[ALST-L] Fwd: conference announcement

[Besnik Pula]

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 19:50:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kevin Eric Laney <kel1 at columbia.edu>
To: Undisclosed recipients:  ;
Subject: conference announcement (fwd)

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Conference Announcement

"Working with Restricted Resources in the Communist Era: Archival Access
and the Historiography of Russia and East Central Europe"

The Harriman Institute, Columbia University
International Affairs Building, Room 1219
420 W. 118th Street (at Amsterdam Avenue)

	For most historians of East Central Europe and Russia, the fall of
communist regimes has meant almost unlimited access to archival
materials.  For the most part, secret archives and restricted materials
are a thing of the past. However, the legacy of the Cold War remains
inscribed in the historiography of the region, since many of its
"canonical" works were written at a time when access to archival sources
was limited. How did such restrictions affect the process of historical
research? How did it shape the region's historiography as whole?
	To answer this question, we are organizing a workshop on Friday,
November 5th from 12:15 to 4:00 pm. under the aegis of the Harriman
Institute, an agenda for which is enclosed.  We have invited scholars
who conducted research on the USSR, the Russian Empire or East Central
Europe to talk about their experiences. Following their presentations
there will be the opportunity for open discussion.
	The workshop is seen as a follow-up to the selection of short essays
published by the Slavic Review in 1993, which addressed problems
associated with the opening up of new archival sources in the former
Soviet Union. The contributors were all researchers who had experienced
the frustrations of working with restricted archives and thus wanted to
ensure that newly-available resources would be used sensibly. These
essays asked the question, "Where do we go from here?"
	By contrast, this workshop addresses the question: "Where did you come
from?"  To make sense of the region's historiography, it is essential to
consider the conditions under which historians once worked.  This is
especially true for historians of the Soviet Union and East Central
Europe. How did archival restrictions affect research agendas?   What
themes and approaches were privileged or neglected as a result of
circumstances beyond the researcher's control?  What alternatives were
historians forced to devise, and did this ultimately enrich the
historiography? How can we evaluate historical works that were based on
a limited set of records?
	Attendance is open; undergraduates and graduate students are
particularly welcome. Please join us for a light lunch at 12:15 in room
1202-1219 of the International Affairs Building (Amsterdam at 118th St.)
before the conference begins. Please e-mail Nigel Raab
(nar18 at columbia.edu) or Kate Lebow (kal28 at columbia.edu) for further
information.

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Agenda

Working with Restricted Resources in the Communist Era: Archival Access
and the Historiography of Russia and East Central Europe

International Affairs Building, Room 1219
Columbia University,  420 W 118th Street

Friday, November 5th 12:15-4:00 pm.

12:15 Welcome Lunch

1:00 Introduction – Nigel Raab

Reminiscences of a Soviet Research Library

1:10 Dr. Edward Kasinec, Chief Curator, Slavic and Baltic Division of
the New York Public Library

The Forties to the Sixties

1:25 Professor Marc Raeff

1:40 Discussion

The Sixties to the Eighties

2:00 Professor Richard Wortman

2:15 Professor Frank Hadler

2:30 Discussion

2:45-2:55 Break

Working in Changing Times – Perestroika in the Archives.

3:00 Professor John Micgiel

3:15 Professor Mark von Hagen

3:30 Discussion

3:45 Conclusions – Kate Lebow

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