Making the Familiar Unknown ("image of the self" as a Subject of Research). Following the Theme of the 2016 Aseees-mag Convention

Abstract

In accordance with the theme of the ASEEES-MAG Convention of 2016, “Images of the Other”, Slavic and American researchers decided to give the title “Images of the Self” to the new summer congress of the International Association for the Humanities (IAC). More than 200 scholars and academics developed their discussions at Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv, Ukraine on 27-29 June 2018. Participants sought to examine how states, societies, interest groups and social movements, as well as individuals, represent themselves, to others as well (using a variety of means, including language, culture, literature, politics of history, and politics as such). As it became evident, images of the self can be found not only in scholarship but in popular writing, artistic expression, and public sphere as well. How does self-representation help to construct stereotypes and instrumentalized narratives? How do resources arise for toler-ance, mutual respect, and cooperation? These issues appear in headlines worldwide, but they seem especially salient in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. This was the goal of a huge international discussion. The participants of the conference discussed how nations could strengthen their ethnic identity, as well as build boundaries between citizens and immi-grants. Anthropologists have repeatedly stressed that ethnic identity is relational, and people define themselves through what sets them apart from other groups. At the conference, it was important to discuss what people thought about other nations, how it helped them shape what they thought of themselves, and how it helped to create a sense of unity that overcame earlier divisions. The Convention was supported by the Open Society Foundation, the New York Carnegie Corporation, the International Renaissance Foundation (IRF), the Association for the Study of Slavic, Eastern Europe-an and Eurasian Cultures (ASEEES), the Lviv City Council, and the Scientific Lviv program.doi 10.17072/2219-3111-2019-1-175-180