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2021 Oulanoff Memorial Lecture: "Dictionaries and Birds’ Nests in 19th-century Russia" by Dr. Gabriella Safran (Stanford University)

Dr. Gabriella Safran (Stanford University)
October 29, 2021
4:30PM - 6:00PM
Ohio Union, Barbie Tootle Room

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Add to Calendar 2021-10-29 16:30:00 2021-10-29 18:00:00 2021 Oulanoff Memorial Lecture: "Dictionaries and Birds’ Nests in 19th-century Russia" by Dr. Gabriella Safran (Stanford University) Join SEELC for the 2021 Oulanoff Memorial Lecture: "Dictionaries and Birds’ Nests in 19th-century Russia". This year's talk will be given by Dr. Gabriella Safran (Stanford University). Abstract: The great 19th-century Russian lexicographer Vladimir Dahl invented the term “nests” for his dictionary entries. In using it, I argue, he claimed that he and his dictionary were authentic and “Russian,” not arbitrarily systematic and “German”; he hinted at the ways that his project was not just about language but also about paper production and use; and he demonstrated the persistent appeal of avian vocabulary for discussions of the reproduction and transmission of sounds. This talk tells the story of a colorful and adventurous dictionary-maker; at the same time, it shows that ideas, identities, art, and the available media technology were inextricably connected in the past as they are today. Ohio Union, Barbie Tootle Room Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures slavicdept@osu.edu America/New_York public

Join SEELC for the 2021 Oulanoff Memorial Lecture: "Dictionaries and Birds’ Nests in 19th-century Russia". This year's talk will be given by Dr. Gabriella Safran (Stanford University).

Abstract:

The great 19th-century Russian lexicographer Vladimir Dahl invented the term “nests” for his dictionary entries. In using it, I argue, he claimed that he and his dictionary were authentic and “Russian,” not arbitrarily systematic and “German”; he hinted at the ways that his project was not just about language but also about paper production and use; and he demonstrated the persistent appeal of avian vocabulary for discussions of the reproduction and transmission of sounds. This talk tells the story of a colorful and adventurous dictionary-maker; at the same time, it shows that ideas, identities, art, and the available media technology were inextricably connected in the past as they are today.