREATED:20240906T000359Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240926T012301Z UID:8022-1729092600-1729098000@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Life After Kafka: A Novel by Magdalena Platzova DESCRIPTION:The Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles in partnership with the UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures proudly presents on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of Franz Kafka death\, a literary reading of the latest novel by Magdaléna Platzová “Life After Kafka”. The author Platzová will in person introduce on Wednesday\, October 16th at 3:30 PM at UCLA Kaplan Hall Room #311 her novel of Felice Bauer\, Franz Kafka’s first fiancée. \nJoin us for the event celebrating one of the world’s most acclaimed writer\, and learn more about the story behind Kafka’s Letters to Felice and even discover the connection between Kafka and California. The one of a kind lecture will be introduced by Efraín Kristal\, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at UCLA. The book is translated from the Czech by Alex Zucker. \nWhen & Where:\nWednesday\, October 16\, 3:30 pm\nUCLA\nKaplan Hall Room #311 (third floor)\n415 Portola Plaza\,\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nRSVP:\nPlease confirm your attendance by Monday\, October 14 \, 2024 to: CzechConsulateLA@gmail.com \nAbout the Author\nMagdaléna Platzová is the author of nine books\, including three novels published in English: Aaron’s Leap\, a Lidové Noviny Book of the Year Award finalist\, The Attempt\, longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and a Czech Book Award finalist\, and Life After Kafka\, a Magnesia Litera award finalist. Her fiction has also appeared in A Public Space and Words Without Borders. Platzová grew up in the Czech Republic; studied in Washington\, DC\, and England; received her MA in Philosophy at Charles University in Prague; and has taught at New York University’s Gallatin School. She is now based in Lyon\, France. \nAbout the Book:\nLife After Kafka: A novel by Magdaléna Platzová\, Translated from the Czech by Alex Zucker \n“A deeply empathetic story of survival\, exile\, and belonging. Magdaléna Platzová allows Felice Bauer to step out of Kafka’s shadow and\, in the process\, she recognizes that there is always so much more than one truth. This is a powerful\, kaleidoscopic literary novel.”\n—Colum McCann\, author of Let the Great World Spin and Apeirogon \n“Franz Kafka is a universe that resists any attempt at interpretation. Magdaléna Platzová’s novel offers a new key to Kafka’s world: we look at it through the tender and sorrowful gaze of the people whose fate had been marked by him personally. An utterly touching book!” —Agnieszka Holland\, award-winning filmmaker and president of the European Film Academy \n“Life After Kafka is a thrilling detective story about one of literature’s most celebrated names\, a haunting family saga about preserving our legacy during the darkest turns of history\, and a thought-provoking exploration of the rippling impact of famous artists on the people in their lives. Platzová’s masterful merging of fact and fiction\, in Alex Zucker’s artful and inspired translation\, carries us across decades and continents to prove that our connections can be abandoned and yet unbroken\, and that even the briefest encounters—in love and in art—can shape us forever.” —Jaroslav Kalfař\, author of Spaceman of Bohemia and A Brief History of Living Forever \nThank you: \nThe event is co-organized by the UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures\, Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles\, Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles\, UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies\, UCLA Department of European Languages & Transcultural Studies\, and UCLA Department of Comparative Literature. Special thanks to Igor Pilshchikov\, Susan Kresin\, and Lisset Cadena. \n— \nConsulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles\n10990 Wilshire Blvd.\, Suite 1100\nLos Angeles\, CA 90024\nTel.: (310) 473-0889\nFax: (310) 473-9813\nE-mail: CzechConsulateLA@gmail.com\nWeb: www.mzv.cz/losangeles URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/life-after-kafka-a-novel-by-magdalena-platzova/ LOCATION:Kaplan Hall 311 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241015T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241015T173000 DTSTAMP:20241010T183244Z CREATED:20241010T183244Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241010T183244Z UID:8085-1729008000-1729013400@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists DESCRIPTION:Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists\n  \nTuesday\, October 15\, 2024\n4:00 PM – 5:30 PM\nBunche Hall Room 10383\nRSVP required\n  \n\nThe Center for European and Russian Studies\, in cosponsorship with the Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\, invites you to a book talk with Lisa A. Kirschenbaum\, West Chester University\, Pennsylvania to discuss her recent publication Soviet Adventures in the Land of the Capitalists (2024). The talk will be followed by discussion with Professor Vadim Shneyder\, UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\, and audience Q&A. This book talk will take place at Bunche Hall Room 10383 on October 15th at 4 PM. Register now! \nAbout the Book\nIn 1935\, two Soviet satirists\, Ilia Ilf and Evgeny Petrov\, undertook a 10\,000 mile American road trip from New York to Hollywood and back accompanied only by their guide and chauffeur\, a gregarious Russian Jewish immigrant and his American-born\, Russian-speaking wife. They immortalized their journey in a popular travelogue that condemned American inequality and racism even as it marvelled at American modernity and efficiency. Lisa Kirschenbaum reconstructs the epic journey of the two Soviet funnymen and their encounters with a vast cast of characters\, ranging from famous authors\, artists\, poets and filmmakers to unemployed hitchhikers and revolutionaries. Using the authors’ notes\, US and Russian archives\, and even FBI files\, she reveals the role of ordinary individuals in shaping foreign relations as Ilf\, Petrov and the immigrants\, communists\, and fellow travelers who served as their hosts\, guides\, and translators became creative actors in cultural exchange between the two countries. \nAbout the Author\nLisa A. Kirschenbaum is an award-winning author whose research explores how individuals navigated the traumas of the twentieth century. Professor Kirschenbaum has long combined a serious commitment to research with enthusiasm for teaching. While completing her PhD at University of California\, Berkeley (1993)\, she taught middle and high school students at Oakwood School\, an independent school in southern California. Since coming to West Chester in 1996\, she has developed classes in Soviet and Russian history as well as thematic courses that transcend national boundaries. Professor Kirschenbaum’s research explores how people come to represent and understand their life stories as part of history\, focusing on the linkages between individual\, private lives and the momentous\, often traumatic events of Russia’s twentieth century. She has published three books: Small Comrades: Revolutionizing Childhood in Soviet Russia\, 1917-1932 (RoutledgeFalmer\, 2000); The Legacy of the Siege of Leningrad\, 1941-1995: Myth\, Memories\, and Monuments (Cambridge University Press\, 2006); and International Communism and the Spanish Civil War: Solidarity and Suspicion (Cambridge University Press 2015). Professor Kirschenbaum’s research has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities\, the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies\, the International Research and Exchanges Board\, and the Penn Humanities Forum. In 2009\, Professor Kirschenbaum was awarded the West Chester University Trustees’ Achievement Award. \nAbout the Discussant\nVadim Shneyder is Assistant Professor of Russian in the Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\, which he joined in 2015 after receiving his PhD from Yale University. He studies Russian literature of the age of realism—a period spanning roughly the second half of the nineteenth century—in its relation to its intellectual\, social\, and ideological contexts\, both in the Russian Empire and Europe. Beyond the study of nineteenth-century prose\, his research extends to a number of topics\, including nineteenth- and twentieth-century European and Russian philosophy and aesthetic theory\, Soviet literature and film\, and national and cultural identity in Eastern Europe. His first book\, Russia’s Capitalist Realism: Tolstoy\, Dostoevsky\, and Chekhov (Northwestern University Press\, 2020) investigates how the Russian realist prose tradition confronted the representational challenges posed by nascent capitalism. In a situation of threatening and unprecedented change\, literature did not passively reflect existing economic conditions so much as it helped to define what Russian capitalism could mean. \nVenue\nBunche Hall Room 10383\n315 Portola Plaza\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nParking\nYou can find nearby parking at Parking Structure 4 or Parking Structure 5. Parking Structure 5 has an hourly rate of $8 per hour and Parking Structure 4 has an hourly rate of $4 per hour for visitors. Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for more information. Ride-share drop off is closest at the turnaround at the front of Royce Hall located at: 10745 Dickson Court\, Los Angeles\, CA 90095. Accessible Parking: If you have accessibility needs\, you may park in the Pay-By-Space/Visitor Parking area on the rooftop (level 5) of Parking Structure 5 and proceed to the Self-Service Pay Station machine to pay by credit card. \nSponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies & Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures \nCenter for European and Russian Studies \nSupport European and Russian Studies at UCLA \ncers@international.ucla.edu \nhttps://www.international.ucla.edu/euro \n  URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/soviet-adventures-in-the-land-of-the-capitalists/ LOCATION:10383 Bunche Hall\, 11282 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241011T123000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20241011T133000 DTSTAMP:20241010T002453Z CREATED:20241010T002453Z LAST-MODIFIED:20241010T002453Z UID:8079-1728649800-1728653400@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Study Abroad Opportunities for Russian Language Learners DESCRIPTION:Come find out about opportunities to study Russian overseas next summer! \n♦ Russian Language and Area Studies \n♦ Critical Language Scholarships \n♦ Gilman Scholarship \nStudents will present on their experiences studying in Almaty\, Kazakhstan this summer\, and a representative of the program will be available during the Q&A. \nFor more information\, contact Susan Kresin at kresin@ucla.edu URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/study-abroad-opportunities-for-russian-language-learners/ LOCATION:305 Kaplan Hall\, 415 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240925T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240925T140000 DTSTAMP:20240829T004617Z CREATED:20240821T213625Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240829T004617Z UID:8011-1727269200-1727272800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Fall 2024 Open House DESCRIPTION:Please join us on September 25th from 1-2pm in Kaplan 311! Light refreshments will be served. \nRSVP URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/fall-2024-open-house/ LOCATION:Kaplan Hall 311 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240621 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240622 DTSTAMP:20240501T000453Z CREATED:20240501T000453Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240501T000453Z UID:7948-1718928000-1719014399@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:2024 Summer Sessions: Intensive First Year Russian (Russian 10) and Intensive Second Year Russian (Russian 20) Programs DESCRIPTION:The UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures has open seats for both Intensive First Year Russian (Russian 10) and Intensive Second Year Russian (Russian 20) in Summer 2024. *All sections are taught online \nEnroll for courses here \nDates: June 24 – August 16\, 2024 (8 weeks) \nTimes: Monday-Friday 10:00am – 1:50pm Pacific Standard Time \n  \n♦ Russian 10 (Intensive Elementary): Mon-Fri 10am-1:50pm PST \n  Course ID: 421030110 \n  \n♦ Russian 20 (Intensive Intermediate): Mon-Fri 10am-1:50pm PST \n  Course ID: 421060110 \n  URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/2024-summer-sessions-intensive-first-year-russian-russian-10-and-intensive-second-year-russian-russian-20-programs/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240529T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240529T200000 DTSTAMP:20240502T013413Z CREATED:20240430T001200Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240502T013413Z UID:7945-1717005600-1717012800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Celebrations Across Cultures DESCRIPTION:[gravityform id=”51″ title=”false” description=”true” ajax=”true”]\nA night of talent\, recognition\, food and fun! URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/2024-talent-show/ LOCATION:314 Royce Hall\, 10745 Dickson Ct\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240529T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240529T173000 DTSTAMP:20240523T002733Z CREATED:20240522T232230Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240523T002733Z UID:7973-1716996600-1717003800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Guest Lecture: A discussion of Petra James’ paper 1890s: The Belgian and Czech Decadent Novels between Gothicization and Colonialism. Bruges la Morte (1892) by Georges Rodenbach and A Gothic Soul (1900) by Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic DESCRIPTION:Register to attend in Kaplan Hall 311: \n[gravityform id=”53″ title=”false” description=”false” ajax=”true”]\n  \n\nThis lecture is co-sponsored by the UCLA Department of Comparative Literature\, the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies\, and the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles.  \nA discussion of Petra James’s paper\,\n1890s: The Belgian and Czech Decadent Novels between Gothicization and Colonialism.\nBruges la Morte (1892) by Georges Rodenbach and A Gothic Soul (1900) by Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic \nSynopsis: \nThe paper analyses these two key decadent novels as tools for Czech and Belgian national self-determination through the aesthetic process of Gothicization. The “Gothic” trope assumes a socio-political function as the emblem of cultural reappraisal for both Czechs and Belgians\, whose national revival of the 19th century was based on a return to a medieval Gothic past\, idealized as a period with a high national symbolic value\, prefiguring foreign influences. Gothicization is interpreted not only as a process of nation-building but also as a means of obscuring the colonial nature of Belgium of the symbolist modern period and the Czech ambiguous relationship to the exotic Other\, often depicted in dehumanizing and misogynist ways. The lecture is based on a chapter from the speaker’s current book project\, Between the Lands of Rubens and of Kafka: Modernism Beyond Metropolis in Belgium and Bohemia. \nPetra James is a tenured professor in the Department of Languages and Literatures\, Faculty of Letters\, Translation and Communication (LTC)\, Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium (ULB)\, and Chair of Czech Studies at ULB (since 2011). She is also the director of the research center MODERNITAS at Maison des Sciences Humaines\, ULB\, focusing on interdisciplinary research of modernism and avant-garde. Petra James obtained her PhD in Comparative Literature and Slavic Studies from the Université Paris-Sorbonne in 2009. She is one of the four editors-in-chief of the encyclopedic project Cultural History of Central European Avant-Gardes (Brill\, in progress)\, which aims to fundamentally rethink the comparative history of the European avant-garde while focusing on the context of Central Europe. She was a Plumer Visting Research Fellow at Saint-Anne’s College\, University of Oxford\, and resident at the Maison française d’Oxford (2023) and is currently a visiting professor at UC Berkeley (Spring 2024). \nSelected publications by Petra James: \n♦ Bohumil Hrabal: Composer un monde blessant à coups de ciseaux et de gomme arabique (2012 by Les Classiques Garnier\, Paris\, 2012). The book compares the Czech post-avant-garde with the French and American neo-avant-garde movements\n♦ Je cherche le peintre aux doigts blancs… (Presses Universitaires de Bruxelles\, 2022)\, an anthology of Petr Hruška’s poetry\, co-edited and co-translated in collaboration with Jean-Gaspard Páleníček\n♦ “Pastoral” and “Regional” Modernisms in Nordic and Slavic Literatures (1900s–1930s)\, a special issue of the Revue Belge de Philologie et Histoire\, edited by Petra James and Harri Veivo (2022)\n♦ “When Rural Meets Urban\,” a special issue of Slavic Literatures (formerly\, Russian Literature)\, co-edited by Petra James and Rajendra Chitnis (forthcoming in 2024) \nAdditional info: \nAn English translation of the first volume of Karásek’s trilogy is forthcoming from Amherst Press. URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/guest-lecture-a-discussion-of-dr-petra-james-paper-1890s-the-belgian-and-czech-decadent-novels-between-gothicization-and-colonialism-bruges-la-morte-1892-by-georges-rodenbach-and-a-got/ LOCATION:Kaplan Hall 311 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240504T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240504T170000 DTSTAMP:20240425T205608Z CREATED:20240424T234759Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240425T205608Z UID:7904-1714813200-1714842000@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:How Soviet Prison Subculture Shapes the Russian Political Landscape DESCRIPTION:How Soviet Prison Subculture Shapes the Russian Political Landscape \nA symposium co-sponsored by the\nUCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy and the\nUCLA Department of Slavic\, East European\, and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\nOrganizers: Marianna Petiaskina\, Lydia Roberts \nUniversity of California\, Los Angeles\nMay 3-4\, 2024 \n\n  \n[gravityform id=”50″ title=”false” description=”true” ajax=”true”]\nThis event will be available on Zoom — please write to lydia.h.roberts@ucla.edu for the Zoom link. \nThis symposium gathers scholars\, policymakers\, civic activists\, and human rights defenders to explore topics including: \n♦ The impact of criminal logic and discourse on modern Russian political dialogue;\n♦ Artistic and literary traditions that influence Russian societal views of criminality\, authority\, and prison life;\n♦ The effect of the Soviet prison system and Gulag legacy on Russia’s social dynamics and cultural identity;\n♦ The implications of the above topics in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine\, particularly the recruitment of soldiers from Russian prisons and the consequences of this strategy for the social fabric of former Soviet countries;\n♦ Comparative analysis (regional and global) of these topics;\n♦ Strategies for comprehensively understanding and addressing the interplay between criminal culture and political discourse in Russia. \nEvent Program:\nMay 4\, 2024\nLuskin Conference Center \nArtistry Room\nUniversity of California\, Los Angeles \n09:0–09:10 ………………………… Opening Remarks        Marianna Petiaskina\n                                                                                             Co-Organizer\n09:10–10:40 ………………………… Panel 1 \nSoviet to Post-Soviet: Carceral Dynamics\, Gulag\, Law\nChaired by Marianna Petiaskina \nThe Gulag Reputation System in Post-Soviet Society\nGavin Slade\, Associate Professor\, Sociology\, Nazarbayev University \nRussian Criminality in Early Gulag Memoirs\nLydia Roberts\, PhD Candidate\, Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\, UCLA \nLaw as a Tool for Putin’s Authoritarian Legitimation and as an Opportunity for Resistance\nLauren A. McCarthy\, Associate Professor\, Department of Political Science and Legal Studies\, University of Massachusetts Amherst \n10:40–11:00 …………………………………………. Morning Refreshment Break\n11:00–12:30 …………………………………………. Panel 2 \nCurrent events: Ideology\, Putinism\, War\nChaired by Igor Pilshchikov \nFrom «Notions» to Ideology: Patsan culture and its place in the ideology of Putin’s regime\nIlya Budraitskis\, Visiting Scholar\, Program in Critical Theory\, UC Berkeley \nYevgeny Prigozhin’s “March of Justice” against “Bespredel”\nMarianna Petiaskina\, PhD Student\, Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\, UCLA \nThe Russian Penitentiary System after Russia’s Full-Scale Aggression Against Ukraine\nOlga Romanova\, Civic Activist and Journalist\, Founder of ‘Russia Behind Bars’ (Rus Sidyashaya) \n12:30–13:30 …………………………………………. Lunch Break\n13:30–15:00 …………………………………………. Panel 3 \nCultural Memory: Discourse\, Codes\, Prison Subculture\nChaired by Lydia Roberts \nThe Gulag Resurfaces: Society\, State Power\, Literature and the Theme of Soviet Repression\nAndrea Gullotta\, Senior Researcher\, University of Palermo \nThe Evolution of Russian Criminal Slang and its Influence on Russia’s Public Discourse \nIgor Pilshchikov\, Professor and Chair\, Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages & Cultures\, UCLA \nHarmonies of Discord: War Shansons\nAnastasia Gordienko\, Assistant Professor\, Russian and Slavic Studies\, University of Arizona \n15:00–15:30 …………………………………… Afternoon Refreshment Break\n15:30–16:45 …………………………………… Keynote Address \nReasons and Consequences of the Interpenetration and Fusion of the Prison “Blat Committee” with Penitentiary Authority: From Correctional Colonies to the Kremlin\nOlga Romanova\, Civic Activist and Journalist\, Founder of ‘Russia Behind Bars’ (Rus Sidyashaya) \n16:45–17:00 …………………………… Closing Remarks        Lydia Roberts\n                                                                                                 Co-Organizer \nParking at the Luskin Conference Center: https://luskinconferencecenter.ucla.edu/about/campus-map-parking/ \nRelated Document: Abstracts and Bios URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/how-soviet-prison-subculture-shapes-the-russian-political-landscape/ LOCATION:Luskin Conference Center\, 425 Westwood Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240503T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240503T213000 DTSTAMP:20240415T055429Z CREATED:20240415T043256Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240415T055429Z UID:7838-1714764600-1714771800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:The Dmitriev Affair: Film Screening and Q&A with Director Jessica Gorter DESCRIPTION:Please register for the event below. \n[gravityform id=”47″ title=”false” description=”true” ajax=”true”]\nPlease contact lydia.h.roberts@ ucla.edu if you experience any issues registering for the film screening.  \nLOCATION \nDarren Star Screening Room\, 1422 Melnitz Hall\n235 Charles E Young Drive E\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nThe Luskin Center for History and Policy\, in collaboration with the UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European\, and Eurasian Languages and Cultures (SEEELC)\, invites you to a screening of Jessica Gorter’s documentary film “The Dmitriev Affair\,” which will be followed by a Q&A session with the director (appearing remotely)\, moderated by Professor Daniel Treisman (UCLA Political Science). View the trailer here. \nSYNOPSIS: \nDeep inside the Russian forests\, against the wishes of the authorities\, 60-year-old Yuri Dmitriev searches for mass graves from the era of Stalin’s terror against his own people – until one day he is arrested and sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony. Following Yuri closely\, the film paints a shocking picture of the way the Russian state rewrites history and treats its citizens. \nYuri Dmitriev exhumes what the Russian rulers would rather forget. After years of searching the pine forests of Karelia in northwestern Russia\, he discovers a mass grave containing thousands of people who were secretly executed during Stalin’s “Great Terror” of 1937. \nIt is not the Russian government but Yuri Dmitriev who tracks down their identities in the archives and organizes commemorations for their next of kin. Thanks to his efforts\, they finally find out what happened to their lost relatives. Having himself been left at a maternity clinic as a baby\, he is a man on a mission: ‘Every human being has the right to know where they came from and where their family lies buried.’ \nWhile abroad there is increasing recognition for this “archaeologist of terror”\, in Russia Dmitriev is discredited as someone collaborating with the West. Then he is arrested\, on basis of a fabricated charge. Tragically accurate Dmitriev predicts his own future and that of his country. \nYuri Dmitriev has received several awards for his work\, including the Sakharov Freedom Award and the Polish Gold Cross of Merit. Dmitriev was head of the Karelian branch of the now dissolved human rights organization Memorial\, who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. \nAbout the Director: \n\nJessica Gorter is a Dutch documentary filmmaker. She studied directing and editing at the Dutch Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam. As a teenager she lived for several years in the United States and after completing her studies\, she worked and traveled in Russia for a longer period of time. Her experience of these different worlds\, fueled by her passion for photography\, forms an important basis for her further work. Her award-winning films are screened worldwide at film festivals and universities\, theatrically released and broadcasted internationally. \nGorter made her breakthrough with 900 Days (2011) about the myth and reality of the Leningrad blockade. The film won the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary the Prix Interreligieux at Visions du Réel in Nyon and the special jury prize at the ArtDocFest in Moscow. The film was also nominated for a Golden Calf at the Netherlands Film Festival and for the Prix Italia. \nEarlier in her career she made a.o. the short poetic documentary Ferryman across the Volga (1997\, Prix de RTBF) and Piter (IFFR\, 2004): a captivating look into the lives of seven residents of Saint Petersburg at a turning point in history. In her third feature-length documentary The Red Soul (2017)\, the director investigated why Stalin is still seen as a hero by so many Russians. The film premiered at IDFA\, was screened at many international festivals and received widespread critical acclaim. \nAbout the Moderator: \n\nDaniel Treisman is a professor of political science at the University of California\, Los Angeles and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. \nA graduate of Oxford University (B.A. Hons.) and Harvard University (Ph.D.)\, he has published six books and many articles in leading political science and economics journals including The American Political Science Review and The American Economic Review\, as well as in public affairs journals such as  Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. \nHis research focuses on Russian politics and economics as well as comparative political economy\, including in particular the analysis of democratization\, the politics of authoritarian states\, political decentralization\, and corruption. \nParking \nParking at UCLA requires a valid permit at all times. Campus parking is available 24-hours a day at varying prices. Parking Structure 3 (P3) is closest to the event venue and offers hourly Pay-By-Space parking. Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for information about where to park and parking rates. \n\nRelated document: The Dmitriev Affair poster \nCo-Organized with: The Luskin Center for History and Policy URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/the-dmitriev-affair-film-screening-and-qa-with-director-jessica-gorter/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240427T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240427T173000 DTSTAMP:20240709T185950Z CREATED:20240411T213908Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240709T185950Z UID:7793-1714204800-1714239000@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:27th Annual Undergraduate Conference on Slavic & East/Central European Studies DESCRIPTION:The UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures is proud to present the 27th Annual Undergraduate Conference on Slavic & East/Central European Studies. The conference will take place on Saturday\, April 27th\, 2024 from 8:00 am – 5:30 pm. Breakfast\, lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please note: Times are all in Pacific Time Zone (PDT) \nPLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PRESENTATION BY 12PM ON 4/26/2024: Presentation Submission \n[gravityform id=”46″ title=”false” description=”true” ajax=”true”]\nLOCATION \nKaplan Hall 135\nPortola Plaza 415\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nEnter Kaplan Hall from the south ground-floor entrance to the left of the staircase. We are meeting in room 135\, which can be accessed via elevator from the ground floor (A level). Kaplan Hall is located next door to the Powell Library. \nPARKING \nFor Non-UCLA Affiliates:\nIf you are driving\, you will want to enter the campus using the Hilgard and Westholme entrance and park in Parking Structure Two. Once inside\, proceed to the bottom-most level to the “pay-by-plate” area (visitor parking). Having parked\, please go to the nearest pay station machine. There is a $10 all day parking rate for Structure 2. \nGoogle maps link: Parking Structure 2\nCampus parking map\nUCLA Visitor Parking Instructions \nThe second closest parking lot is Parking Structure 4. Guest parking is available on a first come\, first served basis. Please plan on arriving early to the event if you are not familiar with the campus or parking structures.  \nFor UCLA faculty\, students & staff:\nActive Bruin ePemit Holders can request a “Transfer Permit” to cross-park in an alternate lot or structure on campus at no additional cost according to the privileges of your permit type. Check the Parking Permit Privileges for details. \n– You can obtain a 1-Day cross-parking permit through the Bruin ePermit Portal\, excluding Night and Weekend permit holders. The 1-Day cross parking permit is valid for same-day use only.\n– Faculty and staff may receive a maximum of five (5) cross-parking permits per quarter.\n– Please note\, Cross Parking (Transfer) Permits will vary depending on parking space availability.\n– To request a “Transfer Permit” please follow these instructions \nLODGING \nFor travelers visiting UCLA\, the local  hotels listed on this page have established agreements with the UC Travel Center to provide discounted rates to University travelers. Discounts are subject to change at any moment. \nUCLA Campus: \n\nUCLA Luskin Conference Center (on Campus)\n\n\n\nAlumni\, Bruin Family including students\, regular visitors\, and medical patients can use this link for personal stay at the Luskin: https://luskinconferencecenter.ucla.edu/all-specials/(link is external)\n\n\n\n\nHotel Angeleno\nHotel Kimpton Palomar\nLuxe Sunset\n\nTo make reservations\, contact UC Travel Center at (310) 206-2639 or email them at travel@finance.ucla.edu(link sends email) or book via UCLA Concur Travel Online. \nOther nearby hotels:\nUCLA Guest House\nThe Tiverton\nPalihotel Westwood Village\n\nProgram URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/undergraduate-conference-on-slavic-east-central-european-studies-2/ LOCATION:Kaplan Hall 135 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240420T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240420T180000 DTSTAMP:20240419T182354Z CREATED:20240415T033143Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240419T182354Z UID:7817-1713600000-1713636000@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:The 2024 CA Graduate Slavic Colloquium DESCRIPTION:Please register for the event below.  \n[gravityform id=”48″ title=”false” description=”true” ajax=”true”]\nThe Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures is proud to present the 2024 California Graduate Slavic Colloquium. We would like to express our gratitude to the University of California Humanities Institute and the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies for their generous support of this year’s colloquium. The conference will take place on Saturday\, April 20th\, 2024 from 8:00 am – 6:00 pm. Breakfast\, lunch and refreshments will be provided. \nPlease note: Times are all in Pacific Time Zone (PDT) \nLOCATION\nKaplan Hall A65\n415 Portola Plaza\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \n\n\n\nEnter Kaplan Hall from the south ground-floor entrance to the left of the staircase. We are meeting in A65 on the ground floor\, which can be accessed directly without climbing any stairs. Kaplan Hall is located next door to the Powell Library. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nTECHNOLOGY IN KAPLAN HALL A65 \nThe conference room is equipped with a computer\, projector\, USB ports\, and VGA inputs. \nIf your presentation includes a visual component\, please come with your own device and appropriate adapter for connecting to the classroom computer via VGA. You can also bring a USB drive with your presentation and we highly recommend that you  email your presentation to yourself as a backup.  \n\n\n\nPARKING \nFrom Hilgard driving south\, turn right onto Westholme toward the UCLA campus\, and take the first left into the North entrance of Parking Structure #2. From Hilgard driving north\, turn left onto Manning toward the UCLA campus\, and then take the first right into the south entrance of Parking Structure #2. \nGoogle maps link: Parking Structure 2\nCampus parking map \nThe second closest parking lot is Parking Structure 4. Guest parking is available on a first come\, first serve basis. Please plan on arriving early to the event if you are not familiar with the campus or parking structures.  \nFor Non-UCLA Affiliates:\nIf you are driving\, you will want to enter the campus using the Hilgard and Westholme entrance and park in Parking Structure Two. Once inside\, proceed to the bottom-most level to the “pay-by-plate” area (visitor parking). Having parked\, please go to the nearest pay station machine. There is a $10 all day parking rate for Structure 2. \nUCLA Visitor Parking Instructions \nFor UCLA faculty\, students & staff:\nActive Bruin ePemit Holders can request a “Transfer Permit” to cross-park in an alternate lot or structure on campus at no additional cost according to the privileges of your permit type. Check the Parking Permit Privileges for details. \n– You can obtain a 1-Day cross-parking permit through the Bruin ePermit Portal\, excluding Night and Weekend permit holders. The 1-Day cross parking permit is valid for same-day use only.\n– Faculty and staff may receive a maximum of five (5) cross-parking permits per quarter.\n– Please note\, Cross Parking (Transfer) Permits will vary depending on parking space availability.\n– To request a “Transfer Permit” please follow these instructions \nLODGING \nFor travelers visiting UCLA\, the local  hotels listed on this page have established agreements with the UC Travel Center to provide discounted rates to University travelers. Discounts are subject to change at any moment. \nUCLA Campus: \n\nUCLA Luskin Conference Center (on Campus)\n\n\n\nAlumni\, Bruin Family including students\, regular visitors\, and medical patients can use this link for personal stay at the Luskin: https://luskinconferencecenter.ucla.edu/all-specials/(link is external)\n\n\n\n\nHotel Angeleno\nHotel Kimpton Palomar\nLuxe Sunset\n\nTo make reservations\, contact UC Travel Center at (310) 206-2639 or email us at travel@finance.ucla.edu(link sends email) or book via UCLA Concur Travel Online. \nOther nearby hotels:\nUCLA Guest House\nThe Tiverton\nPalihotel Westwood Village\n\n  \nProgram URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/the-2024-ca-graduate-slavic-colloquium/ LOCATION:Kaplan Hall A65 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240419T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240419T213000 DTSTAMP:20240409T181136Z CREATED:20240408T223831Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240409T181136Z UID:7775-1713551400-1713562200@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:FILM SCREENING AND DIRECTOR Q&A: Agniia Galdanova's queer dissident documentary film "QUEENDOM" DESCRIPTION:Friday\, April 19th\, 2024\n6:30 PM\nJames Bridges Theater \nPlease register for the event below.  \n[gravityform id=”44″ title=”false” description=”false” ajax=”true”]\nPlease contact mmarrianna@g.ucla.edu if you experience any issues registering for the film screening.  \nThe UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European\, and Eurasian Languages and Cultures (SEEELC)\, in collaboration with the UCLA School of Theater\, Film\, and Television\, the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies (CERS)\, and the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy\, invites you to a screening of Agniia Galdanova’s dissident Russian documentary film “Queendom\,” which will be followed by a Q&A session with the director. View the trailer here. \nFilm Synopsis: \nGena\, a queer artist from a small town in Russia\, dresses in otherworldly costumes made from junk and tape\, and protests the government on the streets of Moscow. Born and raised on the harsh streets of Magadan\, a frigid outpost of the Soviet gulag\, Gena is only 21. She stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism. By doing that\, she wants to change people’s perception of beauty and queerness and bring attention to the harassment of the LGBTQ+ community. Their performances – often dark\, strange\, evocative\, and queer at their core – are a manifestation of Gena’s subconscious. But they come at a price. \nAbout the Director: \nAgniia Galdanova is a Sundance and IDFA-supported documentary film director. Her previous film\, “One Step Forward\, One Step Back\,” about a family’s dream to live far from civilization in the Altai Mountains\, premiered at the Message to Man International Film Festival. Her work focuses on complex human relationships told through immersive observational language. Her new film QUEENDOM about a young queer artist Gena Marvin premiered at SXSW 2023 in Documentary Competition. \n\n\n\n\nVenue\nJames Bridges Theater\n235 Charles E Young Dr E\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nParking\nParking at UCLA requires a valid permit at all times. Campus parking is available 24-hours a day at varying prices. Parking Structure 3 (P3) is closest to the event venue and offers hourly Pay-By-Space parking. Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for information about where to park and parking rates. \n\nRelated Document: queendom_poster_2.jpg \nSponsor(s): Department of Slavic\, East European\, and Eurasian Languages and Cultures (SEEELC)\, UCLA School of Theater\, Film\, and Television\, Center for European and Russian Studies (CERS)\, Luskin Center for History and Policy URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/queendom-screening-presented-by-director-producer-agniia-galdanova/ LOCATION:James Bridges Theater\, 235 Charles E Young Dr E\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240227T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240227T180000 DTSTAMP:20240221T163909Z CREATED:20240221T163745Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240221T163909Z UID:7669-1709049600-1709056800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Are Russians Resisting Putin? What Russian Court Data Says About the Scale of Repression Under Putin DESCRIPTION:The Center for European and Russian Studies (CERS) invite you to a talk by Roman Badanin\, Russian journalist in exile and the founder and editor-in-chief of Proekt and Agentstvo\, entitled “Are Russians Resisting Putin? What Russian Court Data Says About the Scale of Repression Under Putin”. His talk will be followed by discussion with Professor Daniel Treisman\, UCLA Political Science\, about the state of the Russian media landscape looks under Putin and audience Q&A. This event will take place at the UCLA Hershey Hall Salon on Tuesday\, February 27th at 4pm. Register today! \nAbout the Speaker\nRoman Badanin is the founder and editor-in-chief of Proekt (The Project) and Agentstvo (The Agency)\, media organizations that have been targeted by the Russian government for their investigative reporting into the most powerful forces in their country. He started Agentstvo in the summer of 2021 after Russian authorities outlawed Proekt\, the nonprofit investigative news organization he founded in 2018 during his 2018 JSK Fellowship that was modeled after the U.S. nonprofit investigative news outlet\, ProPublica. It was Russia’s first nonprofit news organization. A current CDDRL-JSK Visiting Fellow at Stanford University\, Badanin has been working as a journalist in leading independent Russian news organizations for 20 years. He previously was deputy editor-in-chief at Gazeta.Ru\, editor-in-chief at Forbes Digital (Russia)\, RBC News Agency\, and editor-in-chief of Dozhd (TV Rain)\, an independent Russian TV channel. He has also been affiliated with the Gorbachev Foundation and the Russian Academy of Sciences as a researcher and studied history at Moscow State University. \nVenue\nHershey Hall Salon\n801 Hilgard Ave\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nParking\nParking at UCLA requires a valid permit at all times. Campus parking is available 24-hours a day at varying prices. Parking Structure 2 is closest to the event venue. Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for information about where to park and how to pay. \nSponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies\, Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures\, Department of Political Science URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/are-russians-resisting-putin-what-russian-court-data-says-about-the-scale-of-repression-under-putin/ LOCATION:Hershey Hall Salon END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240222T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240222T213000 DTSTAMP:20240213T212409Z CREATED:20240213T212409Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240213T212409Z UID:7657-1708630200-1708637400@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Boris Dralyuk at the Hammer Museum DESCRIPTION:Poet Boris Dralyuk reads from his most recent volume\, My Hollywood and Other Poems\, a collection of lyric meditations on the experience of émigrés in Los Angeles. The Poetry Foundation proclaimed that “the ache of exile reverberates against the irretrievability of the past” in the Odessa-born poet’s work. \nBoris Dralyuk is the author of My Hollywood and Other Poems (Paul Dry Books\, 2022)\, editor of 1917: Stories and Poems from the Russian Revolution (Pushkin Press\, 2016)\, co-editor of The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry (2015)\, and the translator of volumes by Isaac Babel\, Andrey Kurkov\, Leo Tolstoy\, Maxim Osipov\, and other authors. His poems\, translations\, and criticism have appeared in The New York Review of Books\, the Times Literary Supplement\, The New Yorker\, Granta\, Best American Poetry 2023\, and elsewhere\, and he is the recipient\, most recently\, of the 2022 Gregg Barrios Translation Prize from the National Book Critics Circle. Formerly editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books\, he is currently a Presidential Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Tulsa. \nSign up for the Hammer Museum Newsletter to stay updated on upcoming events and exhibitions\, and to visit our website for the latest updates on this program and more. \nFull event details and RSVP: https://alumni.ucla.edu/event/boris-dralyuk/ URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/boris-dralyuk-at-the-hammer-museum/ LOCATION:Hammer Museum\, 10899 Wilshire Blvd\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90024 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Boris-Dralyuk-author-photo-by-Jennifer-Croft_2018-1920x1280-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231127T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231127T200000 DTSTAMP:20231102T190123Z CREATED:20231102T190123Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231102T190123Z UID:7582-1701108000-1701115200@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Annual Holiday Party and Showcase Event DESCRIPTION:Please join the Department of Slavic\, East European\, and Eurasian Languages & Cultures for our annual Holiday Party and Showcase event on Monday\, November 27th at 6:00PM in 314 Royce Hall! We will be enjoying an evening of cultural festivities including musical performances\, poetry recitations\, dancing\, skits\, and much more. Light refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you there! URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/annual-holiday-party-and-showcase-event/ LOCATION:314 Royce Hall\, 10745 Dickson Ct\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231026T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231026T170000 DTSTAMP:20231018T221410Z CREATED:20231017T174436Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231018T221410Z UID:7524-1698336000-1698339600@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:A Humanitarian Aid Kit of War Songs: A Bilingual Reading with Ukrainian Poet Iya Kiva DESCRIPTION:Please join the Department of Slavic\, East European\, and Eurasian Languages and Cultures at Royce Hall\, Room 306 for “A Humanitarian Aid Kit of War Songs: A Bilingual Reading with Ukrainian Poet Iya Kiva.” Professor Lilya Kaganovsky (UCLA) will moderate. \nIya Kiva is a poet\, translator\, and journalist. She was born in Donetsk and fled the war in 2014 to settle in Kyiv. Shortly after arriving\, she began shifting from writing in her native Russian to writing in her second language\, Ukrainian. She is the author of two volumes of poetry and the recipient of numerous awards for her poetry and translation. She is currently a fellow at the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program. URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/a-humanitarian-aid-kit-of-war-songs-a-bilingual-reading-with-ukrainian-poet-iya-kiva/ LOCATION:306 Royce Hall\, 10745 Dickson Court\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230927T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230927T140000 DTSTAMP:20230914T041424Z CREATED:20230914T041328Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230914T041424Z UID:7428-1695819600-1695823200@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:SEEELC Departmental Open House DESCRIPTION:The Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures invites you to join us in celebrating a new academic year at our annual Departmental Open House! Come and get to know your classmates and professors and learn about our majors\, minors\, and the Russian Flagship program. Light refreshments will be served. \n  \n  URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/seeelc-departmental-open-house-2/ LOCATION:311 Kaplan Hall\, 415 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230912T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230912T200000 DTSTAMP:20230829T112740Z CREATED:20230815T041749Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230829T112740Z UID:7404-1694545200-1694548800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:2023 Russian Flagship Virtual Open House DESCRIPTION:Register For 2023 Russian Virtual Open House\n  \nOn September 12\, 2023 from 7-8 PM EST\, the Russian Flagship will host an open house and interactive webinar. Register if you are interested in learning about the unique features of the Russian Flagship Program and hear from Russian Flagship program staff\, and current Flagship students. This event is being collaboratively organized by the eight U.S. universities that currently host Russian Flagship Programs. Register here\, or by clicking the flyer below: URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/2023-russian-flagship-virtual-open-house/ END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230524T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230524T190000 DTSTAMP:20230523T165005Z CREATED:20230523T164735Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230523T165005Z UID:7363-1684947600-1684954800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Cinema\, Culture and The Spirit of Time DESCRIPTION:Vladimir Paperny\, SEEELC Adjunct Professor\, author of the bestseller Architecture in the Age of Stalin: Culture Two\, translated into several languages\, the Russian-language novel Schultz’ Archive\, short-listed for the Big Book Award\, and other publications\, recently published a book based on the work he started with the late Maya Turovskaya—a comparative analysis of Soviet and American cinema of the 1930s–1960s\, Cinema\, Culture\, and the Spirit of Time (NLO\, 2022\, in Russian). \nPaperny’s ability to see connections between disparate areas of culture caught the attention of Maya Turovskaya (1924–2019)\, a prominent theater and film critic and historian\, who invited him\, despite a 20-year age gap\, to collaborate on the Soviet-American films project. Their comparative analysis of films from the 1930s–1940s provided implications beyond the realm of Film Studies\, moving closer to Cultural Studies. The first PowerPoint presentation of their project was shown at the Kennan Institute in 2008 and received a positive response. \nA few months before her death\, Turovskaya sent Paperny all her archives relayed to the project with a request “You have to turn this work into a book.” Paperny immediately set to work. He expanded the timespan of the project to the 1960s\, adding films of the “Thaw” he and Turovskaya never discussed\, as well as the history of his friendship and collaboration with Turovskaya going back to the 1950s. \nCinema\, Culture\, and the Spirit of Time URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/cinema-culture-and-the-spirit-of-time/ LOCATION:311 Kaplan Hall\, 415 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230510T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230510T133000 DTSTAMP:20230424T190613Z CREATED:20230424T190613Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230424T190613Z UID:7282-1683720000-1683725400@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Astronomers\, Theologians and Vagabonds – The Cultural Circle of Bishop John Vitez\, a 15th Century Central European Humanist DESCRIPTION:TOMISLAV MATIĆ\nFulbright Postdoctoral Fellow\nResearch Associate\, Croatian Institute for History \nAstronomers\, Theologians and Vagabonds – The Cultural Circle of Bishop John Vitez\, a 15th Century Central European Humanist\n\nWednesday\, May 10\, 2023 | 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Royce 236 \nThis lecture will show that Eastern Central Europe was a participant in broader European cultural movements as early as the 15th century. For more information\, please go to this lecture’s listing on our website.\nCo-sponsored by UCLA Department of European Languages & Transcultural Studies\, UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures\, and UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies. \n\nUCLA CMRS Center for Early Global Studies\ncmrs@humnet.ucla.edu  |  cmrs.ucla.edu URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/astronomers-theologians-and-vagabonds-the-cultural-circle-of-bishop-john-vitez-a-15th-century-central-european-humanist/ LOCATION:236 Royce END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230503T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230503T190000 DTSTAMP:20230426T182513Z CREATED:20230426T182513Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230426T182513Z UID:7304-1683136800-1683140400@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:From Soviet Hell to the Putin Nightmare DESCRIPTION:Two Literary Protest Almanachs: Metropol (1979) and VYKHOD (2022)\n\nOffering a timely perspective on the literary and political landscape of modern-day Russia\, this presentation will discuss two literary protest almanacs\, Metropol (1978) and VYKHOD (2022)\, which feature contemporary non-conformist Russian writers. The Metropol almanac was a collection of uncensored texts by well-known writers including Vladimir Vysotsky\, Bella Akhmadulina\, and Andrei Voznesensky\, among others. Metropol was self-published in Moscow in December 1978 in a run of 12 copies and was then smuggled to the United States\, where it was reprinted by Ardis Publishing in 1979. VYKHOD (Exit) is a new project by Erofeiev\, featuring a collection of contemporary Russian non-conformist writers\, most of whom left Russia after the start of Putin’s war against Ukraine. VYKHOD features work by prose authors\, Vladimir Sorokin and Liudmila Ulitskaya\, poets Andrei Makarevich and Boris Grebenschikov\, and a new name\, Alexandre Delfinov\, among others. While VYKHOD showcases writers who fled Russia after Putin began the war\, Metropol collected texts that could not be published in the Soviet Union. The comparison of these two collections highlights the evolution of contemporary Russian literature and offers insights into the country’s history\, politics\, and society. Erofeiev will explore the differences between Metropol’s hopefulness and VYKHOD’s despair\, themes of disillusion\, and the weakness of liberal resources in Russian society. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.\n\n\nSpeaker\nBorn in Moscow in 1947\, Victor Erofeiev is a well-known writer\, television\, and radio personality. His father was Stalin’s personal interpreter for French. He became known worldwide for his novel Russian Beauty\, published in 1989 and translated into 27 languages. In 1979 he was expelled from the USSR Writers’ Union for his participation in the literary anthology Metropol\, which included texts that were banned by Soviet censors. After the collapse of the Soviet Union\, he republished this almanac. Erofeiev’s writing\, particularly his novel Encyclopedia of the Russian Soul (1999)\, has been controversial among Russian nationalists. (1999). Erofeev’s contributions to literature have earned him numerous accolades\, including the Legion d’Honneur and the Ordre d’Art et Letters in France and the Kommandor Cross in Poland. Besides writing\, Erofeiev has taught and lectured around the world in English\, French\, Russian\, and Polish. He contributes regularly to German newspapers\, including FAZ\, Die Zeit\, and Die Welt. In March 2022\, Erofeiev left Russia and is now a professor of literature at Luneburg University in Germany. In April 2023\, he published a collection of essays titled Naked Russia\, dedicated to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In his most recent work\, The Great Gopnik\, to be published by Matthes & Seitz later this year\, he relates his biography to that of Vladimir Putin. \n  \nAdditional Links: \n\nhttps://www.schloss-wiepersdorf.de/en/eventreader/behind-putin-s-curtain-encyclopedia-of-russian-soul.html\nhttps://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-%27gopnik%27-Putin-and-Russian-Russophobia–56883.html\n\n  \nSponsor(s): Center for World Languages\, Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/from-soviet-hell-to-the-putin-nightmare/ LOCATION:10383 Bunche Hall\, 11282 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230429T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230429T160000 DTSTAMP:20230404T211601Z CREATED:20230404T211601Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230404T211601Z UID:7248-1682758800-1682784000@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Undergraduate Conference on Slavic & East/Central European Studies DESCRIPTION:Click here for more information URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/undergraduate-conference-on-slavic-east-central-european-studies/ LOCATION:Online\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230420T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230420T173000 DTSTAMP:20230417T205330Z CREATED:20230417T205330Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230417T205330Z UID:7276-1682006400-1682011800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Yes\, Russia is Still an Empire\, But This Won't Last Long DESCRIPTION:Still from Chornobyl 22\, a documentary film by Oleksiy Radynski\, 2023. Camera: Max Savchenko. \nAbstract\nJoin Ukrainian filmmaker Oleksiy Radynski and art historian Asia Bazdyrieva as they expand the territory of decolonial discourse by examining Ukraine’s anti-imperial war against Russia. Analyzing Russia’s tactics of energy colonialism\, its neo-fascist regime\, and the complicity of the West’s failing capitalist models\, the presentation will expand the notion of the Russian Federation as a settler apparatus based on institutional racism and extractivist exploitation. The speakers will argue that the dissolution of the Russian Federation is a necessary element in the global fight against colonial and racist power structures. \nSpeakers\nAsia Bazdyrieva is an art historian whose work focuses on hybrid European-Soviet modernity and its ideological and material implications in spaces\, bodies\, and lands. Bazdyrieva co-authored Geocinema\, a collaborative project exploring infrastructures of earth sensing as a form of cinema\, which has been nominated for the Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research (2020) and the Golden Key Prize at the Kassel Dokfest (2021). She is currently an associate member of Critical Media Lab Basel and a resident of transmediale. [Portrait photograph of Asia Bazdyrieva by Support Your Art] \nOleksiy Radynski is a filmmaker based in Kyiv\, Ukraine. He was born in 1984 and raised on the ruins of a Documentary Film Studio in Kyiv. After studying film theory at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy\, he took part in several film education experiments including Home Workspace Program (Ashkal Alwan\, Beirut) and Labor in a Single Shot by Harun Farocki and Antje Ehmann. His films have been screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam\, Oberhausen International Short Film Festival\, e-flux (New York)\, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (London)\, Krakow IFF\, DOK Leipzig\, DoсAviv\, Sheffield Doc Fest\, Docudays IFF\, S A V V Y Contemporary (Berlin)\, International Studio & Curatorial Program (New York)\, among other places\, and received a number of festival awards. As an essayist he contributed to publications including Proxy Politics: Power and Subversion in a Networked Age (Archive Books\, 2017)\, Art and Theory of Post-1989 Central and East Europe: A Critical Anthology (MoMA\, 2018)\, and e-flux journal. [Portrait photograph of Oleksiy Radynski by Anastasiya Mantach]\n \nModerator\nLaurie Kain Hart is Director of the Center for European and Russian Studies and a sociocultural anthropologist with a research focus on the long-term effects on persons and communities of ethnopolitical conflict\, civil war\, state engineered population displacements\, migration\, nationalism\, racism\, globalization\, and ethnospatial segregation. As a former architect\, she is particularly interested in theories of space and place that help us understand the impact of spatial\, architectural\, and geopolitical forces on social inequality and marginalization. Hart’s interest is in understanding the links between macro-social and political forces and individual subjectivity. She therefore works at the intersection of political anthropology\, space and place theory\, and medical-psychiatric anthropology. Hart is affiliated with UCLA Global Studies\, Center for Social Medicine and the Humanities at the UCLA Semel Institute\, and teaches courses on violence\, urban anthropology\, borders and migration\, globalization and culture\, the anthropology of space and home\, the anthropology of art and architecture\, and contemporary social theory. \nRecommended Reading\n\nNo Milk\, No Love by Asia Bazdyrieva\nThe Case Against the Russian Federation by Oleksiy Radynski\n\n  \nAbout Kyiv to LA\nKyiv to LA is a joint exhibition and residency project that supports Ukrainian arts at a time when Ukrainian sovereignty and culture are under attack. Organized by Marathon Screenings and independent curator Asha Bukojemsky\, the initiative invites six Ukrainian artists and art historians to participate in a Los Angeles based residency\, culminating in a public program of talks\, screenings\, listening sessions and presentations. The project marks a unique and timely collaboration with several LA-based organizations and institutions including 18th Street Arts Center; Institute of Contemporary Arts\, Los Angeles (ICA LA); GRI Scholars Program; Villa Aurora Thomas Mann House (VATMH); The Center for European and Russian Studies\, UCLA; The Fulcrum; and Art at the Rendon. Additional programming hosted by e-flux in New York. Kyiv to LA is made possible by a generous grant from Nora McNeely Hurley and Manitou Fund. \nVenue\n\nBunche Hall\, Room 10383 (10th floor)\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nParking\nParking at UCLA requires a valid permit at all times. Campus parking is available 24-hours a day at varying prices. Nearest parking to the event venue is Parking Structure 2 (P2). P2 rates: $3.00 – $15.00 (1 hour – all day). Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for information about how to pay. \n\n  \n  \nRelated Document: 20230420-Radynski-Bazdyrieva-poster-ln-rxz.pdf URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/yes-russia-is-still-an-empire-but-this-wont-last-long/ LOCATION:10383 Bunche Hall\, 11282 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230419T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230419T193000 DTSTAMP:20230412T190038Z CREATED:20230412T190038Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230412T190038Z UID:7261-1681925400-1681932600@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Writing a Way out of Communism DESCRIPTION:Leading Czech novelist Martin Vopěnka reflects on how\, growing up in communist Europe\, writers found their voices. What can we learn from their fictional worlds as we face our own troubled times? As he launches his new novel MY BROTHER THE MESSIAH\, Martin Vopěnka leads us into the mindset of current Slavic writing.\n  \n\nMartin Vopěnka (born 1963) \n\nCzech writer with Jewish roots and author of 25 book titles\nProfound thinker and visionary in books for adults\, a sensitive guide and teacher in books for children and youth\n\nHe’s been writing since his childhood\, despite being forced to study mathematics and physics during the communist era. Yet this unwanted education was later used in some of his novels. \nHis work received awards and recently\, a feature film was made based on one of his novels. His books were published in English\, German\, Italian\, Polish\, Russian\, Bulgarian\, Rumanian\, Slovakian\, French\, Arabic\, and Macedonian. \nVopěnka’s literature is distinguished by high sensitivity for the inner tension of an individual as well as for dangerous aspects of a whole society. Also for endangering our planet and our society. \nHis books for children and youth are among the most successful\, popular\, and appreciated in the Czech Republic. In them\, too\, he touches on serious topics in the belief that children are our good future and can do more than we think. \nOccasionally\, Vopěnka also devotes himself to poetry\, which he considers to be the highest verbal formation. Some of his poems have been published in English in online anthologies. \nDespite his steadily writing\, he makes his living as a publisher. He established his publishing house Prah (in Czech: Threshold) in 1990 – shortly after the Velvet Revolution. He engages also socially. Since 2003\, he is a chair of the Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers and during his time he considerably enhanced the prestige of this organization. Regularly\, he writes polemic articles for the newspapers. \nAuthor’s Website \n  \n“Vopěnka’s reputation as the next Milan Kundera is well cemented…” — Simon Ings\, The Times. \n  \n\nMy Brother the Messiah \nIf in the near future a new Messiah were to appear in the middle of Europe\, would people accept him? And would it prove possible to establish a new religion? \nIt is 2096\, and a state of drought has obtained for many years. The bed of the River Vltava has dried up. But hope exists thanks to a scientific project that fends off the sun’s rays in the stratosphere. Eli is born in the Prague district of Holešovice as the first rain is falling. \nIt is 2168\, and Marek\, Eli’s elder brother\, is in a Greek settlement close to Mount Olympus\, preaching to survivors of the worst exodus in human history. At this point\, only a staunch handful believe that martyred Eli was the Messiah. \n  \nThe latest novel by Czech writer and visionary Martin Vopěnka has the highest ambitions. Plausibly and with great sensitivity for the psychology of his characters\, the author shows how much pain\, love\, hate\, doubt and hope one life can bring\, when its subject appears capable of emulating the role in human history played by Jesus. In the opinion of the author\, although Jesus was not a miracle worker\, the mere fact that his legacy has survived to the present day is a miracle in itself. \nThe novel is set in two time frames\, the main one being in the year 2168. The scene is northern Greece\, not far from Mount Olympus\, where Marek\, brother of Eli\, the long-dead\, presumptive Messiah\, delivers a sermon to a modest gathering of Eli’s disciples. These followers are predominantly Czech: Eli\, too\, was a Czech. \nThis time\, the sermon is attended by a slim\, attractive girl. She gazes up at the ageing Marek (he is now over seventy) from the front row; after the sermon\, she follows him to his bungalow. Marek is used to the attention of women\, who usually come to him out of platonic love for Eli. But this girl\, Natalia\, takes him by surprise: her interest is in Marek himself\, specifically the story of his life at Eli’s side. \nMarek begins to talk – and so returns to the Prague district of Holešovice\, on the banks of the River Vltava\, where he was born in 2096. Eli was born in the same place in 2105. It is a time of climate catastrophe. Central Europe has been afflicted by drought for many years. The Vltava has practically dried up\, and Prague is deluged by refugees from the south. The country is ruled by a president who was democratically elected but is now an out-and-out dictator; as the president succeeds in maintaining order\, he has the support of the majority. Marek’s father is in the president’s employ. \nJust before Eli’s birth\, a significant breakthrough is achieved: world powers agree to place in the stratosphere a diffraction grating that should divert many of the sun’s rays\, so cooling the atmosphere. This project raises huge levels of expectation. Before long\, clouds really do appear. As the first rain falls\, Eli is born at a nearby clinic. \n  \nMarek’s father\, now a high-ranking officer in the dictator’s personal guard\, chooses this very moment to leave the family\, having found himself a new one. Marek’s sick\, obese mother is left to bring up her two sons alone. Around Eli\, things seem somehow to happen of their own accord. The family is apparently safe. Marek loves Eli from the first and feels a deep connection with him. He will live for him and him only until – aged over seventy – he meets Natalia. Though she is young and beautiful\, Natalia loves Marek – for himself\, not as the brother of the Messiah. This is a new situation for Marek\, and he is confused by it. Eli’s disciples are unhappy that their prophet is living with the young newcomer\, and they are concerned that he is neglecting his mission. \nThe book continues to switch between the storyline developing the psychology of Marek and Natalia’s love with a retrospective of the life of the Messiah. \nThe experiment with the grating has gone awry; a new ice age is sweeping into Europe from the north. The flow of refugees from south to north has been reversed. As states crumble\, the exodus is marked by a struggle for survival\, localized wars and killings. Although Eli performs no miracles\, his words have a strange strength\, attraction and power. The novel’s retrospective narration turns out to be a new gospel – a witness to the chosenness of the Messiah\, albeit one that is difficult to understand. Aged thirty\, Eli dies a martyr in Dubrovnik\, Croatia\, having fallen victim to wealthy Czechs whom he tried to convince of the need for modesty and humility\, although he knew how his entreaties would end. For the seventy-year-old Marek\, the memory of Eli’s death is still painful. The only true miracle foretold by Eli before his death is that those who fail to follow him will bear many fewer children or none at all. According to Eli\, the miracle of creation should not be taken for granted. \n  \nIt transpires that Natalia and Eli have something in common: she was born in Dubrovnik only weeks after Eli’s death. She has fled from her wealthy parents. \nThis ageing\, childless world is coming to an end. Is a new beginning on the horizon? A small number of Eli’s disciples have borne children; the hatred this inspires puts them at constant risk. Some senior rabbis fly from the state of Israel to speak with Marek. If they can prove that Eli was a Jew and so accept him as the Messiah\, the Jews will again bear children\, and again be the chosen people. The rabbis refer to the traditional Jewish belief in two Messiahs: the first unites the Jewish nation\, so effectively seeing out the old world\, while the second establishes a new unity. But a genetic test soon ascertains that Marek is not a Jew; in that case\, nor was Eli. The despondent rabbis return to their homeland\, all hope lost. \nOne day\, Natalia goes missing. Marek fears the worst: some of Eli’s disciples have refused to accept her presence among them. They may have abducted her; they may have killed her. Natalia has left several seemingly deliberate clues behind\, but Marek cannot make out their message. A st \nudent travels out from the city to help; in the story\, he has a spiritual kinship with Saul of Tarsus – it seems that he will be the one to take Eli’s teachings into the wider world. \nAs his life draws to its close\, Marek wishes to make a pilgrimage to Eli’s grave\, which overlooks Dubrovnik. If he has read the signs correctly\, Natalia will be there. In all likelihood\, her parents were behind her abduction. \nThe pilgrimage to Dubrovnik takes several months. On their way\, Marek and the student pass abandoned camps\, languishing settlements and half-empty palaces that were once homes of the mighty. The student writes down what Marek tells him about Eli – this will form the basis of his teachings. At last they are within sight of Eli’s grave\, where there is now a small shrine. Marek walks the last few steps alone. As he approaches the door\, he hears bitter weeping. On entering the shrine\, he sees a young woman with a new-born baby; it is she – Natalia – who is weeping. Between sobs\, she tells him: “He spoke to me. I met him.” Eli has appeared to her\, to tell her that her son will be the true Messiah. “Whose child is he?” asks Marek in confusion. “Yours and mine\, you silly thing!” Natalia answers. \n  \nThe novel My Brother the Messiah does not present a likely scenario for the future. But neither did the birth of Jesus – Jesus was born on the periphery of the world of that time. And if we do not believe that he turned water into wine\, walked on water\, brought Lazarus back from the dead and was the last of the last to be crucified\, leaving behind but a few hopeless disciples\, how did it happen that his teachings have survived in such powerful form as to become Europe’s dominant religion? It is this very unlikelihood in apparently helpless beginnings that Vopěnka’s novel’s captures with such virtuosity\, freshness and originality. In so doing\, he poses many questions on the future of humanity\, redemption and hope. \n\nSponsored by URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/writing-a-way-out-of-communism/ LOCATION:348 Kaplan Hall\, 415 Portola Plaza\, Los Angeles\, CA\, 90095\, United States END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230314T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230314T193000 DTSTAMP:20230310T183346Z CREATED:20230310T183205Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230310T183346Z UID:7224-1678816800-1678822200@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:“NAVALNY” AND THE STRUGGLE FOR RUSSIA'S FUTURE: A CONVERSATION WITH INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST MARIA PEVCHIKH DESCRIPTION:Conversation with investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh \n\nTuesday\, March 14\, 2023\n6:00 PM – 7:30 PM (Pacific Time)\nPhysics & Astronomy Building\, Room 1425 \n\nThe UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies (CERS) in co-sponsorship with the UCLA Russian Flagship Program\, the UCLA Department of Slavic\, East European and Eurasian Languages and Cultures\, and The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law invite you to “Navalny” and the Struggle for Russia’s Future: A Conversation with Investigative Journalist Maria Pevchikh. The event will take place in-person on Tuesday\, February 14\, 2023 at 6:00pm in Physics & Astronomy Building\, Room 1425. \nRegistration required for attendance. \nSpeaker\nMaria Pevchikh is a Russian investigative journalist\, activist and head of the investigative unit of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Pevchikh is known for exposing high-level criminal activity in Russia. She studied at the Faculty of Sociology of Moscow State University. In 2010 she moved to the United Kingdom\, where she graduated from the Faculty of Political Science of the London School of Economics. Maria Pevchikh gained media attention in 2020 after the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. She was one of the companions of Alexei Navalny during his trip across Russia when he was poisoned. [Source: Wikipedia]\nModerators\nDaniel Treisman is a professor of political science at the University of California\, Los Angeles and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 2021-22\, he is a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. A graduate of Oxford University (B.A. Hons.) and Harvard University (Ph.D. 1995)\, he has published five books and numerous articles in leading political science and economics and public affairs journals. His research focuses on Russian politics and economics as well as comparative political economy\, including in particular the analysis of democratization\, the politics of authoritarian states\, political decentralization\, and corruption. \nOleg Itskhoki is a professor of economics at University of California\, Los Angeles. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research\, a Research Affiliate at the Center for Economic Policy Research\, and an Associate Editor at the American Economic Review. He was a participate of the 2009 Review of Economic Studies Tour\, a Sloan Research Fellow in 2015-2017\, and was on the list IMF’s list of 25 economists under 45. His areas of interest include globalization and labor markets\, and exchange rates and international relative prices. \nVenue\nPhysics & Astronomy Building\, Room 1425\n430 Portola Plaza\nLos Angeles\, CA 90095 \nParking\nParking at UCLA requires a valid permit at all times. Campus parking is available 24-hours a day at varying prices. Nearest parking to the event venue is Parking Structure 2 (P2). P2 rates: $3.00 – $15.00 (1 hour – all day). Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for information about how to pay. \n  \nSponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies\, UCLA Russian Flagship Program\, Department of Slavic\, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures\, The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/navalny-and-the-struggle-for-russias-future-a-conversation-with-investigative-journalist-maria-pevchikh/ LOCATION:1425 PAB Building END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230310T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230310T190000 DTSTAMP:20230214T183242Z CREATED:20230214T183242Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230214T183242Z UID:7189-1678471200-1678474800@dev.slavic.ucla.edu SUMMARY:Poetry Night DESCRIPTION: URL:https://dev.slavic.ucla.edu/event/poetry-night-2/ LOCATION:Online\, United States END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR