“This pipe is not a pipe” or: Shared past and cultural legacy in transition from a prism of national literature and a new Zeitgeist

Abstract

This talk will be on my own experience of various understanding of "common" questions, from established scholars to PhD students from various backgrounds, especially for last decade. Launching AzCLA in 2004 has given me an opportunity to arrange international projects with conferences, workshops, panels and forthcoming publications and to build a theoretical platform for a cultural bridge between common past and divided present by bringing together scholars of western ("developed") countries and post – socialist countries (so – called 'post – colonial' by the developed countries) to avoid abusing labels in scholarship and to promote mutual understanding.

 These topics encompass theory of shared past and its modern interpretation; criteria for national literature and culture; stereotypes on parallels between the end XX century transition and earlier collapsed identities; how contemporary people have shaped societies with distinct social attitudes and behavioral norms for regulation of communication through centuries using medieval epics as a source for cultural anthropology.  

Suggested talk is based on the gaps between local and international experience and will resume AzCLA conferences and contribute to researches exploring on how downfall of countries and political borders impact comparative literature as a field; how local literatures and cultures from small areas can contribute to the comparative literature and cultural studies in general and local (from a perspective of a person who went from living in one united country (Soviet Union) to a divided one with new political identities).

 AzCLA suggests more common platforms for sharing experience between local and international, young and established scholars; maybe series on the proposed topics by each CLA or authors under the ICLA umbrella with the motto “sharing experiences for better mutual understanding.”