Cancelled and Postponed: The Soviet Modernization Project and Representations of National and Ethnic Belonging in Soviet Cinema (1953-1985)
Due to several participants’ cancellations for personal reasons, the workshop on June 15-16 is unfortunately canceled and will be moved to autumn 2026. The date and time will be announced within a few weeks. Apologies for any inconvenience!
The workshop aims to analyze the treatment of the relation between the Soviet project of modernization (and modernity) and national and ethnic belonging in feature films from the Soviet Union, focusing on productions from the Soviet republics other than Russia (RSFSR) since the Thaw era.
Location: Institute of Slavic and Eastern European Studies (ISOS), Plattenstrasse 43, 8032 Zurich, PLG 111. The workshop is public—registration is not required, but is welcome via email to matthias.meindl@uzh.ch
Day 1
Autumn 2026 (date will be announced shortly)
PLG 111
Institute of Slavic and Eastern European Studies (ISOS), Plattenstrasse 43, 8032 Zurich
Time |
Title |
| 15:30 | Matthias Meindl: Introduction |
| 15:45 | Birgit Beumers: Soviet/Kazakh Schooling in the Films of Abdulla Karsakbaev |
| 16:30 | Coffee Break |
| 17:00 | Anna Ladinig: Ambiguous Images of Soviet-Kyrgyz Mountainscapes in The Sky of Our Childhood (Bakajdyn šajyty, Nebo nashego detstva,1966) |
|
Matthias Schwartz: "Watch out! Snakes!" Anti Colonialism, Emancipation, and Masculinity in Late Soviet Uzbek Adventure Films |
|
| 17:45 | Intermediary Summary Discussion |
Day 2
Autumn 2026 (date will be announced shortly)
PLG1 11
Institute of Slavic and Eastern European Studies (ISOS), Plattenstrasse 43, 8032 Zurich
Time |
Title |
| 10:00 | Matthias Meindl: Supernatural, Mythical, and Religious Elements in Sergej Parajanov's National(ist) Cinema |
| 10:45 | Eugénie Zvonkine: Self-Narrating and Autobiographical Territory as a Vector for a National Cinema in The Sky of Our Childhood (Bakajdyn šajyty, Nebo nashego detstva, 1966) |
| 11:30 | Coffee Break |
| 12:00 | Concluding Discussion |