Russian Reception by James Hogg (Soviet period)

The article continues a series of works devoted to the Russian reception of the Scottish writer James Hogg (1770–1835), a famous interpreter of folk ballads and author of The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824). Facts and materials related to the perception of J. Hogg in Russia in Soviet times are collected and summarized. It is indicated that during the period under review, in the studies of Russian literary scholars, separate judgments were made on the traditions of R. Burns in the works of J. Hogg, the role of W. Scott in his fate, etc. The Russian translations of the works of the English and American classics (in particular, J. G. Byron, E. A. Poe, J. F. Cooper) that appeared in the Soviet era, which contained references to the Scottish poet, are noted. The publications, which included information about J. Hogg, are comprehended, with special attention paid to S. Ya. Marshak’s epigram “Inscription on the Stone” mentioning J. Hogg’s name, the research of M. P. Alekseev, B. G. Reizov, R. M. Samarin and etc. The scientific works of A. D. Ivanova, first of all her Ph.D. thesis “The originality of the artistic work of James Hogg” (1990), which contributed, along with the changes in social life that occurred at the turn of the J. Hogg, the emergence of new translations of his works are analyzed.

Books as Salvation from Stiffness… Taras Shevchenko of the Time of Exile in the Dimension of his Reading

The study refutes the idea that existed in the minds of some Shevchenko era’s cultural figures, about Taras Shevchenko’s lack of education and poor literacy. For this purpose, the history of the poet’s reading interests evolution in the most difficult period of his life, the period of exile (1847–1857) was analyzed. His own direct testimonies (epistolary, diary, memoirs of relatives and acquaintances, etc.) were involved in the analysis. The study clarified how the disgraced artist’s previous habit of reading and the need to do it was established. The main focus was on Shevchenko’s reading behavior in the Orsk Fortress and in the Aral Expedition, in the Novopetrovsk Fortress. It relates to the active search, selection and perception of books, and even to special communication establishing. The study traces persons, who valued such poet’s behavior and stimulated it, also how functional Shevchenko’s current reading turned out to be at that period. Its composition was outlined as Russian, Ukrainian and Polish books, mainly in the field of fiction literature and literary criticism, as well as works on history, culturology, ethnology, natural and other fields of knowledge. Only due to reading and to his own artistic work the artist's spirit was saved from psychological exhaustion. Reading contributed to the intellectualization of his work. Shevchenko as a reader completely realized himself in exile considering special circumstances (loneliness, forced self-centeredness), his reading for the first time was not episodic, but complete, sometimes the leading form of the poet’s creative activity.

Reliance and Confinement: Washington Allston’s Dual Attitudes Towards European Ideals in His Paintings

The paper examines the dual attitudes reflected in the artistic work of Washington Allston. Born in 1779 and died in 1843, Allston is a famous American painter and poet whose artworks are greatly shaped by European philosophical concepts and artistic traditions. Allston's inheritance of such traditions could be mainly reflected by the deliberate representation of the concept of sublimity and divinity in his artistic creation. This could be readily seen from Allston’s artistic techniques, by which he better instills his aesthetics into his religious paintings while arousing greater empathy among the audience. However, against the background of American Romanticism, Allston was faced with the conflict between conforming to the European aesthetic standards in terms of “general air” and tradition, and the dramatic departure of objects from their “proper place”. As a result, Allston resorted to the institutional liberation, thus forming his distinct artistic style with an evident feature of dual attitudes.

Learning without Teachers (?): a study of Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha

The title character in Herman Hesse’s novel, Siddhartha, tried to revolt against teacher-centered teaching and started his own journey to get enlightenment through self-quest or self-investigation. However, this research paper studies Siddhartha declaration acquiring enlightenment through his self- education with contradictory ideas and marks a direct or indirect involvement of teachers in his education. The essay supports its line of departure giving the background of Siddhartha’s journey of enlightenment, studying his self- education as a part of teacher-based education by answering the question in two different topics (why did he leave teachers? / Can education be possible without teachers?) and finally draw its conclusion. Though Siddhartha is an artistic work and the ideas of this paper may not be applicable in the real classroom scenario, the reliability of the analysis of the book would become fruitful since it gives some perspectives to understand our practices philosophically- if not practically.

Queer Pedagogy

This essayistic chapter dissects case studies of two international queer feature films from the 1980s and two queer shorts from twenty-first-century Quebec, all of which boldly grapple with—and arguably perform—queer pedagogy: Abuse (Arthur J. Bressan Jr., 1983, USA), A Strange Love Affair (Eric de Kuyper, 1985, Belgium, Netherlands), Rituels queer (Richard E. Bump and Ryan Conrad, 2013, USA, Quebec), and Rousings (Jamie Ross, web series, 2015, Quebec). Alongside, the author ponders pedagogical relationships over the years with his queer students, in terms of both their scholarly and artistic work and anecdotal memories of interactive relations between mentor and students. Inspired by Jane Gallop’s anecdotal theory, and in the shadow of the #MeToo sex panic, this autobiographical essay calls for far-ranging cultural and political conversations about sexuality and pedagogy, and their complex relations to cinephilia and the specificity of queer cultures.

Baudelaire and the Poetic Margin: Generic Resistances and Human Remainders in the Contemporary Scene

The figure of Baudelaire could be argued to have been conscripted into an excessive amount of paradigmatic constructions over the years. He becomes the name, or cultural face, of a moving configuration of essential problems in discussions of artistic work and subjectivity, and of the ‘modern regime’ – separately and in conjunction. This article analyzes Baudelaire’s afterlife as a mythological one and examines how, across a selection of ‘moments’ over the past three-quarters of a century, the pre-eminence of that figure can come to obscure the traces of a lived – synchronous – process in the oeuvre. Our ability to reconnect with those traces, it seeks to suggest, is key to an understanding of the continued ability of the Baudelaire figure to address our contemporary scene. Moving from Bourdieu’s construction of Baudelaire as nomothète in his sociology of the literary field, it revisits rival co-optations by Jouve and Sartre, in the service of aesthetic and critical ethical accounts respectively, before examining instances of the interweaving of these strands in a brief survey of broadly contemporary work. This survey concludes with a more extended focus on work by contemporary poet Cédric Demangeot, and suggests that the ‘poetic margin’ is where Baudelaire’s powerfully integrated navigation of the adversities of life and of art continues to resonate with greatest urgency.

The theme of Nanjing city in the poetry of Bai Hua

The article considers the specifics of the theme of Chinese city Nanjing as one of the main and significant images in the Bai Hua’s poetry during his stay in this city in 1988 – 1992. Poems from the poetry collection “In Nanjing” were translated and analyzed, the influence of the city on the author’s inner world and on his further artistic work was studied. It is noted that the city made a pleasant impression on the poet and contributed Bai Hua to the transition to lyric poetry. The influence of Nanjing’s spring landscapes on the poet’s life and poetic mood is substained on the examples of the poems “Freedom”, “Holiday” and “Spring Day”.

The significance of the stage achievements of the creative Baklan’s dynasty for the development of Ukrainian ballet (second half of XX - early XXI century)

The purpose of the article is a comprehensive study of the stage achievements of F. Baklan, V. Potapova, I. Zadayanna, and O. Baklan in the context of the development of Ukrainian ballet in the second half of the XX - early XXI centuries. The methodology of work contains the following research methods: analytical, dialectical, systemic, general historical, comparative-historical, etc. The scientific novelty of the publication is that it first explores the significance of the artistic work of the masters of the musical theater of the creative dynasty Baklan, who made an important contribution to the rise of domestic academic choreography of the Soviet era and independence. Conclusions. The importance of the artistic achievements of the figures of the stage of the theatrical Baklan’s dynasty for the development of national ballet is difficult to overestimate. The founders of the creative family - Honored Artists of the USSR Fedor Baklan (1930-1983) and Varvara Potapova (1932-2018) joined the cohort of leading dancers of the Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theater T. Shevchenko 1950-1960s, which after the crisis of drama contributed to the formation on the domestic stage of a new form of music and dance drama ("poetic dance") under the direction of choreographers-innovators - V. Vronsky, R. Zakharov, F. Lopukhov, S. Sergeeva, M. Tregubova. The creative work initiated by parents on the stage of the National Opera of Ukraine in the 1980s and 2000s was continued by Honored Artist of Ukraine, conductor Oleksiy Baklan (b. 1961) and his wife, Honored Artist of Ukraine Iryna Zadayanna (1962–2005), who created and will continue to generate high art aimed at the highest European theatrical standards.

The contribution of A. Pashkevych into the development of Volyn state folk choir in 1978 – 1989

The purpose of the article. The investigation aims to highlight the contribution of Anatoliy Pashkevych to the formation of the Volyn state folk choir in the framework of his life and work. The methodology of investigation is based on such general scientific methods of research as the methods of objectivity and historicism, as well as the special historic-biographic method. The methods of objectivity and historicism allow us to observe the influence of A. Pashkevych on the work and development of the Volyn folk choir. The special historic-biographic method is used to define the work of the composer through his life path. The given method allows generalizing his art achievements of different timespans through the analysis of his personal accomplishments. Scientific novelty. Complex research of artistic work of Volyn state folk academic choir through the framework of life and art involvement of A. Pashkevychis done, the repertoire of the group is analyzed; the influence of the choir on the development of the vocal-choreographic culture of Volyn region and Ukraine is defined. Conclusions. A Pashkevych, as the composer, the singer, and the head of Volyn state choir and other famous choirs of Ukraine, has contributed much into Ukrainian musical culture in 1978 – 1989.