Lecturer in Russian
Queen Mary’s Modern Languages department has introduced the UK’s first ever module dedicated to the literature and film of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The module forms part of Queen Mary’s initiative to make our curricula more inclusive.
Once part of the ancient Silk Road, the countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia have a complex history which includes subjection to Russian imperial and Soviet rule. The rich cultural traditions of this part of the world are little explored in the West, whether in the fields of Modern Languages or Comparative Literature.
This new module breaks new ground by putting a spotlight on under-studied non-Western and postcolonial cultural traditions of the former Soviet world. It aims to give students an understanding of the diverse perspectives on the Soviet and post-Soviet experience, focusing on the questions of race, ethnicity, gender and identity.
The module is convened by Dr Tamar Koplatadze, Lecturer in Russian in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film. It is currently open to undergraduate students in Russian and Comparative Literature.
Through the prism of award-winning literature and film by a new post-Soviet generation of women (e.g. Mariam Petrosyan's 'The Gray House', 2009, and Nana Ekvtimishvili's 'In Bloom', 2013), students will learn about the cultural and socio-political developments in the now independent Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. They will explore such diverse themes as childhood, youth, migration, and the effects of colonialism.
Read Dr Tamar Koplatadze's article on the subject