'Communist Nostalgia', 11-13 September 2015, University of Glasgow

2015 will be the 70th anniversary of the apogee of Communist influence in Europe and the 30th anniversary of, arguably, the beginning of the end of the Eastern Bloc. This conference aims to build upon the burgeoning work on post-Communist nostalgia, while extending its scope geographically and temporally. A wide range of questions can be addressed, including: who expresses Communist nostalgia, where, and in what form? How has nostalgia for Communism manifested itself in non-Communist countries, as well as in those still nominally Communist (China, Vietnam, Cuba…)? How was nostalgia expressed during the period of Communist rule? What art forms, genres and objects could be related to Communist nostalgia? What is the place of nostalgia in Communist /Marxist theory and culture?

Click HERE to see the full programme. Click HERE to see the Special Issue of the journal Twentieth Century Communism featuring conference proceedings.

Speakers will include:

Owen Hatherley, author of Militant Modernism; A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain; A New Kind of Bleak, Uncommon; and the forthcoming Ministry of Nostalgia

Brian Pollitt, specialist on Cuba and son of Harry Pollitt, historic general secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain

Agata Pyzik, author of Poor but Sexy: Culture Clashes in Europe East and West

Stephen White, James Bryce Professor of Politics at the University of Glasgow and author of amongst other studies, Bolshevik Poster; Understanding Russian Politics; Communism and Its Collapse

The conference is sponsored by the University of Glasgow, the Socialist Theory and Movements Research Network, the Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES), the PSA Communism Study Group, and the journal Twentieth Century Communism. Participants will be invited to submit their papers for a special issue of the journal.

Conference Organisers
Gavin Bowd; Bridget Fowler; Vassiliki Kolocotroni; Stephen White