Russian/Soviet Studies in the United States, Amerikanistika in Russia: Mutual Representations in Academic Projects

(Hardback)

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Description

The contributors in this interdisciplinary collection address the problem of interconnection between the study of the Other, either Russian or American, and the shaping of national identities in the two countries at different stages of USRussian relations. The focus of research interests were typically determined by the political and social debates in scholars native countries. In this book, leading Russian and American scholars analyze the problems arising from these intersections of academic, political, and sociocultural contexts and the implicit biases they entail. The book is divided into two parts, the first being a historical overview of past configurations of the interrelationship between fields and agendas, and the second covering the role of institutionalized area studies in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In both parts the role of the human factor in the study of mutual representations is elucidating.

Reviews

The impressive array of Russian and American historians possess a remarkable, collective breadth of expertise. * The Russian Review *
Led by two of the finest historians in Russia, a team of distinguished American and Russian scholars address a wide range of ways that American intellectuals have thought about Russia and Russian academics have analyzed the United States since the middle of the nineteenth century. The authors make significant contributions to our growing understanding of how images of the Other have figured in American and Russian mutual understandingand misunderstanding. The publication of this collection at a time of revived suspicion and antipathy between the United States and Russia is especially welcome. -- David Foglesong, Rutgers University
At a time of regrettable retrenchment in the support of academic studies on AmericanRussian relations, this impressivelyresearched collection of sixteen essays by scholars fromboth countries sheds significant light on the historical and institutional factors that have shaped how Americans and Russians have understoodand, sadly, misunderstoodone another throughout the centuries. The editors' preface and conclusion are especially valuable in summarizing the focus and methodology of the volume. -- John Brown, Georgetown University
During this time of new tension between the United States and Russia, it is more important than ever to understand where our understandings of each other come from. On this question, one can find no better resource than this book. Editors Ivan Kurilla and Victoria Zhuravleva pull together a dream team of experts from both countries to examine the history of how Russians study America and how Americans study Russia, going back to the nineteenth century and carrying us through todays post-Crimea crisis in relations. The book exposes not only the political, but also the deeply personal factors that have influenced the contours of these academic fields and prevalent biases in both countries, making for a fascinating and enlightening read. -- Henry E. Hale, George Washington University

Author Bio

Ivan Kurilla is professor at the European University at St. Petersburg. Victoria I. Zhurvaleva is professor of American history and international relations and director of the Program on American Studies at the Russian State University for the Humanities.