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SUMMARY:“HOW I BECAME BELARUSIAN”: Nationalism and Conversion at the T
 ime of Late Authoritarianism - D. Elena Gapova (University of West Michiga
 n)
DTSTART:20131024T163000Z
DTEND:20131024T180000Z
UID:TALK48456@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:35068
DESCRIPTION:Nationalism works not only as a system of social organization\
 , but also as a technology for the organization of the self\, and the conc
 ept of conversion\, taken from studies of religion\, can be useful in maki
 ng sense of national/ist personal transformations. The presentation focuse
 s on narratives documenting the “rites of passage” into what the narra
 tors believe to be “authentic Belarusianness.” These can be seen as st
 ories of self-understanding\, of purposefully creating a meaningful self\,
  with the key claims being sincerity and acting in response to conscience.
  As this conversion happens inside\, the external “proof” of the trans
 formation is the switch to Belarusian as the language of daily communicati
 on. This code-switching implies a drastic change in internal signifying pr
 actices\, which requires (at least initially) permanent self-control and d
 iscipline and thus becomes the source of one’s authority over oneself. S
 incerity and “true Belarusianness” serve as ways to articulate social 
 criticism and make political claims\, with identity becoming a site and an
  instrument of political struggle.
LOCATION:Coleridge Room at Jesus College
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