Seminar

30 November 2022, Wednesday

12.30-14.00

santralistanbul Campus, E1-306

Eva Rapoport

"Protesting what-must-not-be-named: Narratives of the ‘Shock Wave’ of Russian Anti-War Emigration"

In March 2022, cultural anthropologists Eva Rapoport and Alevtina Borodulina started working on the research of what they labeled as a ‘shock wave of Russian emigration’ – referring to those people who left Russia during the very first weeks of the war, in a state of emotional distress and without any thoughtful preparation. While some had to flee due to the real danger to their safety and freedom, many others were driven by moral reasons, choosing emigration as a peculiar and costly form of protest (where all the other forms were prohibited): preferring to step into the unknown over watching the familiar world rapidly getting undone.

In her presentation, Eva Rapoport will speak of the two recent waves of Russian emigration (past-February 24th and past-September 21st). Primarily focusing on the former one, she will draw the portraits of its typical representatives, describe their beliefs, values and fears, provide a glimpse into the inner worlds of the Russian emigres based on the metaphorical narrations of their experiences. Eva will also present her personal art project that employs artificial intelligence to illustrate the reflection on the trauma of those people who on February 24 had woken up on the side of the aggressor country and had to abruptly flee it as a consequence.

A podcast conducted with Eva Rapoport within "Other Stories: Migration, Art, Living Together" can be accessed here.