Department of social anthropology seminar with Caroline Humphrey

The Department of Social Anthropology has the pleasure to invite you to this week's seminar. Prof. Caroline Humphrey, Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit, King's College, London, will present the following paper:

The political logic of Buryat national outrage

Abstract
Outrage has been caused in Buryatia (Russia) by a spate of racist attacks on students from national minorities in Moscow and other cities.  This paper investigates the reaction to these attacks, the categories of actors envisioned and the consequential rationales of action.  The paper describes how a new imagination of political geography is emerging: if the gangs shout ‘Russia for the Russians!’ many Buryats are now questioning what is this Russia, its political character, locale, and relation to themselves. It suggests that new dispersed formations are emerging, linking together natsmen (people from various national minorities) as being ‘under attack’, which can also be seen as popular anti-fascist movements. It is argued that, over and above demonstrations, letters of protest and reactive violence, the Internet is crucial here.  Not only does its technology enable distant communications, but the language of users creates new political sensibilities, while the format of the forum as it is used in Russia facilitates the painful working out of new political logic.

All are welcome!