European Formalism(s) and Structuralism(s): History(ies), Theory(ies), Perspecives

The workshop is dedicated to various aesthetic movements and directions of East and Central European thought related to formalist and structuralist ideas from the late 19th century to the early 21st century. The year 2026 marks the centenary of structuralism and the establishment of the Prague Linguistic Circle. A fuller reconstruction of the global (or international) history of the emergence or transformation of the Circle’s principles is now possible by taking into account new archival data, ideological, political, and artistic factors. The origins of Russian and Ukrainian formalism, the public images of science in Czechoslovakia, psychological and artistic approaches, Soviet conditions for the development of the humanities, and new digital vectors of appropriation of the structuralist legacy — all these factors will be discussed at the working meeting of specialists from different disciplines and countries.

Organized by Alexander Dmitriev (Charles University / MIA CAS), Serge Tchougounnikov (Université Bourgogne Europe) and Ekaterina Velmezova (Université de Lausanne).

With the support of Cercle Ferdinand de Saussure and Lumina quaeruntur project “Images of science” in Czechoslovakia 1918–1945–1968 (Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Science).

See programme in the attachment.