Northern Vermont University Hosts Solzhenitsyn Conference Sept. 7-8

U.S., Chinese and Russian Scholars to Present


LYNDON, VERMONT — Northern Vermont University will host a conference on the writings, impact and ways to teach the literature of the late Russian author and dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Vermont resident for 18 years.

The Reading Solzhenitsyn conference at NVU-Lyndon is being organized by Alexandre Strokanov, who teaches world history at the Lyndon campus and directs the campus Institute of Russian Language, History and Culture. 

The event will bring together Solzhenitsyn scholars from China, Russia and the U.S. to share their research on the Nobel Prize-winning writer. 

The conference also will be a Vermont Agency of Education professional development event for English language arts and social studies teachers.

“We want to remind people about a great Russian writer who spent years of his life in exile in Vermont and found here a temporary home…a person considered by many a classical writer in the same line as Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and others Russia gave to the world,” Strokanov says. “For the whole Western world, he’s one of the major authors of the 20th century.”

The conference is believed to be the only such event planned in the U.S. to commemorate the centennial of Solzhenitsyn’s birth Dec. 11, 1918. 

The multidisciplinary conference, supported by a grant from the Moscow-based Russkiy Mir Foundation, will include linguists, literature specialists, historians, political scientists, a theologian, philosophers and psychologists.

• On Sept. 7, the event, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Alexander Twilight Theatre, is open to the public.

The conference fee of $75 includes lunch. 

The day will feature talks by NVU-Lyndon literature professors and others on methods to teach Solzhenitsyn’s work; his time in Cavendish, Vermont, from 1976-1994; Russian history in his writings and additional topics; and discussions by visiting scholars.

Conference presenters will include:

• Richard Tempest of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlain
• George Krasnow of the Russian-American Goodwill Association
• Natalia Kovtun of Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University in Russia
• Svetlana Kozyreva of the Perm City Department of Education in Russia
• Igor Kondakov of the Russian State University for Humanities
• Wang Jiaxing of Nanjing University in China
• Li Xinmei of Fudan University in China 

• Sept. 8, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., will include more discussions by Solzhenitsyn experts — which are free and open to the public — and, for conference presenters, a trip to Cavendish. “For many researchers from other parts of the world, it will be their first visit to the place where Solzhenitsyn spent his exile,” Strokanov says.

In Vermont, “He wanted to devote all his time to writing,” Strokanov says. “He called his time in Vermont the most productive time in his life.”

Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia in 1994 and died there in 2008.

To register for the conference, visit NorthernVermont.edu/Solzhenitsyn. 

For more information, email Alexandre.Strokanov@NorthernVermont.edu or call 802.249.7587.

Read more: www.northernvermont.edu

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn: Exhibition, International Conference, and Professional Development Day

МЕЖДУНАРОДНАЯ НАУЧНАЯ КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ  "ЧИТАЯ СОЛЖЕНИЦЫНА" СОСТОИТСЯ 7-8 СЕНТЯБРЯ В СЕВЕРНОМ ВЕРМОНТСКОМ УНИВЕРСИТЕТЕ - ЛИНДОН.

September 7, 2018 | 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
September 8, 2018 | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Northern Vermont University-Lyndon
Alexander Twilight Theatre

In honor of the 100th birthday of the Russian writer and thinker, Aleksander Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, NVU-Lyndon’s Institute of Russian Language, History, and Culture is hosting a series of events to honor the work and life of the Nobel Prize winner and former Vermont resident.

• An opening of an exhibit about Solzhenitsyn and his work at NVU-Lyndon's Samuel Read Hall Library
• An international interdisciplinary scholarly conference bringing together some of the world's best experts on Solzhenitsyn and his work
• A professional development day for New England teachers about Solzhenitsyn and his works

International Scholarly Conference: September 7 - 8, 2018
Friday, September 7 Events: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday, September 8 Events: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. 

Scholars from the U.S., Russia, China, and other international locations will come together at the NVU-Lyndon campus for this two-day conference to present resarch on Solzhenitsyn’s work and life. Vermont holds a special place in Solzhenitsyn's life and work — he lived and worked in Cavendish, Vermont from 1976-1994, a period that he described as one of the most productive times in his life. The international scholarly conference is supported by the grant from the Foundation "Russkii Mir." Международная научная конференция "Читая Солженицына" проводится при грантовой поддержке Фонда "Русский Мир."

Conference Topics During the Two-Day Event

Accomplished scholars from around the world will be presenting their work. A selection of presenters and papers includes:

• Wang Jiaxing, PhD. Nanjing University (China), Presentation: “Narrative Arts and Labor Camp Writing in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”
• Li Xinmei, PhD. Fudan University (China), Presentation: "Translation, research and perception of Solzhenitsyn's works in China". 
• Elena Bazhenova, PhD. Perm State National Research University (Russia). Presentation: "Russian culturalcodes in A.I. Solzhenitsyn’s "Russian Dictionary of Language Dilation"
• Igor Kondakov, PhD. Russian State University for Humanities (Russia). Presentation: A/I/ Solzhenitsyn and the end of the Soviet Literature"
• Aleksey Antoshin, PhD. Urals Federal University (Russia). Presentation: A. Solzhenitsyn and the Radio "Freedom" in 1970s: attempts of the dialogue."
• N. Kovtun, PhD. Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University (Russia). Presentation: "Solzhenitsyn"s "Matrena's Place" and its correlations to the contemporary Russian prose."
• Svetlana Kozyreva, Perm City Department of Education (Russia). Presentation: Solzhenitsyn's "Cancer Ward" and psychological aspects of treatment of cancer patients."
• Richard Tempest, PhD. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlain. Presentation:  "Solzhenitsyn contra Lenin”
• Kevin McKenna, PhD. University of Vermont. Presentation: "The Role of Russian Proverbs in the Fictional Works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn."
• George Krasnow, PhD. Russian-American Goodwill Association (RAGA). Presentation: "If an artist imagines himself as a god…. A.I. Solzhenitsyn – on the role of a writer and art, and Russian national character in the imagination of the writer."
• Olga Makarova, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champlain. Presentation: "Reading Solzhenitsyn ecologically"

Members of the public are welcome to attend both Friday and Saturday events. Cost of attendance is $75. A schedule of events will be posted soon. 

Register for the Sept. 7-8 Scholarly Conference

English Language Arts and Social Studies Learning Professional Development Day: “Reading and Discussing Solzhenitsyn”

Friday, September 7, 2018 | 9 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. 

As part of the conference, educators from around New England are invited to take part in this professional development day. Students in Vermont will benefit from high-quality lectures and discussions on methods of teaching the works and life of the Noble Prize Winner in Literature and Vermont resident for 18 years, Alexander Solzhenitsyn. This year, the world celebrates the centennial anniversary of this great writer. 

Goals for the Day:

• Participants will learn experientially about some instructional strategies of teaching about several of Solzhenitsyn’s works and his life.
• Participants will read the following works prior to the day’s activities in order to learn about, discuss, and analyze them with several experts of Solzhenitsyn’s works:
  • “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.” Presented by NVU Professor of Literature, Elaine Razzano, PhD.
  •  “Matryona’s Home (Place).” Presented by NVU Professor of Literature, Kristi Castleberry, PhD.
  •  Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel Lecture in Literature, 1970 and The Harvard Commencement Address “A World Split Apart” delivered on June 8th, 1978. Presented by NVU Professor Alexandre Strokanov, PhD.
  • The Stories behind the Quotes: Using Solzhenitsyn's Writings for 21st Century Students.  Margaret Caulfield, the friend of Solzhenitsyn’s family and the founder of the writer’s museum in Cavendish, Vermont.

* After the lunch, the participants will have options to work on lessons plans with professors Elaine Razzano and Kristi Castleberry or to join a round table of experts on Russia who will discuss Solzhenitsyn’s work “Rebuilding Russia.” Solzhenitsyn experts from the United States, Russia, and China will discuss this very interesting work of the writer, where he described his vision of the post-Soviet Russia.

Schedule for the Day

Time	Topic/Activity
9 a.m	Opening Ceremony of the International Conference “Reading Solzhenitsyn”
10 -10:40 a.m.	“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.” Presented by NVU Professor of Literature, Elaine Razzano, PhD.
10:50 – 11:30  a.m.	“Matryona’s Home (Place).” Presented by NVU Professor of Literature, Kristi Castleberry, PhD.
11:40 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.	Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel Lecture in Literature, 1970 and The Harvard Commencement Address “A World Split Apart” delivered on June 8th, 1978. Presented by NVU Professor Alexandre Strokanov, PhD.
12:30 – 1 p.m.	The Stories behind the Quotes: Using Solzhenitsyn's Writings for 21st Century Students.  Margaret Caulfield, the friend of Solzhenitsyn’s family and the founder of the writer’s museum in Cavendish, Vermont.
1-2 p.m.	Lunch
2:30 – 4 p.m.	Work on lessons plans with professors Elaine Razzano and Kristi Castleberry, or The Round Table of experts on Russia who will discuss Solzhenitsyn’s work “Rebuilding Russia.” Experts from the United States, Russia and China will discuss this very interesting work of the writer, where he described his vision of the post-Soviet Russia.
4 – 4:15 p.m.  .	Closing remarks

Links for Reading Solzhenitsyn’s Works

• One Day from the Life of Ivan Denisovich
• Matryona's Home (pdf)
• Noble Prize Lecture
• Harvard Commencement Address
• Rebuilding Russia
   

Read more: www.northernvermont.edu