Past events - Lectures, talks, discussions and readings

Date: 28 July 2023

Venue: 50 George Square

Panel discussants: Jorge Egusquiza, Gretel Alfonso, Dean Luis Reyes, Dr Nikolaus Perneczky (Queen Mary University of London), and Dr Jessica Gordon-Burroughs (University of Edinburgh)

Organiser: Dr Jessica Gordon-Burroughs (University of Edinburgh)

In brief: A discussion and panel on the legacy of Afro-Cuban filmmaker Nicolás Guillén Landrián and the recent restoration of his works, featuring Cuban filmmaker Jorge Egusquiza, Cuban artist Gretel Alfonso (Guillén Landrián’s widow), Cuban critic and curator Dean Luis Reyes, and Dr Nikolaus Perneczky. The panel discussion concerned the restoration project, the filmmaker’s legacy, and the broader challenges of Afro-diasporic archives.

This event marked the 20th anniversary of Guillén Landrián's death.

Date: 26 January 2023

Venue: Institut français d'Écosse

Guest speakers: Fabien Arribert-Narce (University Edinburgh); Tamzin Elliott (University of Edinburgh); Catherine Guiat (Institut Français Écosse); Elise Hugueny-Léger (University of St Andrews); Caroline Verdier (University of Strathclyde); Ed Welch (University of Aberdeen)

In brief: A round-table discussion in French and Q&A in both English and French to celebrate acclaimed French writer Annie Ernaux. Participants read book excerpts to the audience, then took part in a round-table discussion in French where panelists examined some of the key themes in Ernaux’s work.

Date: 4 April 2022

Venue: 50 George Square

Speakers: Bel Olid and Borja Bagunyà

In brief: A conversation event with two acclaimed Catalan writers as part of the Catalan Culture Spotlight 2022 programme within the London Book Fair. The event was moderated by Sergi Mainer (SPLAS) and featured a Q&A with the writers as well as readings from students.

Date: 19 March 2021

Venue: Online (Zoom)

Organisers: Centre de recherches francophones belges; Institut français d’Ecosse; Institut français du Royaume-Uni

In brief: An online talk - in French - with celebrated Congolese author In Koli Jean Bofane. Hosted by Edouard Notte, the event was introduced by Laurence Païs, Director of the Institut français d’Écosse, and by the University of Edinburgh's Rector, Debora Kayembe.

Date: 21 May 2019

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Speaker: Amanda Diserholt (Edinburgh Napier University)

In brief: A special guest seminar on psychoanalysis and contemporary culture, turning around Lacan’s notions of the drive and desire. Co-hosted with Lacan in Scotland, the event was chaired by Dr Katharine Swarbrick, Lecturer in French and Francophone Studies, who has written on Lacanian perspectives on the psychopathology of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Date: 23 March 2019

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Organisers: Professor Marion Schmid (University of Edinburgh); Dr Hugues Azérad (University of Cambridge)

In brief: The second in a pair of special events marking the visit of film director Pascale Breton to Edinburgh. Sponsored by the Institut Français d’Ecosse, Magdalene College, Cambridge, and AMOPA (Association des Membres de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques), the talk offered a fascinating, illustrated insight into Breton's practice as a filmmaker and scriptwriter - one of the most original voices in French contemporary cinema.

Date: 8 March 2019

Venue: Portuguese Centre Coffee Area

In brief: The weekly postgraduate poetry reading group in Spanish read and discussed poetry in Spanish by women poets from Latin America in celebration of International Women's Day.

Date: 7 March 2019

Venue: Potterrow Dome

In brief: To celebrate International Women's Day, the University of Edinburgh Water of Life Society, including our own Elaine Newton-Bruzza (Tutor and PhD student in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies) gathered together for stories and a dram that connect women to the world of whisky.

Date: 4 October 2018

Venue: 50 George Square

Organisers: Italian Studies at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee

In brief: A talk from Italo-Scottish artist Richard Demarco on his artistic, cultural and personal heritage. Richard was in conversation with Laura Leuzzi, Adam Lockhart, Stephen Partridge & Elaine Shemilt, and the talk was preceded by an introduction by Professor Davide Messina (Italian Studies), and a screening of Winterline (2014, 7 mins) by Elaine Shemilt.

Date: 19 June 2018

Venue: G.01, 50 George Square

In Brief: A CPD seminar for Spanish language teachers held in association with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Date: 1 June 2018

Venue: 50 George Square

In Brief:A one-day event exploring interdisciplinary perspectives relating to memory, with a keynote by Professor Andrew Hoskins.

Date: 13 April 2018

Venue: 50 George Square

Speaker: Professor Richard Morris

In brief: Richard Morris from the Centre for Cognitive and Neural Systems joins us to talk about ‘The making, keeping and losing of memory’.

Date: 8 March 2018

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre

Guest speaker: Sheila Sim

In brief: An illustrated talk by translator and garden photographer, Sheila Sim, in collaboration with the Scotland-Russia Forum. Sheila discussed Russian garden history from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Date: 8 February 2018

Venue:  50 George Square

Guest speaker: Professor Peter France (former University of Edinburgh)

In brief: A talk by Professor Peter France to celebrate the launch of his latest publication, 'Writings from the Golden Age of Russian Poetry' (Columbia University Press). Professor France discussed one of the creators of modern Russian poetry, Konstantin Batyushkov, and illustrated his points by readings in Russian and English. The event was followed by an informal reception.

Date: 25 January 2018

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Professor Mary Buckley (University of Cambridge)

In brief: A book launch for Professor Buckley's latest publication, 'The Politics of Unfree Labour in Russia: Human Trafficking and Labour Migration'. The talk (and the book) focused on human trafficking out of the Russian Federation since the collapse of the Soviet state, as well as labour migration into it from Central Asia, and some internal movement.

Date: 18 January 2018

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre

Guest speaker: Dr Andrea Liebschner (Ural Federal University)

In brief: A talk by Dr Liebschner that examined words for food and drinks in the menu of nine coffee houses and fast-food chains in Russia. Using her most recent research, Dr Liebschner analysed formation of the lexical units, orthography and grammatical adaption to the system of the Russian language.

Date: 22 November 2017

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre

Guest speakers: Mikhail and Viacheslav Durnenkov (playwrights), Maria Kroupnik (arts producer and translator) and Irina Lukyanova (writer)

Organisers: School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures; Department of European Languages and Cultures' Language and Violence research strand; Nicola McCartney and the Class Act project

In brief: A roundtable discussion with the four participants, pulling on their various areas of expertise to explore language and violence in Russian theatre and literature.

Date: 24 October 2017

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 19 Buccleuch Place

Guest speakers: Vladimir Sharov (author), Peter Bagrov (film historian) and Kristina Matvienko (theatre critic and practitioner)

In brief: A roundtable discussion with the three participants in Russian as part of the Dashkova Centre's series of events marking the centenary of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Co-organised with the Moscow Institute of Translation, this event saw the audience hearing extracts from Sharov's work read by himself, and watching archival film footage.

Date: 12 October 2017

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 19 Buccleuch Place

Guest speaker: Dr Dina Khapaeva (Georgia Institute of Technology)

In brief: A lecture by Dr Khapaeva that examined the appropriations of medievalism by contemporary culture and politics, applying the concept of neo-medievalism to Russia.

Date: 18 September 2017

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Ludmila Ulitskaya

In brief: A talk in Russian with Ludmila Ulitskaya concerning contemporary Russian literature and her own work. It was organised by the Princess Dashkova Centre and the Moscow Institute of Translation.

Date: 15 September 2017

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Events series: The World After Fukushima

Organiser: Dr Fabien Arribert-Narce

In brief: The fourth in a series of events on the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 and the future of nuclear energy. An hour-long, round-table discussion chaired by Dr Chris Perkins (LLC), with Professors Doug Slaymaker, Lisette Gebhardt and Michaël Ferrier.

Date: 17 June 2017

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Roman Borisovich

In brief: A talk with Roman Borisovich, an actor, political campaigner and anti-corruption activist who starred in the Channel 4 documentary ‘From Russia With Cash’. Mr Borisovich discussed the film and the perception of corruption in Russia and London.

Date: 16 June 2017

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Alexander Kan

In brief: A lecture by Alexander Kan, BBC World Service Arts and Culture Correspondent, on the growing community of Russians and Russian speakers in the UK capital. The talk explored the ever-changing Russian cultural landscape in London, and attempted to project its evolution into the future.

Date: 30 May 2017

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Guest speaker: Dr Ilya Kalinin (St Petersburg State University)

In brief: A lecture by Dr Kalinin on the subject of energy resources in the Soviet Union, how they were used to advance the socialist cause, and how to to reveal some interconnections and correlation, as well as some mutual translatability, between Soviet power and electric power.

Date: 24 May 2017

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Guest speaker: Dr Katya Rogatchevskaia (Lead Curator, East European Collections at the British Library)

In brief: A lecture and virtual tour by Dr Rogatchevskaia concerning a new major multimedia exhibition by the British Library. The exhibition re-examined the Russian Revolution in light of recent research, using physical tools such as posters, maps, postcards, letters, newspapers, and ephemera.

Date: 28 March 2017

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Tatyana Tolstaya

In brief: An in-conversation event with Tatyana Tolstaya, Russian contemporary writer and public intellectual. She discussed her work, shared memories of life under the Soviet regime, and answered audience questions. This event was organised in partnership with the University of Glasgow Russian Speaking Society.

Date: 9 March 2017

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Professor Wolczuk (University of Birmingham)

In brief: A lecture by Professor Wolczuk, organised in collaboration with the Edinburgh Europa Institute. This talk analysed EU-Ukraine relations by looking at different types of boundaries of order.

Date: 15 February 2017

Venue: 40 George Square

Guest speaker: Professor Massimo Riva (Brown University)

In brief: Professor Riva gave a talk on the birth of a new, transdisciplinary field: media archaeology. The event explored virtual reality in the late 18th and the 19th century.

Date: 9 February 2017

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Dr Derek Averre (University of Birmingham)

In brief: A lecture by Dr Averre that examined recent international developments and analysed the opportunities and constraints Moscow faces in its foreign policy.

Date: 25 January 2017

Venue: Appleton Tower

Guest speaker: Dr. Ilya Yablokov (University of Leeds)

In brief: A joint lecture between LLC and the School of Social and Political Science, this event saw Dr. Ilya Yablokov (University of Leeds) investigate the phenomenon of conspiracy theories, and demonstrate how journalists became one of the main drivers to their popularity in contemporary Russia.

Date: 17 October 2016

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Guest speaker: Nina Dashevskaya

In brief: An informal discussion and book reading event with writer and musician, Nina Dashevskaya, particularly aimed at children. Nina read extracts from her books in Russian, and answered questions.

Date: 14 September 2016

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Guest speaker: Alicia Kozameh (Chapman University)

In brief: A bilingual reading in Spanish and English by Alicia Kozameh (Chapman University) from one of her books. An author, editor and Creative Writing teacher, Alicia discussed the fictionalisation of her experience as a political prisoner, and as a political exile.

Date: 10 September 2016

Venue: Institut français d’Écosse, Edinburgh

Speakers: Professor Gina Luria Walker (USA; Chair); Professor Suzan Broomhall (Australia); Professor Mary Spongberg (Australia); Dr Elena Woodacre (UK); Dr Armel Duboit-Nayt (France); Dr Séverine Genieys-Kirk (UK)

In brief: Part of the Recovering Women’s Past conference, this public event discussed the representation in historiography and films of Catherine de Medici, Joan of Navarre, Marie Stuart (Mary, Queen of Scots), Queen Margot, and Christina of Sweden.

Related research: Learning to see the power of women

Date: 10 September 2016

Venue: Institut français d’Écosse, Edinburgh

In brief: Part of the Recovering Women’s Past conference, this public event brought together four theatre practitioners to discuss their work. With the participation of Anna Birch (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland):

• Belgian playwrights and actresses Barbara Sylvain and Lula Bery talked about their play on Marie Suart and Elizabeth I, It’s so nice (2011)
• Alexandria Patience talked about her co-authored play on seventeenth-century playwright Aphra Behn, APHRA (1997) and gender equity in theatre
• Clarissa Palmer talked about her co-authored play Olympe de Gouges, porteuse d’espoir/ A Beacon of hope (L’Harmattan, 2012).

Related research: Learning to see the power of women

Date: 3 May 2016

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Guest speaker: Professor Marianna Shakhnovich (Saint-Petersburg State University)

In brief: A presentation by Professor Marianna Shakhnovich (Saint-Petersburg State University) that aimed to contextualise the activity of Semyon Desnitsky, a prominent figure in the philosophical circle formed in Moscow in the late 1760s, in the early history of religious studies in Russia. Professor Shakhnovich was invited to the University by The Princess Dashkova Centre as a Visiting Dashkova Fellow in May 2016.

Date: 30 March 2016

Venue: 50 George Square

Guest speaker: Alexei Kudrin (Honorary Professor, School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures)

In brief: A public lecture by Alexei Kudrin (Honorary Professor, School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures) organised by The Princess Dashkova Centre, entitled ‘The Russian Economy: Structural Problems and Perspectives on Economic Growth’.

Date: 24 March 2016

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Guest speaker: Professor Sergei Zenkin (Russian State University for the Humanities)

In brief: A presentation by Professor Sergei Zenkin (Russian State University for the Humanities) that explored four aspects of the formalist externalism – the formal, the mimetic, the nomothetic and the historical. It demonstrated that the ideas of Russian theorists converged with some aspects of 20th century European philosophy, but in a different intellectual context.

Date: 18 March 2016

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Participants: Peter Davies (German); Kate Dunn (Hispanic Studies); Barbara Fernandez (Hispanic Studies); Rose France (Russian); Andrea Gullotta (University of Glasgow); Lara Ryazanova-Clarke (Russian)

Organiser: The Dashkova Centre

In brief: A roundtable discussion, as part of the Language and Violence research stream. Topics included defining 'prison/camp', spaces and boundaries, aestheticisation, and voice.

Date: 17 March 2016

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Title: Towards a New Understanding of the Gulag and of its Literature through the Prism of Auto-Biographical Studies

Speaker: Dr Andrea Gullotta (The University of Glasgow)

In brief: A research seminar from Dr Andrea Gullotta on finding a new understanding of the literature of the Gulag by considering a wide corpus of texts, including those which have been less studied to date (e.g. oral poems composed within the camps). In this event, hosted by the Dashkova Centre, Dr Gullotta discussed some of the features he has identified over the years in this corpus, and towards the end he also highlighted other aspects related to non-literary texts.

Date: 4 March 2016

Venue: 50 George Square

Organisers: The Dashkova Centre and the Calvert 22 Foundation

In brief: A presentation of Calvert 22’s London-based exhibition "Things Fall Apart", curated by scholar of art and film Mark Nash. The exhibition was named after Chinua Achebe’s 1958 classic of post-colonial fiction, and used the association to focus on a similar loss of utopian perspective following the end of the cold war and collapse of the Soviet Union and eastern bloc. Mark Nash’s presentation was accompanied by screening of Abderrahmane Sissako’s “October” (1993).

Date: 2 March 2016

Venue: 40 George Square Lecture Theatre B

Speaker: Yelena Khanga

Organisers: The Dashkova Centre and the Calvert 22 Foundation

In brief: A conversation with popular chat show host and possibly the most recognisable face of black Russia, Yelena Khanga. She discussed her life and career as a black journalist in the Soviet Union, the United States and modern Russia. This was one of a series of joint events between the Princess Dashkova Russian Centre and Calvert 22 Foundation.

Date: 18 February 2016

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Speaker: Professor Nancy Ries (Colgate University)

Organiser: The Dashkova Centre in collaboration with Language and Violence Research strand (DELC)

Date: 28 January 2016

Venue: Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Speaker: Professor Mika Lähteenmäki (University of Jyväskylä)

In brief: A public seminar by Professor Mika Lähteenmäki, organised by the Dashkova Centre. In this talk, Professor Lähteenmäki discussed language ideological discourse in contemporary Russia and its role in the promotion of national unity.

Date: 21 January 2016

Venue: 50 George Square

Speaker: Billy Kay

Organiser: Dashkova Centre

In brief: Scottish writer and broadcaster Billy Kay presented and discussed his new BBC Radio Scotland series “The Scots in Russia”. He discussed the substantial contribution to Russia made by Scots from the 17th century to the time of the Revolution, and illustrated his talk with clips from the series.

Date: 8 December 2015

Venue: The Princess Dashkova Russian Centre, 14 Buccleuch Place

Speaker: Professor Alexander Nakhimovsky (Colgate University)

In brief: A lecture organised by the Dashkova Centre, given by Professor Alexander Nakhimovsky (Colgate University). It investigated how class struggle and interpersonal relationships are represented in dialects of characters of Lydia Seifullina's novella ‘Перегной’ (Humus).

Date: 28 November 2015

Venue: 50 George Square

Title: The "Last address": how the idea of the public memorial becomes the basis to civil movement

Speaker: Sergei Parkhomenko

In brief: A public lecture organised by the Dashkova Centre from acclaimed Russian journalist, broadcaster, publisher and founder of several initiatives aimed at promoting civic activism in Russia. The lecture was given in Russian.

Date: 25 November 2015

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Speaker: Dr Alan Macniven (University of Edinburgh)

In brief: A public lecture, drinks reception and book signing to celebrate the launch of The Vikings in Islay, a systematic review of around 300 of Islay's farm and nature names, turning traditional assumptions about the history of the Scottish island on their head.

Related research: Islay Life Explorer (ÌLE)

Date: 16 April 2015

Venue: Scottish Parliament

Research strand: Italo-Scottish Research Cluster (ISRC)

Guest speakers: Dr Terri Colpi, author of The Italian Factor (1991), QC Lorenzo Alonzi, entrepreneur Gio Benedetti, screenwriter Sergio Casci, Archbishop Conti, entrepreneur Tony Crolla, solicitor Cesidio Di Ciacca, playwright Ann Marie Di Mambro and BBC journalist Giancarlo Rinaldi

In brief: The inaugural event of the newly launched research cluster, ISRC. This event was a discussion between guest speakers, as well as hosts MSP Linda Fabiani, Vice-Principal and Head of College Prof Dorothy Miell, and Italian Consul General Mauro Carfagnini. Discussants explored migrant identities in the light of contemporary debates on nation and nationhood, people’s mobility and integration “elsewhere”.