CBEES Advanced seminar with Kirill Kozhanov, Postdoctoral Researcher in Romani Studies, Södertörn University

Speaker: Kirill Kozhanov, Postdoctoral Researcher in Romani Studies at Södertörn University
Discussant: Sofiya Zahova, Researcher at the University of Iceland
Chair: Kimmo Granqvist, Professor of Romani Studies at Södertörn University

Abstract:
As a part of the large-scale program tackling the issues of Roma in early Soviet Union, Standard Romani was created in the mid-1920s in Moscow. The new standard language was used prolifically to create a new Romani culture: more than 200 books and journals were published during the 1920s and 1930s. Although Soviet Romani literature is usually characterized as “didactic” or “fully Soviet”, the author addresses conceptual and aesthetical conflicts which found their place in the writings of the Soviet Romani authors, e.g. the conflict between the “traditional” and “modern”, “old” and “new”, “national/Gypsy” and “universal/Soviet”. The author also claims that this collision is typical not only for Soviet Romani literature, but lies at the core of the nationality policy of early Soviet Union.

Bio:
Kirill Kozhanov is a linguist specializing in Romani and Balto-Slavic contact area. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in Romani Studies at Södertörn University. He holds a doctorate in Historical, Comparative and Typological Linguistics (Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow) and has been involved in extensive fieldwork on various Romani dialects for more than ten years (Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova etc.). He also led a project on creating the corpus of Soviet Romani literature Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster. and was one of the experts on the section of Romani literature for the RomArchive project Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster.

Join the seminar via Zoom Länk till annan webbplats, öppnas i nytt fönster.

Meeting ID: 621 5400 6519
Passcode: 934728