Changing times in Eastern European Literatures – EUTIM Annual Conference 2022 at the University of Potsdam
From September 15 to 17, 2022, experts within the framework of the research network “Europäische Zeiten/European Times – A Transregional Approach to the Societies of Central and Eastern Europe (EUTIM)” will meet at the University of Potsdam to discuss narratives of time and conceptualizations of history in literature in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The conference of the EUTIM network entitled “Time Out of Joint: Literary (Re)Visions of Time in Eastern and Central Europe” will feature important theoretical discussions against the backdrop of contemporary historical events such as Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the suppression of the protest movement in Belarus in 2020, and Russia’s full-blown war against Ukraine in 2022.
The conference will begin with a keynote address by Dr. Rory Finnin (University of Cambridge) on Crimean Tatar literature entitled “Colonial Times: Literary Representations of the ‘Fountain of Tears’ of Bağcasaray (Bakhchisarai)”. In addition, contributions are planned on Polish postwar literature, Belarusian poetry, contemporary Czech novels, and Ukrainian war poetry.
“We very much focus on non-imperial literatures and cultures, especially on the situation in Ukraine, Belarus, the Czech Republic, and Poland.,” says Alexander Wöll, Professor of the Culture and Literature of Central and Eastern Europe at the University of Potsdam and scientific director of this year’s focus on “Small Literatures and Neighborhoods” within the EUTIM project. Wöll conceived the conference together with Dr. Bohdan Tokarskyi, a Lecturer at the University of Potsdam and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the project. The conference with scholars from Germany and abroad will take place in the Senate Hall at the Neues Palais campus of the University of Potsdam and will be held in a hybrid format. The working language of the conference is English.
On September 16, a Belarusian literature evening will take place at the Einstein Forum in Potsdam at 17:00 as part of the conference. Guests will include the writers Alhierd Bacharevič and Artur Klinaŭ, the poet Yulia Cimafiejeva, and the translator Thomas Weiler. The reading, followed by a discussion, will be moderated by the Slavist Dr. Tatiana Klepikova from the University of Potsdam. The EUTIM research network is a joint project of the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), the University of Potsdam and the Forum Transregionale Studien in Berlin. It deals with narratives of time and space at the edges of Europe. Based on experiences in the societies of Central and Eastern Europe, concepts such as “old”/”new” and “East”/”West” are analyzed with their temporal demarcations and localizations. The EUTIM project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the “Regional Studies” funding guidelines.
Dates: September 15 to 17, 2022
Location: Neues Palais campus, Building 9, Senate Hall (Room 1.03), Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam
Contact: Prof. Dr. Alexander Wöll, Culture and Literature of Eastern and Central Europe
Telephone: 0331 977-150101 (Departmental Office)
Email: awoell@uni-potsdam.de
Press release, published 7 September 2022