http://web.germslav.ufl.edu/ 

Notes from the Chair  
Keith Bullivant, Chair of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies 
kbulli@germslav.ufl.edu 

A Bridge to the Future   

Noral Alter discusses her unusual position in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies 

Exploring Medieval Culture 

Germanist Will Hasty Discusses His Latest Projects 

"There is a great amount of current interest in the Middle Ages, from medieval fairs in local schools, to the annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire, to the myriad of more or less distorted representations of the Middle Ages in popular culture." 

The Dean's Musings  
Part II of Dean Harrison's  discussion on student evaluation of faculty teaching 

Around the College  
 

Department News 

Announcements  

New Physics Sculpture 

Florida Writer's Conference  

Third Annual Women's Health and Research Conference 

CLAS Teaching and Advising Awards 

1998 CLAS Dissertation Fellowship Winners  

USPS Employees Honored for Service to the University  

Bookbeat  
New books from CLAS faculty 

Grants  
Grant Awards for February 1998 through the division of Sponsored Research 

CLAS notes is published monthly by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to inform faculty and staff of current research and events. 

Russian professor Michael Gorham (right) cut his academic teeth on the dissolution of Soviet Russia.  "My graduate training pretty much coincided with this massive transformation that's been taking place," Gorham says.  "I first went over to Russia when it was still the Soviet Union in 1985--Gorbachev had just come to power.  I was there as a student of Russian language and was studying in the only institute in Moscow that was permitted to accept foreigners from capitalist countries.  We were strictly instructed by our American organizers to watch what we said in the classrooms and dormrooms and on institute telephones because it was assumed that everything was bugged.  It was very much still the old Soviet empire.  Of course nowadays it's almost difficult to explain to our students who go over every summer and live and study in Moscow--which has become much more of a European city--how much things have changed." 

     In his recent work, Gorham has been concentrating on the language of state in early Soviet Russia.  "By language of state," he explains, "I mean the language that was used within and by the Soviet state to represent verbally its ideas for social, cultural and political change--particularly then--at a time when fundamental changes were taking place."  Specifically, Gorham is examining four different institutions that play key roles in the language debate:  journalism, linguistics, literature and education.  "I'm tracing the various voices and views to try and understand how a more monolithic language of the Soviet state came to be.  The language of Soviet communism is very, very clichéd and leaves little room for alternative forms of public discourse.  A lot of what we're witnessing now is the tearing down of that infrastructure--that Soviet way of speaking and writing--and the explosion of new means of expression." 

     Interestingly, Gorham is finding that the debates and negotiations over language are, more often than not, connected with broader issues of identity.  "The process is literally a means of coming to terms with new visions of nationhood and citizenship," he says.  "It's a part of asking 'Who are we?' and 'What traditions do we have to fall back on?'" 

     Traditionally, according to Gorham, Russian writers have played a critical role in the formation of public opinion and public criticism in times of flux.  "The Russian intelligentsia through history and even the contemporary period--unlike intellectuals in the US--are listened to all across society.  Within different groups of leading cultural figures there are different ideas as to what traditions ought to be kept and to what degree democratic structures should be adopted." 

     Gorham points out that in ordinary times--even in the US--most people recognize the link between language and power and ideology, but only act on this knowledge in veiled ways.  In periods of fundamental, social and cultural change, however, as has been the case in Russia, Gorham says that "language becomes an open subject of debate and negotiation, and more often than not there is a direct link between discussions of language and issues of identity of nationhood of citizenship." 

     One of the most obvious areas that language and identity overlap is in the naming and re-naming of places.  In the 1920s, many Russian cities named before the Revolution were given new titles that reflected Soviet ideals (St. Petersburg, for example, eventually became 'Leningrad'). The last ten years have brought a reversal of this trend.  Monuments raised for Soviet leaders have been torn down, and cities have resumed using their pre-Revolutionary designations. 

     Not only have the meanings of existing Russian words changed, but a host of new words (many of them English, like 'broker') have made their way into the Russian vocabulary.  Since, under Soviet rule, land was owned by the state and there was no stock market, these additions to the Russian lexicon are, according to Gorham, "purely a reflection of the capitalist influence." 

     "All these things are appearing for the first time in Russia," he continues, "and the most logical thing is to borrow terminology from the West, which makes sense to some degree, but sometimes it gets excessive.  We see English all over the place where there are decent Russian equivalents."  Gorham cites examples like 'rieltor,' 'marketing,' 'konsulting,' 'konsensus,' and even 'sendvich' and 'killer.'  Despite this trend, Gorham asserts that Russia is now rethinking the verbatim adoption of Western values.  "There's a lot of questioning going on [now, whereas] five years ago there was almost a knee jerk reaction to grab anything that smelled of democracy and of capitalism.  At this point, most everyone has come to see that a lot of bad comes along with the obviously good aspects of democratic institutions." 

      "The Soviet Union was around for 70-plus years, and I think--with the exception of the Communists--most political parties would largely dismiss the Soviet experiment as a failure." Gorham is quick to point out, however, that Russians will, at times, praise aspects of Soviet history and tradition.   For example, in a period that has been marked by sharp rise in crime and Mafia presence, it's easy to become nostalgic for the law and order of the Soviet period.  Still, says Gorham, "in terms of reestablishing new legitimate structures and traditions, I think more often than not people look back to pre-Revolutionary Russian history, philosophy and religion (Orthodoxy) for the answers.  Most documentary television programs and films that have come out in the past eight or nine years have to do either with rewriting pre-Revolutionary Russian history  - to counter the Soviet interpretation which people grew up with - or unearthing the darker side of Soviet history." 

     The struggle to create a post-Soviet identity, Gorham claims, makes this  "an exciting time to be studying Russia."  And Gorham isn't the only one excited about Russian studies.  Russian is becoming increasingly viable in the academic and corporate marketplaces, and more and more UF students are teaming minors or double majors in Russian studies with majors in disciplines as diverse as journalism, engineering, law, finance and business.  "Before, all you could do with a Russian concentration was work for the CIA or the state department or teach," Gorham notes, "but nowadays your profile is pretty darn good if you have Russian combined with one of the many traditional fields.  Experience in a language still generally considered a little exotic and impossible to learn--even though it isn't--looks very impressive to graduate programs and future employers."