Whiteness, Racialization and (Post-)Soviet Pasts

Description

The symposium explores how whiteness and racialization are intertwined with ongoing (post-)Soviet pasts, and reflected in processes of subjectification, representation, social change, mobility, affectivity and materiality, among others. Whiteness and racialization remain contested topics in contemporary Europe (Dzenovska, 2018; Loftsdottir & Jensen, 2012), central to the very notion of what Europe is, and for whom. Despite almost 30 years having passed since the fall of the Iron curtain, divisions between East and West continue to constitute an inter-European axis of difference along with other divisions, like one between North and South (Dzenovska & De Genova, 2018; Kuus, 2004; Kalnačs, 2016). The struggles and anxieties over Europe, its subjects and boundaries are rooted in Europe’s colonial past, which continues to mark its present (Hvenegård-Lassen & Maurer, 2012; Jensen et al., 2017). The persistant racial ideologies and imaginaries contribute to negative attitudes towards increasing inflows of migrants and refugees to the Eastern borders of the EU. This calls to shed light on racialization and othering in the region as well as to reflect on the role of so-called Eastern European countries in global colonisation debates and decolonial struggles (Istratii, Demeter & Ginelli, 2020). This symposium is open to participants from different countries and backgrounds. In particular we aim to engage (post-)Soviet perspectives, bringing together post-socialist studies with studies of postcolonialism. Foci will include practitioners’ and researchers’ perspectives on democratization and Europeanisation; (post-) Soviet histories and indigenous perspectives; decolonial thought from post-Soviet contexts (Tlostanova, 2018); ‘becoming European’ (Dzenovska, 2017b); orientalisation of Eastern Europe (also within academia) (Buchowski, 2006); East-West (return) migration as new form of economic dependency evoking former colonial period (Morawska, 2001); intersectionality and racialised positionalities in-between Eastern and Western Europe (Krivonos & Näre, 2019). The symposium provides an opportunity for open discussions on topics particularly important for this region and facilitates access to scholarly activities for persons from different backgrounds of society. We welcome participants who are working on these and related issues as academics, activists, artists, independent researchers or practitioners, as well as others who are interested to discuss the above topics.

Period	31 Mar 2022 → 1 Apr 2022
Event type	Symposium
Location	Vilnius, LithuaniaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International