Criveller, Claudia

Gullotta, Andrea

English

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Discussions	  
AvtobiografiЯ	  -­‐	  Number	  2/2013	   171	  
Claudia	  Criveller,	  Andrea	  Gullotta	  
Introduction	  	  	  
Introduction	  to	  the	  Discussion	  section	  
	  
	  	  
In	  this	  section,	  we	  propose	  three	  texts	  that	  are	  not	  explicitly	  written	  with	  the	  intention	  to	  provoke	  a	  
discussion,	   but	   rather	   gathered	   here	   thanks	   to	   the	   common	   characteristics	   of	   some	   issues	   raised,	  
which	  call	  for	  reflection	  on	  one	  of	  the	  founding	  points	  of	  «AvtobiografiЯ».	  	  
As	   renown	   in	   Western	   Europe	   and	   the	   United	   States,	   over	   the	   past	   years	   the	   autobiographical	  
discourse	  is	  no	  longer	  limited	  to	  the	  community	  of	  literary	  scholars	  and	  theorists.	  It	  has	  now	  become	  
a	  specific	  topic	  of	  different	  disciplines,	  such	  as	  anthropology,	  political	  science,	  history,	  psychology,	  
visual	  art,	  cultural	  studies	  and	  sociology.	  
The	   text	   by	   Monica	   Soeting,	   manager	   of	   the	   «European	   Journal	   of	   Life	   Writing»,	   addresses	   our	  
journal,	   which	   enters	   into	   the	   international	   academic	   community	   of	   studies	   on	   life	   writing.	   Her	  
indications	   are	   clear	   and	   based	   on	   the	   main	   lines	   of	   worldwide	   research	   on	   Life	  Writing	   today.	  
Perspectives	  that	  are	  gradually	   implemented	  in	  Russia,	  as	  shown	  for	  example	  in	  the	  volume	  edited	  
by	   the	   research	  group	  of	   the	  Higher	  School	  of	  Economics	  of	  Moscow,	   reviewed	   in	   this	  number	  of	  
«AvtobiografiЯ»,	   and	   in	   the	   collection	  of	   essays	   edited	  by	   I.	  Kaspe,	   found	   in	   the	  News	   section.	   In	  
both	  cases,	  the	  authors	  are	  not	  only	  literary	  critics,	  but	  also	  specialists	  of	  different	  fields	  that	  discuss	  
the	  use	  of	  documents	   in	  various	   forms	  of	   self	   representation.	  They	  deal	  about	  new	   issues	   that	  are	  
widely	  being	  debated	  in	  contemporary	  Russia.	  They	  widen	  the	  borders	  of	  the	  reflection	  on	  the	  forms	  
of	   self	   representation.	   Proof	   of	   this	   are	   the	   numerous	   volumes	   dedicated	   to	   the	   reconstruction	   of	  
memory	  (for	  example,	  the	  volume	  of	  essays	  Pravo	  na	  imja,	  see	  the	  News	  section)	  and	  identity.	  	  
The	   culturological	   direction	   of	   many	   of	   the	   latest	   research	   on	   Life	  Writing,	   and	   the	   progressive	  
creation	  of	  a	  specific	  field	  of	  study	  (not	  only	  literary)	  is	  confirmed	  by	  the	  chronicles	  of	  two	  different	  
conferences.	  The	  first	  was	  held	  in	  Moscow,	  the	  second	  in	  Vienna.	  At	  the	  center	  remains	  the	  concept	  
of	   self	   representation,	   that	   challenges	   the	   traditional	   forms	   through	  new	   tools,	   such	   as	   blogs	   and	  
social	  networking	  sites.	  They	  show	  the	  importance	  of	  creating	  bridges	  between	  Russia	  and	  the	  West	  
in	  the	  discussion	  on	  such	  themes,	  in	  order	  to	  broaden	  research	  horizons	  on	  Russian	  Auto-­‐Biography.	  
«AvtobiografiЯ»	  invites	  scholars	  to	  contribute	  to	  such	  a	  discussion.	  
 


Introduction to the discussion section

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Discussions	  AvtobiografiЯ	  -­‐	  Number	  2/2013	   171	  Claudia	  Criveller,	  Andrea	  Gullotta	  Introduction	  	  	  Introduction	  to	  the	  Discussion	  section	  	  	  	  In	  this	  section,	  we	  propose	  three	  texts	  that	  are	  not	  explicitly	  written	  with	  the	  intention	  to	  provoke	  a	  discussion,	   but	   rather	   gathered	   here	   thanks	   to	   the	   common	   characteristics	   of	   some	   issues	   raised,	  which	  call	  for	  reflection	  on	  one	  of	  the	  founding	  points	  of	  «AvtobiografiЯ».	  	  As	   renown	   in	   Western	   Europe	   and	   the	   United	   States,	   over	   the	   past	   years	   the	   autobiographical	  discourse	  is	  no	  longer	  limited	  to	  the	  community	  of	  literary	  scholars	  and	  theorists.	  It	  has	  now	  become	  a	  specific	  topic	  of	  different	  disciplines,	  such	  as	  anthropology,	  political	  science,	  history,	  psychology,	  visual	  art,	  cultural	  studies	  and	  sociology.	  The	   text	   by	   Monica	   Soeting,	   manager	   of	   the	   «European	   Journal	   of	   Life	   Writing»,	   addresses	   our	  journal,	   which	   enters	   into	   the	   international	   academic	   community	   of	   studies	   on	   life	   writing.	   Her	  indications	   are	   clear	   and	   based	   on	   the	   main	   lines	   of	   worldwide	   research	   on	   Life	  Writing	   today.	  Perspectives	  that	  are	  gradually	   implemented	  in	  Russia,	  as	  shown	  for	  example	  in	  the	  volume	  edited	  by	   the	   research	  group	  of	   the	  Higher	  School	  of	  Economics	  of	  Moscow,	   reviewed	   in	   this	  number	  of	  «AvtobiografiЯ»,	   and	   in	   the	   collection	  of	   essays	   edited	  by	   I.	  Kaspe,	   found	   in	   the	  News	   section.	   In	  both	  cases,	  the	  authors	  are	  not	  only	  literary	  critics,	  but	  also	  specialists	  of	  different	  fields	  that	  discuss	  the	  use	  of	  documents	   in	  various	   forms	  of	   self	   representation.	  They	  deal	  about	  new	   issues	   that	  are	  widely	  being	  debated	  in	  contemporary	  Russia.	  They	  widen	  the	  borders	  of	  the	  reflection	  on	  the	  forms	  of	   self	   representation.	   Proof	   of	   this	   are	   the	   numerous	   volumes	   dedicated	   to	   the	   reconstruction	   of	  memory	  (for	  example,	  the	  volume	  of	  essays	  Pravo	  na	  imja,	  see	  the	  News	  section)	  and	  identity.	  	  The	   culturological	   direction	   of	   many	   of	   the	   latest	   research	   on	   Life	  Writing,	   and	   the	   progressive	  creation	  of	  a	  specific	  field	  of	  study	  (not	  only	  literary)	  is	  confirmed	  by	  the	  chronicles	  of	  two	  different	  conferences.	  The	  first	  was	  held	  in	  Moscow,	  the	  second	  in	  Vienna.	  At	  the	  center	  remains	  the	  concept	  of	   self	   representation,	   that	   challenges	   the	   traditional	   forms	   through	  new	   tools,	   such	   as	   blogs	   and	  social	  networking	  sites.	  They	  show	  the	  importance	  of	  creating	  bridges	  between	  Russia	  and	  the	  West	  in	  the	  discussion	  on	  such	  themes,	  in	  order	  to	  broaden	  research	  horizons	  on	  Russian	  Auto-­‐Biography.	  «AvtobiografiЯ»	  invites	  scholars	  to	  contribute	  to	  such	  a	  discussion.	   

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Introduction to the discussion section

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