UCLA's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
"The Book of Royal Degrees and
Russian Historical Consciousness"
February 26-28, 2009

This three-day international conference, organized by Professor Gail Lenhoff (Slavic Languages and Literatures, UCLA), celebrates the publication of a critical edition of Russia's first narrative history, The Book of Royal Degrees, produced in the Moscow metropolitan's scriptorium between 1555-1564, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

Invited speakers from Russia, Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States, representing various academic disciplines, will present papers on the book's treatment of Muscovite history, politics, theology, literary production, artistic subtexts and reception. Other questions to be considered include: 1) religion and governance; 2) preconditions for a "culture of history"; 3) ways in which pre-modern writers of history seek to understand, legitimize and influence the present; 4) the ways in which historical narratives such as The Book of Royal Degrees contribute to the rise of nationalism and the survival of absolute monarchies; and, 5) the uses of historical narratives in the building of a civil, democratic society.

The program is cosponsored by CMRS, the Center for European and Eurasian Studies, the UCLA Vice Chancellor for Research, and the UCLA Dean of Humanities.

Place: Royce Hall 314
Time: variable, consult the program schedule
Advance Registration: Not required
Fee: None
Please contact the Center for Medieval for Medieval & Renaissance Studies at 310-825-1880 or cmrs@humnet.ucla.edu if you have any questions.