2nd Expert Meeting on February 14, 2013 (13.30 – 17.30 hrs)
(Amsterdam, Protestantse Theologische Universiteit,
VU building, De Boelelaan 1105,1 E-vleugel: werkgroepruimte 5/6)
Iconoclashes
Interferences of Gender, Politics, Religion and Art
in the Pussy Riot Case
Organization:
The Department of Religious Studies and Theology (Utrecht University) in cooperation with PThU
(Protestant Theological University) and INaSEC (Institute for the Academic Study of Eastern
Christianity)
- Prof. Dr. Anne-Marie Korte, professor of Religion, Gender and Modernity, UU
- Dr. Heleen Zorgdrager, assistant professor Systematic Theology and Gender studies, PThU
- Dr. Katja Tolstaja, director of the Institute for the Academic Study of Eastern Christianity
(INaSEC), VU
In case of troubles, please contact Heleen, cell phone 06 44868373
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Route description: http://www.vu.nl/en/about-vu-amsterdam/contact-info-and-route/routedescription/index.asp
Program:
13.30
Welcome and introduction by organizers
13.45-14.15
Short introductions of participants (for newcomers)
14.15-15.00
Presentations of various research perspectives on the Pussy Riot’s case:
(about 10 minutes presentation and 5 minutes questions)
Ellen Rutten
Riánsares Gómez Olmedilla
Ernst van den Hemel
15.00-15.15
Break
15.15-15.45
Presentation of Marina Shishova
15.45-16.00
Presentation of Katja Tolstaja
16.00-16.30
Plenary discussion of presentations
16.30-17.30
Agenda and planning of further (interdisciplinary) research cooperation
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17.30
Application for thematic research group NOSTER (2013-2014)
Proposals for panels at the ESWTR conference (28 August -1 September Dresden),
EASR conference (2-6 September Liverpool) and AAR Annual Meeting (23-26
November Baltimore)
Proposals for follow up meetings in the period June 2013-2014 (how many; in which
form?)
Suggestions for the program of the planned conference in Kiel, June 2014.
Communication: a website for the research group
Any other business
Closing of the meeting
Aim:
This 2nd expert meeting is the follow up of the first meeting on November 29, 2012.
The expert meetings aim to bring together specialists from various disciplines (religious studies,
political studies, Slavic studies, art and literature, film & theatre studies, musicology, gender studies,
theology, Eastern Europe studies) and to facilitate an interdisciplinary exchange on the case of Pussy
Riot. From which frames of interpretation do we approach and analyze the significance of Pussy Riot
in contemporary Russian and European society? How can these frames of interpretation correct,
enrich and strengthen each other mutually?
In this 2nd explorative meeting, the following aspects will be addressed:
- Pussy Riot’s significance as a political-cultural phenomenon
- Pussy Riot’s performances within larger traditions of art, music and fashion
- Gender and sexuality as markers of contemporary religious controversies
-
Pussy Riot’s type of feminism as intervention in gender politics in post-Soviet Russia
Positions within the Russian Orthodox Church concerning PR, human rights, freedom of
speech and artistic expression
The case Pussy Riot and the boundaries of holiness and blasphemy
Pussy Riot’s significance as a religious-liturgical-theological phenomenon
The expert meeting will be a closed meeting, with invited speakers only. Participants will share their
particular approach, insights/theses and main questions for further research. After the presentations
and discussion, we will decide in which form further interdisciplinary exchange and research will take
place. See for the various options the report of the November 29 meeting. The organizers will
prepare a draft-application for a NOSTER thematic research group, to be sent to you in advance and
to be discussed by all during the meeting.
Participants (invited):
-Dr. Max Bader, Eastern Europe Studies, UvA
-Dr. Christoph Baumgartner, associate professor Ethics, Department of Religious Studies and
Theology, UU
-Prof. Dr. Alfons Brüning, extraordinary professor of Orthodoxy and Peace Building in Europe,
VU/PThU
-Drs. René Does, Russian Studies, staff member at the Research Department, UvA
-Dr. Ernst van den Hemel, postdoc ‘The Postsecular Turn’, Centre for Humanities, UU
-Leonor Jonker, MA in Policy and Management, UU, freelance copywriter and punk-and-art expert
-Prof. Dr. Hans van Koningsbrugge, professor of Russian History and Politics, RUG
-Prof. in Dr. Christiane Kruse, professor of Art History and Visual Culture Studies, Muthesius
Kunsthochschule Kiel, Germany (prevented to attend on February 14)
-Dr. Ann-Sophie Lehmann, associate professor of Art History, Department Media and Culture Studies,
with a focus on Cultures and Identities, UU
-Prof. Dr. Sander van Maas, endowed professor of Musicology, with a focus on Cultures and
Identities, UU
-Prof. Dr. Birgit Meyer, professor of Religious Studies, Faculty of Humanities, UU
-Drs. Kirsten Notten, MA Philosophy RU, editor, freelance author, specializes in cults of Mary
-Riánsares Gómez Olmedilla, Research Master Art History and Social & Cultural Anthropologist, UU
-Caroly van Oostende, PhD researcher on medieval satire, holy fool in Russian Literature
-Prof. Dr. Ellen Rutten, professor of Literature, with a focus on Slavonic literature and culture, UvA
-Marina Shishova, vice-rector of the Christian Academy of Humanities; researcher at the Orthodox
Institute for Missiology and Ecumenism, St Petersburg, Russian Federation
-Talitha van Zinnen, MA student Religion in Modern Societies, UU