Contacts:
Address: 117313 Moscow, P.O. box 87
Tel./Fax: (095) 125-6419
E-mail:summerschool@glasnet.ru
GOALS
The goal of the research and educational project
on Russian Summer Schools for Gender Studies (RSSGS) is to promote the
development of women’s and gender studies in Russia and their integration
into Russian higher education curricula.
Concrete Objectives of the Project:
- promotion of professional contacts between scholars
and educators in women’s and gender studies.
- exchange of experience, discussion of research
results, and presentation of programs, lectures, and courses on women’s
and gender studies.
- development of a community and network of scholars
and educators in women’s and gender studies in Russia.
- involvement of the younger generation of graduate
and undergraduate students in the new sphere of gender studies within the
Russian humanities.
One can judge our fulfillment of these objectives
by the comments of the Summer School participants:
- A qualitative breakthrough in the academic community;
- The Summer School granted participants the opportunity
to immerse themselves in the true atmosphere of academic life - that of
great professionalism, commitment, energy, and curiosity;
- Clear progress in the establishment of interdisciplinary
methodology in gender studies;
- Our School is a little island of knowledge and
spiritual warmth;
- It gave me a clear idea of how gender-based sociology
needs to be taught;
- An atmosphere of comradery among colleagues. Freedom
to be oneself;
- The school created a feeling of confidence, the
ability to persuade colleagues, to extend knowledge further;
- An incredible meeting of brain power and enthusiasm.
HISTORY
The summer schools for gender studies were developed
as a joint project between MCGS and universities of the Russian regions.
The first summer school, “Valdai-96”, was
organized by MCGS in collaboration with the Department of Sociology and
Political Science of Tver State University.
The Foreign History Department of Samara State
University took part in the organization of the second Summer School,
“Volga-97”.
The third Summer School, “Azov-98”,
was be organized jointly by MCGS and Rostov State University, in
the city of Rostov-na-Donu.
The theme of the lectures, papers, and seminars of
the Russian Summer Schools bears witness to the fact that the gender approach
has allowed an opening for Russian scholars not only of new research themes,
but also of the ability to look through new eyes at already familiar problems.
Themes of classes at the “Volga-97” summer school included: “The Gender
Approach to Russian History” (N. Pushkareva); “Society Through the Prism
of Women’s Experience” (O. Zdravomyslova); “The Development of Gender Studies
in Russia” (Z. Khotkina); “Postmodernism: Feminist Criticism” (A. Kostikova);
“The Social Construction of Gender” (E. Zdravomyslova); “Feminist Criticism
of Family Theories” (T. Gurko); “The Correlation of Quantitative and Qualitative
Methodologies in Gender Research” (O. Maslova); “Ethical Aspects of Feminism
and Emancipation” (O. Domanov); “The Sociology of Everyday Life and Qualitative
Research of Gender Stereotypes” (E. Meshcherkina); “Theoretical Discourse
of the Family and Sexuality” (E. Yarskaya-Smirnova); “Feminist Epistemology”
(A. Tyomkina).
In
1996-98, three Summer Schools - “Valdai-96”, “Volga-97”, and “Azov-98” - were held in
Tver, Togliatti, and Taganrog, espectively, with over 200 participants, including
Russian and foreign researchers, educators, and undergraduate and graduate
students from 33 Russian cities as well as from other CIS countries, Europe
and the US.
The
project has filled some of communication and information gaps in the field
of women’s and gender studies by collecting and distributing information
on “Who does What, Where and How” in gender studies in Russia today.
The
project has facilitated the establishment of a gender studies network which
effectively collects and distributes the most recent information about
all of the applicants to the 1996 and 1997 open competitions for the summer
schools, as well as all RSSGS participants (the network’s mailing list
contains 372 addresses).
Open
competition among applicants has allowed us to identify new scholars and
educators from the Russian regions who are active in gender research and
education.
We
produced two books, called “Materials of the First Russian Summer School for
Women’s and Gender Studies - “Valdai-96” - a collection of lectures, reports,
diaries, essays, photos, and profiles of the participants from the first
RSSGS (1996, 1000 copies published), “Woman Gender Cultur” (1999, 1000 copies published).
We
created twenty educational videos from the lectures and seminars of the
first RSSGS, and a documentary about the “Valdai-96” school (thanks to
a grant from the Ambassy of the Netherlands).
We
established the first Russian electronic library of gender research. The
library makes available books and papers by Russian scholars in electronic
format.