The Russian Revolution and Its Legacies: Taking Stock a Century Later

Conference venue: Tartu, Estonia
Period: 4–6 June 2017
Deadline for submitting proposal: 20 February 2017

Scholars working in all subfields of area studies, including comparative politics, international relations, economics, history, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies and related disciplines, are invited to submit proposals for panels, roundtables and papers for the Second Tartu Conference on Russian and East European Studies.

The Tartu Conference is a venue for academic discussion of the fundamental cultural, social, economic and political trends affecting all aspects of people’s life in Russia and Eastern Europe. The First Tartu Conference, held in June 2016, brought together more than 200 scholars from across multiple disciplines, from the region and beyond.

Participants of the 2017 conference are invited to share their reflections on the Russian revolution of 1917 and the ensuing developments in Russia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world. How are they represented and interpreted today by professional historians, various political actors and the wider public? What was their impact on culture, the economy, political systems, ideologies and social structures? Which legacies and path-dependencies going back to 1917 continue to be relevant today for memory politics, value systems, social institutions, the economy and international relations? What does an analysis of 1917 and its legacies contribute to the comparative study of revolutions? How can the liberating potential of popular struggles against exploitation and oppression be harnessed, and can social orders be transformed without resorting to violence? How do we keep alive the memory of the victims of twentieth-century totalitarianism and defend democracy against mounting challenges?
The Programme Committee will consider proposals addressing the above and related questions as well as other issues relevant to the development of Russia, the rest of the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe from any disciplinary angle. Interdisciplinary perspectives are particularly welcome.

The conference will begin with the evening session on Sunday, 4 June, and end in late afternoon on Tuesday, 6 June. The programme will include academic panels, roundtables focused on current issues and plenary sessions featuring, among others, the following speakers:

The organizers welcome individual paper submissions as well as proposals for full panels and roundtables. The Programme Committee will give careful and unbiased consideration to all proposals; however, panel proposals are particularly encouraged.
Each paper proposal must include an abstract of no more than 250 words. Panel and roundtable proposals should list all speakers (as a general rule, 4 per panel/roundtable), along with abstracts and, if available, information about the chair and the discussant (alternatively, these can be assigned by the Programme Committee). Please use this link to submit your proposal by 20 February 2017.

All proposals will undergo rigorous selection by the Programme Committee. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by email by 20 March. The deadline for registration is 20 April. There is no registration fee. All paper-givers will be required to submit full papers by 25 May 2017 (see Rules of Participation and Important Dates for other deadlines).

Participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements.

The organizers will issue visa invitations, where applicable.
Practical information regarding travel and accommodation is available on the conference website.
If there are any further questions, please contact the organizers directly:  info@tartuconference.ut.ee.