The Underground: Racial Discourse in Russia

Presenter and Advisor Information

Ayrren Calhoun, Illinois Wesleyan University

Submission Type

Event

Faculty Advisor

William Munro

Expected Graduation Date

2018

Location

Room E103, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University

Start Date

4-21-2018 11:00 AM

End Date

4-21-2018 12:00 PM

Disciplines

Education

Abstract

Russian cultural ideology on civilization, race, and “Russianness”, are the foundation for which racism against Africans in Russian society. The construction of race in Russia is deeply rooted in ethnic and racial conflict(s) and the creation of the “Other” applied to those that did not fit within ethnic perimeters. Racism in Russia against Afro-Russians can be correlated to the developed tangible consequences Afro-Russians experience everyday. The means the ways in which racism is acted out can be understood through four lens: historical, children’s literature, the arts, and the creation and application of laws. Currently, Afro-Russians battle constant structural biases and violence particularly different from other Russian minorities such as Jews, Romas, and Chechens. In this paper, connections will be made between current racial violence and tension in the Russian Federation and to the long historical imprint of racism against those of African descent residing in Russia. This paper will challenge that a particular discrimination and racism is experienced by Afro-Russians in Russia is due to the intellectual tradition of understanding African peoples as sub-par humans functioning in an uncivilized society.

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Apr 21st, 11:00 AM Apr 21st, 12:00 PM

The Underground: Racial Discourse in Russia

Room E103, Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University

Russian cultural ideology on civilization, race, and “Russianness”, are the foundation for which racism against Africans in Russian society. The construction of race in Russia is deeply rooted in ethnic and racial conflict(s) and the creation of the “Other” applied to those that did not fit within ethnic perimeters. Racism in Russia against Afro-Russians can be correlated to the developed tangible consequences Afro-Russians experience everyday. The means the ways in which racism is acted out can be understood through four lens: historical, children’s literature, the arts, and the creation and application of laws. Currently, Afro-Russians battle constant structural biases and violence particularly different from other Russian minorities such as Jews, Romas, and Chechens. In this paper, connections will be made between current racial violence and tension in the Russian Federation and to the long historical imprint of racism against those of African descent residing in Russia. This paper will challenge that a particular discrimination and racism is experienced by Afro-Russians in Russia is due to the intellectual tradition of understanding African peoples as sub-par humans functioning in an uncivilized society.