'THE EPOCH OF SOCIALIST RECONSTRUCTION: IDEAS, MYTHS, AND PROGRAMS OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS'. INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE IN URAL FEDERAL UNIVERSITY 8-10 SEPTEMBER, 2017, EKATERINBURG, RUSSIA
| 17 March 2017
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We invite historians, sociologists and political scientists to discuss the Soviet history between 1918 and the 1930s, in particular the social engineering projects that were implemented in this period.
The Revolution of 1917 in Russia was an event that initiated the development of a new state and a new society. The Bolshevik government sought to realize the ideal of social justice, equality and brotherhood by creating a new society but their attempt resulted in a totalitarian state with a new system of inequality and exploitation. Why did this happen?
The conference intends to discuss the role of the social engineering theory in the events of Soviet history, especially the processes of formation and development of the early Soviet society. The historical project of building socialism in Russia encompassed over twenty years and went through several stages which were characterized by different implementation mechanisms and different outcomes: the radical model (War Communism); the liberal model (multi-sectoral society), and the totalitarian model (Soviet society).
Studies of the revolutionary and post-revolutionary processes in the context of social engineering theory put a special emphasis on the human factor, its role and its impact on the dynamics and in certain cases on the nature of historical processes. The government and the Communist Party ideologues led the social engineering project but the single individual was also crucial for this process since they represented mass consciousness, mythology and concepts of social justice and the means of achieving it. How did ideas transformed into myths and then into specific managerial decisions and programs?
Another focus of this conference is on the mechanisms of socialist building, especially the instruments of power such as legislation, taxes, censorship, the system of emergency agencies and restrictive measures, ensuring the security for the state power. They were used to regulate the behaviour of actors of socialist reconstruction. Mass media, education, science, and art played a special role in this process since they affected people's consciousness, memory and beliefs. It is particularly interesting to explore the relationship between the society as an objective reality and its reflection in subjective concepts and representations. Another topic of interest is the problem of natural boundaries for construction of various objects – economic, administrative, cultural, and social – and the mechanisms of this construction, especially those that targeted human consciousness and behaviour.
We welcome papers that present new approaches, evidence and insights on the above-described topics.
Languages: English and Russian.
The deadline for submissions: 10 August 2017. The paper should not exceed 20,000 characters.
Please send your papers to the following e-mail addresses: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Oleg Gorbachev) and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Olga Semerikova).
Format and layout of papers: Times New Roman, 14 point font, 1.5-spaced. Margins should be top and bottom 2 cm; left, 3 cm; and right, 1.5 cm. The text should contain an abstract in English; key words in English; information about the author, UDC, and a list of references in alphabetical order. Citations in the text should be enclosed in square brackets. For example: [Ivanov, 2006, p.5] or [RGAE, f.1560, d.1324, l. 23].
Please provide the following information for your application: 1) Name and surname; 2) academic degree and title; 3) position and affiliation; 4) telephone number; 5) e-mail address; 6) title of your paper.
Organizing Committee:
Ludmila Mazur ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it );
Oleg Gorbachev ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it );
Olga Semerikova ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )