Displaced Literature: A Voice of the “Second Sex" from the “Second World" in Sophia Yablonska's Travelogues

Olena Haleta, Visiting Professor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Moderator: Jonathan Bolton, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures

Travelogues written by Ukrainian traveler, camera-women and photographer Sophia Yablonka (The Charm of Morocco, 1932; From the Country of Rice and Opium, 1936; and Distant Horizons, 1939) are admired by readers but still remain outside the framework of traditional histories of literature, which were made according to certain intellectual samples and narrative models. Transgressing literary norms in terms of genre, gender, anthropology, autobiography, perception, media, culture, and discourse, these travelogues encourage a revision of the general idea of literature in its relation to the outside world; to the author and the reader as cultural figures rooted in historical circumstances and personal biographies; to the process of writing as the articulation of a certain anthropological experience and culturally significant action.

Co-sponsored by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Slavic Department at 617-495-4065 or slavic@fas.harvard.edu in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance, if possible. Please note that the university will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.