The Fifteenth Annual

Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies

Northwest Conference

Saturday, April 18, 2009

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thomson Hall
University of Washington – Seattle, Washington


Ecological, Cultural and Political Change in

Russia, East Europe and Central Asia


Hosted by:

Herbert J. Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

The Fifteenth Annual REECAS-NW Conference will be held on Saturday, April 18th, 2009, at the University of Washington – Seattle Campus. The conference is organized by the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Washington.

We welcome students, faculty and staff from institutions of higher learning from throughout the Pacific Northwest, as well as K-12 educators (7 WA state clock hours available for attending the full day) and the general public. Admission to the conference is free. Advance registration is required by April 10th, if you would like to order a box lunch. On the morning of the conference, you will need to confirm your registration and pay $13 for your lunch at the registration table on the 1st floor of Thomson Hall between 9:15am-9:45am. Coffee, tea and pastries will be provided. The conference will be held in Thomson Hall (Rooms 101, 135 and 317) on the UW-Seattle Campus. All conference participants are invited to attend a reception following the conference.

Below is some general information regarding the conference. If you have any questions, please contact us by email at reecas@u.washington.edu

To register, please send the following information:

  • Name(s), address, telephone number, e-mail address, place of work/study, affiliation;
  • Lunch preference: Please indicate whether you would like Smoked Turkey with Havarti; Ham and Swiss; Roast Beef with Cheddar; Tomato Mozzarella & Avocado (v); Chicken Caesar Wrap; BBQ Chicken Salad; or Greek salad (v).
  • Payment of $13 is due the morning of the Conference;
  • If you are a teacher, let us know if you would like clock hours.

To: The Ellison Center
University of Washington
Box 353650
Seattle, WA 98195

or by e-mail to reecas@u.washington.edu

Please note that if you would like to purchase a lunch, you must register by April 10th.

For further information or questions, please call The Ellison Center at (206) 543-4852 or email reecas@u.washington.edu. 

9:15am-9:45am REGISTRATION

10:00am-11:30am SESSION 1

Panel 1 A – Identity and Diversity in Russia, East Europe and Central Asia

*Click on the title to read the abstract 

Creating a “Space” for Identity: Immigration and the Performance of Ethnicity in
Latvia. 
Lauren Monsein Rhodes, MSEd PhD Student, Anthropology

Less than the Sum of its Parts: Polish Cultural Diversity and the Homogenizing Politics of the Pole-Catholic Myth from a Comparative Historical Perspective
Kristin Smith, Sociology, UW

Whatever happened to the micro-raion? Urban design and discourse in Post-Soviet Krasnoyarsk, Russia. 
Maria Taylor, Graduate Student, College of the Built Environments, UW

Panel 1 B – Changing Politics, Institutions and Perceptions in the Post-Communist Arena

 

Institutions and Legacies: Electoral Volatility in the Post-Communist World
Brad Epperly, PhD Candidate, UW

Political Change in the Kyrgyz Republic: Are Local Perceptions in Line with Development Assistance Paradigms?
David Merrell, JD, UW

Unstable Ally or Resurgent Foe?: Who started the August war between Georgia & Russia, and what it means for US foreign policy
Dan Catchpole, UW Alum

11:30am-12:00am BREAK

12:00pm-1:30 pm LUNCH/PLENARY SESSION

 

Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Departments of Sociology and Anthropology, Georgetown University

Zbigniew Bochniarz, Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington

Scott Radnitz, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington 

1:45pm-3:15pm SESSION 2 

Panel 2 A – Regulating the Environment: Concepts of Wilderness and Conservation

 

Political Influence and Environmental Regulation in the Russian Regions
Irina Ponomarenko, PhD Candidate, Political Science, UCLA

Nature and the Postsocialist Politics of Community in a Polish Wetland
Eunice Blavascunas, PhD, Program on the Environment

Visions in the Wilderness: National Parks in the Republic of Georgia
Veronica Muskheli, M.Sc. Research Scientist, Center for Cardiovascular Biology

Panel 2 B - Culture and Memory: Film, Music and Media

 

No Nailing Fins to the Floor: Feminist Aesthetic in Anna Melykian's 'Rusalka' 
Lena Doubivko, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, UW

Rehabilitation through De-Stalinization: The Revival of Alexander Scriabin
Lincoln Ballard
PhD Candidate, Music History, UW

Remembering War through Time and Space
Andrew Stone, PhD Candidate, History Department, UW

Panel 2 C – Slavic Languages and Literatures


Morphological Integration of Foreign Elements in Russian: A Comparison of Russian Speakers in Lithuania and Estonia
Cameron Rule, Slavic, UW

Spitting metaphors in Russian emotional expression
Diana Aitova, Slavic, UW

Nabokov's Usage of Color in the Context of Time and Space: The Colors of Fantasy and Reality
Alsu Shakirova, Slavic, UW

3:15pm-3:30pm BREAK

3:30pm-5:00pm SESSION 3

Panel 3A – Challenges to Change: Security, Agriculture and Urban Planning

 

Northwest Russia as a Lens for Political, Economic, Ecological and Cultural Change in Russia
Amy Seward, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)

The Effect of Agriculture and Politics on Water Management in the Aral Sea Basin
Brett Walton, MAIS, REECAS

Food Security in Tajikistan: Opportunities at the Ground Level
Katherine Kostiuk, MAIS, REECAS

Panel 3B –Developments in Central Asian Literature

 

Does not Meet the Demands of the Day: Moldo Kylych and the Kyrgyz Soviet Literary Milieu of the 1950’s
Jipar Duishembieva, Interdisciplinary PhD, NELC

Abdulla Qodiriy’s Novel O’tgan Kular in its Historical Context
Jackson Kellogg, Eugene, Oregon

Recent Developments in Contemporary Mongolian Literature
Simon Wickham-Smith, REECAS, UW

5:00pm-6:00pm CLOSING RECEPTION

 

 

 

The Ellison Center
REECAS Program
Box 353650
203B Thomson Hall
Seattle, WA 98195
(206) 543-4852 phone
(206) 685-0668 fax
►reecas@u.washington.edu