Trent University

Graduate Student, Cultural Studies

Other Affiliations: European Humanities University, Centre for Gender Studies

About

Alexander Pershái holds the Kandidat Filologicheskikh Nauk Degree in Theory of Language from Belarus State University. Currently he is a Doctoral Candidate in Cultural Studies at Trent University. He is a Research Associate and Board Member at the Centre for Gender Studies, European Humanities University. He is an editor of a new Russian-speaking feminist journal "Women in Politics" - "Zhenschiny v politike: novye podkhody k politicheskomu" (http://adliga.info/newpolitics/eng/about/). He developed and coordinated various academic and activist conferences, as well as media and communications projects.
Alexander Pershái's research interests include:
- theory of nationalism
- post-socialist Belarus
- nationalism Eastern Europe
- Belarusian nationalist discourse
- Slavic languages
- language and national identity
- 'national literature' as institution
- dictionaries and archiving
- media technologies and organization of knowledge
- gender, language and power
- transgender
- academia


Alexander Pershái - chercheur et maître de conference, docteur ès lettres (l’Université d'État de Biélorussie), doctorant de la faculté de culturologie de l'Université Trent (Canada), chercheur associé au Centre d’Études de Genre de l’Université Européenne d'Etudes Humaines (Vilnius, Lituanie). J’étudie le nationalisme en Bélorussie et en Europe de l'Est avec un accent particulier sur les questions d'identité, de langue et de formation de nations. Mes intérêts de recherche incluent également les technologies d'acquisition et d'organisation de connaissances, et les interrelations de genre, de langue et de puissance. Auteur de plusieurs publications dans des revues scientifiques «Nationalities Papers»; «Eastern European Politics and Societies», «Europe-Asia Studies»; «Slavia Orientalis»; «Wiener Slawistischer Almanach»; et d’autres. Éditeur du recueil “Negotiating Space for Gender Studies: Frameworks and Applications” (Peter Lang, 2005).


SELECTED PUBLISHED WRITINGS:

EDITED BOOKS AND JOURNAL ISSUES:

Pol politiki. Special issue of Zhenschiny v politike: Novyie podkhody k politicheskomu. Vol 1. Evgenia Ivaniova and Alexander Pershái, eds. (2012)

Negotiating Space for Gender Studies: Frameworks and Applications. Özen Odağ and Alexander Pershai, eds. (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2005)


ARTICLES IN PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS:

“Minor Nation: The Alternative Modes of Belarusian Nationalism,” Eastern European Politics and Societies 24.3 (2010): 379-398

“Localness and Mobility in Belarusian Nationalism: The Tactic of Tuteishaść,” Nationalities Papers 36.1 (2008): 85-103

“Questioning the Hegemony of the Nation State in Belarus: Production of Intellectual Discourses as Production of Resources,” Nationalities Papers 34.5 (2006): 623-635

“New Perspectives on the History of Belarus: A Series of Calendars, Women of Belarus (review article),” Nationalities Papers 34.3 (2006): 363-372

“Representation of Gender Relations through Sexual Initiative in Belarusian Idioms.” Jiřina van Leeuwen-Turnovcová, Karin Wullenweber, Ursula Doleschal, Franz Schindler (eds.). Gender-Forschung in der Slawistik. Wiener Slawistischer Almanach, Sonderband 55 (2002): 289-305

“Semantika gendera vo frazeologii kak polevaya struktura,” Slavia Orientalis, Vol. LII, Nr. 3 (2003): 439-454

“Kolonizatsiya naoborot: gendernaya lingvistika v byvshem SSSR,” Gendernye Issledovania 7-8 (2002): 236-249

“Oppozitsiya svoi/chuzhoi kak odin iz aspektov reprezentatsii gendernykh otnosheniy v belorusskoi frazeologii,” Vesnik Belaruskaga dziarzhaunaga universiteta,  Seryia 4,  Nr. 3 (2000): 52-55

“Adliustravannie gendernykh adnosin ŭ belaruskai frazealogii,” Vesnik Belaruskaga dziarzhaunaga universiteta,  Seryia 4, Nr. 1 (2000): 40-43


CHAPTERS IN BOOKS:

“Transgender po-russki: o problemakh sozdaniya svoyego politicheskogo oznachayuschego,” in Valery Sozayev, ed., Vozmozhen li kvir po-russki? LGBTQ issledovaniya (St. Petersburg, 2010), pp. 43-52

“Transgender(nost’)  i transgressiya granits pola”, in A. Ousmanova, ed., Gender i transgressiya v visualnykh iskusstvakh (Vilnius: EGU; Moscow: OOO “Variant”, 2007), 169 -182

“The Language Puzzle: Is Inclusive Language a Solution?” in Krista Scott-Dixon, ed., Trans/Forming Feminisms: Trans/Feminist Voices Speak Out (Toronto: Sumach Press, 2006), 46-52

“Language in Woman’s Place: Gender and Language Research in Post-Soviet Countries,” in Ö. Odağ and A. Pershai, eds., Negotiating Space for Gender Studies: Frameworks and Applications (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2005), 33-46

(co-authored with Özen Odağ) “Introduction: Brining Disciplines Together to Discuss Gender,” in Ö. Odağ and A. Pershai, eds., Negotiating Space for Gender Studies: Frameworks and Applications (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2005), 9-11

“Sexism v yazyke,” in I. Dunaeva, S. Naumova & N. Kulinka, eds., Pol/Gender: Posobie dla zhurnalistov (Minsk: UNDP Belarus, 2002): 17-21; http://gender.undp.by/sexism.html

“Sexual’naya initsiativa: reprezentatsiya i otsenka (na materiale belorusskoi frazeologii),” in I. M. Semashko, ed., Gendernye problemy v obshchestvennykh naukakh (Moscow: RAN, 2001), 109-120


ANALYTICAL (E)ZINES:

“Yavliaetsa li bor’ba za prava zhenschin bor’boy za gendernoie ravenstvo?, ili O neobkhodimosti vkluchenia v diskurs drugilh genderno markirovannykh grupp,” Pol politiki. Zhenschiny v politike: Novyie podkhody k politicheskomu 1 (2012): 32-37, http://adliga.info/newpolitics/issue/browse/pershaj/

“Zur Rolle der elektronischen Medien und der Oppositionsbewegung in Belarus,” Neues Osteuropa, 2011, Nr. 3, S. 30-36, http://neues-osteuropa.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/0311_pershai.pdf

“Seksual’naya initsyiatyva: reprezentatsyia i atsenka (na materyiale belaruskai frazealehii),” ARCHE, 12 October 2010, http://arche.by/by/30/10/3324/

“Problematiziruya gegemoniyu natsional’nogo gosudarstva v Belarusi,” Novaya Europa, 5 March 2007, http://n-europe.eu/content/index.php?p=1262

“Prostranstvo transgendera: yazyk, kultura i gegemoniya pola.” Takaya: e-Journal 3 (2004), 20 July 2004, http://takaya.by/texts/essay/transgender


REVIEWS:

“Oleg Latyshonak. Natsyianalnasc Belarus.” Ab Imperio Quarterly: Studies in New Imperial History and Nationalism in the Post-Soviet Space, Nr. 1 (2011): 331-337

“Berger, Stefan (Ed.). Writing the Nation. A Global Perspective.” "Ab Imperio" Quarterly: Studies in New Imperial History and Nationalism in the Post-Soviet Space, Nr. 4 (2010): 540-546.

“Baker, Catherine, Gerry, Christopher J., Madaj, Barbara, Mellish, Liz & Nahodilová, Jana (eds.), Nation in Formation: Inclusion & Exclusion in Central & Eastern Europe.” Europe-Asia Studies 62.1 (2010): 198-199

“Belarus: ni Europa, ni Raseya. Merkavanni belaruskikh elit / Pod. red. V. Bulgakava.” "Ab Imperio" Quarterly: Studies in New Imperial History and Nationalism in the Post-Soviet Space, Nr. 2 (2009): 393-398

“Olga Bembel’-Dedok, Vospominaniya.” Europe-Asia Studies 60. 9 (2008): 1634-1636

“Veronika Cherkasova. Krasnym po belomu: stat’i, ocherki, esse…” Nationalities Papers 35.1 (2007): 195-197

“Zina J. Gimpelevich. Vasil Bykaŭ: His Life and Works,” Canadian Slavonic Papers 48. 3-4 (2006): 395-396

“Zhenshchiny na kraju Evropy edited by Elena Gapova,” Vesnik Belaruskaga gziarzhaunaga universiteta, Seryia 4, Nr. 1 (2004): 115-116

“Suprunovskie chtenia v Belorusskom gosudarstvennom universitete,” Slavianovedenie, Nr. 4 (2002): 132-133


OTHER:

(with Evgenia Ivanova) “Ot redaktsii: Pol politiki,” Pol politiki. Zhenschiny v politike: Novyie podkhody k politicheskomu 1 (2012): 11-14, http://adliga.info/newpolitics/issue/browse/preamble/

(with Özen Odağ) “Introduction: Bringing Disciplines Together to Discuss Gender,” in Negotiating Space for Gender Studies: Frameworks and Applications. Özen Odağ and Alexander Pershai (eds.) (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2005), 9-11

Representatsiya gendernykh otnosheniy vo frazeologii, unpublished dissertation for the Kandidat Filologicheskikh Nauk Degree in Theory of Language. Minsk: Belarusian State University, 2002. – 173 p.

Representatsiya gendernykh otnosheniy vo frazeologii, Avtoreferat dissertarsii na soiskaniye nauchnoy stepeni kandidata filologicheskikh nauk. Minsk: Belarusian State University, 2002. – 21 p.


TRANSLATIONS:
To Belarusian: “Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) Adopted by the Security Council at its 4213th meeting, on 31 October 2000” (Rezalutsyia 1325 (2000), pryniataya Savetam Biaspeki na yago 4213-m pasiadzhenni 31 kastrychnika 2000 goda). Resolution translated for educational programs of the UNDP Project "Support to Expanding Public Space for Women in Belarus." http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/TranslationInitiative/1325/1325belarus.pdf


SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC LECTURES:

"New Concepts Versus Old Disciplines: The Question of Disciplinary Division and Globalizing of Post-Soviet Academia," paper presented at the international conference "Social Sciences, Humanities and Higher Education in Eastern Europe after 1991." European Humanities University, Vilnius, Lithuania, June 14-16, 2011, http://en.ehu.lt/news/notice/0020094/

“English Dictionaries in Print: Was the Medium the Message?,” Round Table Discussant at  “English Dictionaries in Global and Historical Context” Conference, Queens University, Kingston, Canada, June 3-5, 2010, http://post.queensu.ca/~strathy/topics/dic_conf.html

“The myth of literacy: English dictionaries in relation to indigenous cultures,” paper to be presented at  “English Dictionaries in Global and Historical Context” Conference, Queens University, Kingston, Canada, June 3-5, 2010, http://post.queensu.ca/~strathy/topics/dic_conf.html

“Resisting national identity: Exploring alternatives and possibilities,” paper presented at the interdisciplinary graduate conference Tactics of Resistance: Possibilities and Limitations, Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism, The University of Western Ontario, 13 October 2007, http://uwo.ca/theory/Events/Resistance/index.html

“Nationalism in Eastern Europe: The requirement of becoming a nation,” paper presented at the interdisciplinary graduate conference Illusions of Identity: Resisting (Beyond) Identity Politics, The University of Western Ontario, 14 October 2006, http://www.uwo.ca/theory/Events/Illusions

“Transgression and transgenderism,” paper presented at “Transgressions”, 5th annual symposium on visual culture at York University, 17 March 2006, http://www.yorku.ca/ahistory/transgressions.html

“Technologies of gender: Dictionary and the construction of social space,” paper presented at the First International Conference on Discourse and Intercultural Relations, Murcia, Spain, 24 September 2004.

“Gender on the either side of the reading dialog,” co-presented with Özen Odağ, presentation at Humanities Colloquium, International University Bremen, 28 April 2004.

“Doing gender studies in post-Soviet countries,” paper presented at the Gender Workshop, International University Bremen, Germany, 27 February 2004, http://www.iu-bremen.de/news/events/01558/index.php

“Dictionaries as archives of cultural knowledge,” paper presented at the First Graduate Students Conference, International University Bremen, Germany, 27 September, 2003.

“Do women and men misunderstand each other, Or would we rather think so?” paper presented at the international conference “Communicative strategies”, Minsk State Linguistic University, Minsk, Belarus, 29 May 2003.

“Biology: Any chances? Notes on trans/sexuality,” paper presented at the international seminar “Gender and Transgression in Visual Arts”, European Humanities University, Minsk, Belarus, 18 April 2003.

“The power of language, gender, and the academy: Problems of contemporary gender research,” public lecture delivered at the Centre for Gender Studies, European Humanities University, Minsk, 13 March 2003.

“Language as a means of social control,” presentation at the Seminar for Journalists “Women’s Participation in Economic, Political and Public Life of Belarus”, European Humanities University, Minsk, 12 December 2002.

“Questioning the construction of sexist language in gender studies,” paper presented at the 5th International Interdisciplinary Conference “Women. Education. Democracy”, Minsk, Belarus, 7 December 2002.

“Linguistic representation and normalization of gender norms,” paper presented at the 4th International Interdisciplinary Conference “Women. Education. Democracy”, Minsk, Belarus, 8 December 2001.

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