Teachers of Russian language and literature in the USA and Oxford – about philological work and sanctions
Chairs in Slavic studies appeared in Europe in the 1950s, and since then it has become an intensive international discipline. But lately there has been concern in society that Russia has been excluded from the international cultural context. We chose Slavists who produce in the West, how their work has changed and who now needs Russian literature.
The academic philosophical community has always been distinguished by its internationality – universities cooperate with each other, and representatives of various countries meet at conferences. However, in recent months, some Western departments have suspended work with industry colleagues, joint projects have been frozen, and from many sides it seems that Russian language and literature has ceased to interest students and scientists in the West. Is this true, or is it quite the opposite? How has the attitude towards teachers from Russia and the subject itself changed? Philologists were asked.
Maya Kucherskaya
Professor, visiting lecturer at US universities
February 24 found me in New York, reading the documents of the Bakhmetevsky Archive, in which I worked, having received a Fulbright Scholarship. Throughout March, I had a schedule, I had to give guest lectures at various American universities: Yale, Columbia, New York, California, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Princeton, and also at the Harriman Institute, at the Western Slavic Center at Columbia University. My lectures were devoted mainly to Nikolai Leskov or Joseph Brodsky. As you know, Brodsky wrote the very poem about independence, but even this did not bother anyone who attracted me. Not a single lecture was published, although it was clear that I was from Russia and would speak about Russian literature, including Brodsky. The only department head at the local university who did not respond to my friends’ proposal to invite me to speak rather harshly, said that he was now listening to a lecture in favor of choosing a poem that he considered inappropriate. But to be honest, I still don’t know if this was not just the reason for the decision taken.
In all the classrooms of the named universities, I met only sympathy and sometimes met the highest sorrow in the ocean, not anti-Russian at all, no. Sorrow for the dead, for the tragedy, for the catastrophe. However, this grief came from fellow professors and graduate students, much less so from students. To put it bluntly, the American students who do not meet with the study of Russia, all these incidents, it seems to me, were not too busy. For them, it was some very distant lover.
So, the economy in America, I did not notice any rejections and rejections of colleagues, at all. Pouchene, those who repeatedly chose Russian literature as their profession did so solely out of great love. Slavic studies are not the most prosperous field, this is not programming, not molecular biology. By choosing to study Russian literature, you doom yourself to a rather humiliating job search (there are vanishingly few of them!) And not a very high salary. You can go through all these torments only out of passionate love.
At the same time, it is no secret that relations with the Higher School of Economics, which cooperated with dozens of foreign universities, have been interrupted or frozen by most European and American colleagues. Of course, students will suffer the most from this, but well, such is the logic of military performances. I also know that, at the same time, Slavic investigative magazines continue to publish articles living in Russia, colleagues, although some of the publications nevertheless took a break and thought about their investigator for about two or three months, but suddenly ended up on the continuation of relations. And valuable research by scientists from Europe and the USA with public colleagues, of course, also continues. Invitations to conferences go, although sometimes they ask for non-public affiliation.
Andrey Zorin
Professor at Oxford University (UK)
Obviously, the so-called abolition of Russian culture is limited to Ukraine, where it is going on at a frantic pace, partly to Poland, where it is quite noticeable, and a little to the Baltic countries, where it can be found if you look closely. That is, we are talking about the former colonies, where such an attitude towards Russia is completely understandable and predictable.
As for the departments, it is too early to say – here the changes are observed very slowly. There has not yet been a single new recruitment of students since the beginning of the special operations.
First impressions are mixed. We have [в Оксфорде] interest in the English language is very great and seems to have even increased. At the same time, American colleagues say that there has been a decline. One way or another, it will be possible to draw preliminary conclusions about precedents – it will be possible to fully assess the situation only in the fall.
Henrik Baran
Honorary Professor at the University of Albany (USA)
I follow the famous from a distance: I got retired, I don’t have much importance for contacts with colleagues and students in research, and big scientific conferences, both in America, take place in autumn and winter. For several years I have not been like them, but this is definitely a trip: it is very important and interesting to find out who thinks what.
For many years, my scientific communication took place in Russia, and, as a rule, in Moscow. But, alas, the last time I was there was in January 2020 – and I’m unlikely to get there again in the near future. However, this year I participated remotely in several round tables, I am working on a joint publication project and on articles for magazines.
If we talk about the future of Slavic studies, then I think that those in the past of Russia will deal with those who will study – but in general, Slavic studies will become less Russo-centric. Here it is worth recalling the history of this area. She became a holder in law in earnest after the end of World War II. Then, in the 1940s and 1950s, graduates of technohazardous universities, where Slavic doctoral programs were founded, became full-fledged Slavists. They had not only a good Russian language and serious knowledge of Russian culture, but also excellent regions, Polish, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian and other languages. And then, for various reasons, Slavic studies focused on Russia, on Russian culture – and from about the 1970s, scientific and pedagogical positions for specialists in Eastern Europe gradually disappeared. In the 1990s, other Slavic countries began to be visualized again. I think that in the near future Eastern European cultures outside of Russia will become more acute. Usually, in Slavic departments, two Slavic languages are required for a doctoral degree. the highest of them is always highly valued by the Russian language, and the second language for the graduate is such an important lesser role – at the present time, I believe this situation will and will actively go towards the decentralization of scientific interests. It is possible that applicants to doctoral programs most often choose topics related to Slavic languages and cultures. Nevertheless, interest in Russia is also not going anywhere.