Lectures voltairiennes 2022 Russia and France: сonstructing national narrative in the age of Enlightenment
October 31, 2022
National Library of Russia
Saint Petersburg, Sadovaya street, 18
The year 2022 saw the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great who remained in historical memory as a reformer who turned Moscovia into the Russian Empire. The movement set by him, which brought Russia among the Great Powers and ensured its entry into the European cultural space, was accomplished in the age of Enlightenment, under the reigns of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II.
In the eighteenth century, historical knowledge in Russia begins to assume scientific forms. As in Europe, this is an era of active acquaintance with foreign countries and peoples using the methods of science, the creation of an image of the “Other” supported by scientific data, and an attempt to represent oneself in a new way.
The conference of the Centre for the Study of the Enlightenment Voltaire Library was devoted to issues related to the formation of a national historical narrative in European countries in the eighteenth century, primarily in Russia and France.
The conference addressed the following questions:
- The influence of the Enlightenment ideas on the creation of a national historical narrative
- Scientist and traveler: discovery and description of new territories; the image of the “Other”
- Formation of scientific historical knowledge in the eighteenth century
- The image of Peter the Great and Russia in Europe of the eighteenth century
- Looking at Europe: from Peter the Great to Nikolay Karamzin
The Organising committee selected proposals following the criteria of interest and relevance to the Lectures voltairiennes 2022 programme.
Papers were given in Russian, French or English.
The conference proceedings were published in the issue of Lectures voltairiennes for 2022.
Contact
National Library of Russia, Rare Book Department, Centre for the Study of the Enlightenment Voltaire Library, Head librarian Natalia Speranskaya
Email: voltaire@nlr.ru
18 Sadovaya Street
191069 St Petersburg
Tel. +7 (812) 407-42-66