March 27, 2008

Great Russian Novelist is the Subject of a Conference at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The College of the Holy Cross will host a conference titled “Art, Creativity, and Spirituality in Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov,” at which scholars from around the world will discuss the last book written by the great Russian novelist, Fyodor Dostoevsky.  It will take place April 10-12 at the College and at the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass. Registration is free for members of the Holy Cross community (faculty, students, alumni). For the general public, lectures taking place on the Holy Cross campus are free.  To attend the entire conference there is a fee of $75, which includes access to the lectures, refreshments, a concert ticket (The Borromeo String quartet), and transportation to and from the Museum of Russian Icons. To register for the event contact Patricia Hinchliffe, at the Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture.

Sigmund Freud called The Brothers Karamazov “the best novel ever written,” and for over a century it has been widely read and hotly debated.

“The goal of the conference is to critically consider Dostoevsky’s affirmation of human life, creativity, and spirituality,” explains Predrag Cicovacki, professor of philosophy at Holy Cross and the conference organizer.  “Dostoevsky’s goal (with the book) was not negative but positive. He wanted to establish a positive outlook, which would reaffirm our spiritual and religious tradition and deepen our appreciation for art and human creativity.”

List of speakers and events

Thursday, April 10

1:00-1:15 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall 
Opening ceremony
Welcoming address by Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president of the College and
opening remarks by Predrag Cicovacki, professor of philosophy at Holy Cross and the conference organizer. 

1:15-3:15 p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall 
Presentations
“Once More about Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov” by Robert L. Jackson, professor emeritus of Slavic languages and literatures at Yale University. 

“Friendly Persuasions, Divine Conversations” by Robin Feuer Miller, professor of humanities and professor of Russian and comparative literature at Brandeis University.

3:30-5:30, p.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall 
Presentations  
“Dialogue and Pseudo-Dialogue in The Brothers Karamazov” by Horst-Jürgen Gerigk, professor emeritus of Russian and comparative literature at Heidelberg University in Germany.

“Islamic Motifs in The Brothers Karamazov: Poetic Transformations of History” by
Diane Oenning Thompson, affiliated lecturer of Slavonic studies at the University of Cambridge in England.

6:15-7:45 p.m., Hogan Suites B & C
Dinner for the Conference Participants and Guests
Welcoming remarks by Timothy R. Austin, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College at Holy Cross.
  
8-9:30 p.m., Brooks Concert Hall
The Borromeo String Quartet  
Program: Tchaikovsky, Beethoven

Friday, April 11

8:30-10:30 a.m. Rehm Library, Smith Hall
Presentations
“Ivan’s Devil as Merchant’s Wife: An Incarnational Ideal” by Deborah A Martinsen, president of the International Dostoevsky Society, and associate dean of the core curriculum at Columbia University. 

“From the Great Sinner to the Grand Inquisitor” by Jacques Catteau, professeur émérite de langue et littérature slaves at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne in Paris, France.
  
10:45-11:45 a.m. Rehm Library, Smith Hall
Presentation
“Confession in The Brothers Karamazov” by Julian W. Connolly, professor of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of Virginia.

12-1:45 p.m., Browsing Room, Dinand Library
Lunch and Exhibition of Books by the Conference Participants

2-2:30 p.m. (Bus departure from Hogan 3)
Trip to the Museum of Russian Icons, 203 Union Street, Clinton, MA

2:30-3 p.m.      
Museum Tour
Continuation of the conference, in the Museum of Russian Icons.

3-5 p.m.
Presentations
“The Practices of Mercy in The Brothers Karamazov” by Ruben Apressyan, head of the department of ethics at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences and
professor of ethics at Lomonosov State University in Moscow, Russia.

“The Politics of Love in The Brothers Karamazov” by Maria Granik, professor of philosophy at Holy Cross.

5:10-6:10 p.m.  
Presentation
“Dostoevsky’s Anthropology and Meta-Anthropology in The Brothers Karamazov” by
Sergey S. Horujy, member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, and honorary professor of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and chair of the Institute for Synergetic Anthropology in Moscow, Russia. 

6:15-7:45 p.m.        
Dinner at the Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, Mass.

8 p.m.
Bus transportation from Clinton to the Hilton Hotel and to Holy Cross.

Saturday, April 12

8:30-10:30 a.m., Rehm Library, Smith Hall
Presentations
“The Tragic Hymn to Life: Dostoevsky’s Philosophy of Life” by Evgenia V. Cherkasova, professor of philosophy at Suffolk University.

“Brothers Karamazov the Opera” by Caryl Emerson, professor of Slavic languages and literatures at Princeton University.

10:45-12:45 p.m.
Presentations
“Incarnational Realism in The Brothers Karamazov” by Paul J. Contino, editor of Christianity and Literature, professor of great books and associate director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Pepperdine University. 

“Distortion and Transformation of Biblical Quotes in The Brothers Karamazov as a Means to Activate Their Original Meaning” by Olga Meerson, professor of Slavic languages at Georgetown University.

2-3 p.m.
Presentations
“Manipulative Sequencing in The Brothers Karamazov” by Robert Belknap, professor emeritus of Slavic languages and director in university seminars at Columbia University.

3 p.m.  
Closing Remarks by Predrag Cicovacki, professor of philosophy at Holy Cross and conference organizer.

This conference is co-sponsored by the following Holy Cross offices: The Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture; the Office of the Academic Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs; the Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies; the Modern Language Department – Russian; and the Student Government Association.

For additional information contact Cristal Perriello at 508.793.2419