Slavic and Eastern European Studies talk Russian tattoos

Morgantown, W.Va., February 7, 2008: The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Foreign Languages at West Virginia University present “Body Talk: Russian and Soviet Tattoos” by Helena Goscilo, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pittsburgh, on Friday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. in Oglebay Hall Room 117.

Sponsored by the Slavic and Eastern European Studies Program, the lecture will discuss symbolism and the meaning of various Russian and Soviet tattoos.  Goscilo will examine this old-age system of body art in Russia and how the complex designs contain hidden meanings used for political and personal expression.

Goscilo is author of more than 20 works on gender and culture in Russia including, Dehexing Sex: Russian Womanhood during and after Glasnost (1996), Russian Culture in the 1990s (2000), Politicizing Magic: An Anthology of Russian and Soviet Fairy Tales (with M. Balina and M. Lipovetsky, 2005), Gender and National Identity in 20th Century Russian Culture (with Andrea Lanoux, 2006), Poles Apart: Women in Modern Polish Culture (with Beth Holmgren, 2006), Encyclopedia of Contemporary Russian Culture (with Tatiana Smorodinskaya and Karen Evans-Romaine, 2007), and Preserving Petersburg (2008) with Stephen Norris.
           
Her current projects include Fade From Red: Screening the Cold War Ex-Enemy During the Nineties (with Bozenna Goscilo, EDC 2008), a collection of articles on paternity and filiations in celebrities, and Stalinka, the digital research library of Staliniana hosted by the University of Pittsburgh .

Refreshments will be served following the lecture and Goscilo will be available to speak with attendees.  This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, please contact Dr. Lisa DiBartolomeo, Clinical Assistant Professor and Russian Program Coordinator, at (304)293-5121 or Lisa.DiBartolomeo@mail.wvu.edu.

W-V-U