Writing at Russia's Borders

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European, Russian
Cover of the book Writing at Russia's Borders by Katya Hokanson, University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Katya Hokanson ISBN: 9781442691810
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division Publication: September 15, 2008
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Katya Hokanson
ISBN: 9781442691810
Publisher: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Publication: September 15, 2008
Imprint:
Language: English

It is often assumed that cultural identity is determined in a country’s metropolitan centres. Given Russia’s long tenure as a geographically and socially diverse empire, however, there is a certain distillation of peripheral experiences and ideas that contributes just as much to theories of national culture as do urban-centred perspectives. Writing at Russia’s Border argues that Russian literature needs to be reexamined in light of the fact that many of its most important nineteenth-century texts are peripheral, not in significance but in provenance.

Katya Hokanson makes the case that the fluid and ever-changing cultural and linguistic boundaries of Russia’s border regions profoundly influenced the nation’s literature, posing challenges to stereotypical or territorially based conceptions of Russia’s imperial, military, and cultural identity. A highly canonical text such as Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin (1831), which is set in European Russia, is no less dependent on the perspectives of those living at the edges of the Russian Empire than is Tolstoy’s The Cossacks (1863), which is explicitly set on Russia’s border and has become central to the Russian canon. Hokanson cites the influence of these and other ‘peripheral’ texts as proof that Russia’s national identity was dependent upon the experiences of people living in the border areas of an expanding empire. Produced at a cultural moment of contrast and exchange, the literature of the periphery represented a negotiation of different views of Russian identity, an ingredient that was ultimately essential even to literature produced in the major cities.

Writing at Russia’s Border upends popular ideas of national cultural production and is a fascinating study of the social implications of nineteenth-century Russian literature.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

It is often assumed that cultural identity is determined in a country’s metropolitan centres. Given Russia’s long tenure as a geographically and socially diverse empire, however, there is a certain distillation of peripheral experiences and ideas that contributes just as much to theories of national culture as do urban-centred perspectives. Writing at Russia’s Border argues that Russian literature needs to be reexamined in light of the fact that many of its most important nineteenth-century texts are peripheral, not in significance but in provenance.

Katya Hokanson makes the case that the fluid and ever-changing cultural and linguistic boundaries of Russia’s border regions profoundly influenced the nation’s literature, posing challenges to stereotypical or territorially based conceptions of Russia’s imperial, military, and cultural identity. A highly canonical text such as Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin (1831), which is set in European Russia, is no less dependent on the perspectives of those living at the edges of the Russian Empire than is Tolstoy’s The Cossacks (1863), which is explicitly set on Russia’s border and has become central to the Russian canon. Hokanson cites the influence of these and other ‘peripheral’ texts as proof that Russia’s national identity was dependent upon the experiences of people living in the border areas of an expanding empire. Produced at a cultural moment of contrast and exchange, the literature of the periphery represented a negotiation of different views of Russian identity, an ingredient that was ultimately essential even to literature produced in the major cities.

Writing at Russia’s Border upends popular ideas of national cultural production and is a fascinating study of the social implications of nineteenth-century Russian literature.

More books from University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division

Cover of the book Land Policies of Upper Canada by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Essays in the History of Canadian Law by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Sisters or Strangers? by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Quiet Evolution by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Access to Medicines as a Human Right by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Paraphrases on the Epistles to the Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippans, Colossians, and Thessalonians by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera) by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book A Laboratory Guide to the Anatomy of The Rabbit by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book The Nibelungenlied by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Bringing in the Sheaves by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Finding the Right Words by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book A Frenchman in Search of Franklin by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Glaucoma by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Marriage in Europe, 1400-1800 by Katya Hokanson
Cover of the book Canada Investigates Industrialism by Katya Hokanson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy