Harvard University, Professor Woolhiser && Belarus
In October, Harvard University is hosting a symposium on Belarus and a theater from Vitebsk (according to NAABS newsletter, this is “the first North American appearance by any professional Belarusan theater”). Besides, professor Curt Woolhiser from Harvard is going to teach a course in Belarusian at Harvard for graduate students. Great news, professor Woolhiser! Bravo, Harvard!
Symposium: “The Arts, National Identity and Cultural Politics in Belarus”
Harvard University, October 13-15, 2005Harvard University’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures is pleased to announce a symposium on “The Arts, National Identity and Cultural Politics in Belarus” to be held at Harvard on October 13-15, 2005, in conjunction with the first North American performances by the Jakub Kolas Academic Theatre at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, Massachusetts. The symposium will focus on the role of literature and the arts in the construction of competing visions of Belarusian national and cultural identity, and the ways in which the Lukashenka regime has sought to shape post-Soviet Belarusian society through state intervention in the cultural sphere. Presentations are planned on contemporary Belarusian literature, theatre, music, visual arts and film, as well as cultural and educational policy in Belarus under Lukashenka. In addition, there will be a screening and discussion of the recent, critically acclaimed film “Occupation: Mysterium” (2004) by the Belarusian director A. Kudzinenka (banned in Belarus for its unflattering portrayal of Soviet partisans during WWII), a reading of contemporary Belarusian poetry, and an exhibit of Belarusian visual arts and photography.
Please check the website of the North American Association for Belarusian Studies (www.belarusianstudies.org) for updates. For further information, please contact Dr. Curt Woolhiser (Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University) by e-mail at cwoolhis@fas.harvard.edu.
Professor Woolhiser also sent out this announcement:
The North American Association for Belarusian Studies (NAABS) and the family of the late Zora Kipel are pleased to announce two annual prizes for new publications in Belarusian studies, the Zora Kipel Book Prize, and the Zora Kipel Article Prize. The prizes, $500.00 for books and $200.00 for articles, will be awarded to the authors of outstanding new publications in the fields of Belarusian cultural studies, linguistics, literature, history and politics. Books and articles published in the last three years (2002-2005) in either English or Belarusian are eligible. Winners will be selected by a panel of judges made up of NAABS officers and members. To enter the competition, please send a copy of your book or article to the following address by December 1, 2005:
Dr. Curt Woolhiser
Harvard University
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Barker Center 327, 12 Quincy St.
Cambridge, MA 02138-3804Winners will be announced in the spring of 2006.
