Introduction: Transnationalizing Russian Studies

Andy Byford,Connor Doak,Stephen Hutchings

doi:10.3828/mlo.v0i0.311

Abstract

This is the introduction to the volume Transnational Russian Studies (Liverpool University Press, 2019), edited by A. Byford, C. Doak and S. Hutchings. In it, the authors argue for an approach to research and teaching in Russian Studies that is based on a transnational conception of Russia's language, culture, and history. ‘Russia’ and ‘Russianness’ are discussed not as static or unitary entities confined within national borders, but as shifting and dynamic concepts that are perpetually in flux as Russia engages with the wider world. The transnational lens allows us to explore Russia’s distinctive history of nation-making, empire-building and diasporization and at the same time lets us reconsider how that history has shaped the critical paradigms in the field of Russian Studies. Ultimately, the piece suggests not only ways in which the transnational paradigm illuminates Russian Studies, but also how Russian Studies can speak to the paradigm of the transnational. Publisher's Note: This introduction is part of the Transnational Modern Languages Collection, published by Liverpool University Press, and is also hosted at: https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/pages/TML-intros

Highlights

Transnationalizing Russian StudiesAndy Byford, Connor Doak, and Stephen Hutchings
We propose a transnational approach to Russian studies
This, we argue at the end of this introduction, includes using the unique resources and expertise developed within Russian studies itself to account for what ‘the transnational’ might look like from a ‘Russian’ vantage point

Summary

Transnationalizing Russian Studies

Framing Russian Studies What does it mean to embark on a degree in Russian?1 At one level, the answer is obvious: Russianists should aspire to proficiency in the Russian language as well as a deep understanding of Russian culture and society. The associated term rossiiane, used to refer to citizens of the Russian Federation, is a more inclusive, civic designation that encompasses the full diversity of ethnic groups within the world’s largest country, all of whom have their own languages, from the Chechens in the Caucasus to the Buryats in southern Siberia and the Yakuts in the far north, to name but a few.. Much of the culture that was produced in the Russian language during the Soviet era (1917–91) tends to be labelled ‘Soviet’ rather than ‘Russian’. This is especially true for certain domains of cultural production, such as, for example, cinema. What we see as important here is the avoidance of potential methodological

Introduction

The Transnational in Reverse Perspective

Structure of the Book

The Transnational as Transgressional

Works Cited