Organisation : Ada Ackerman , Kirill Ospovat (Humboldt Universität) ; Marie-Karine Schaub (Université Paris Créteil-Val de Marne)

In the first lecture, I will outline the basis of my approach which juxtaposes political history of (post-) Petrine Russia with conceptual paradigms developed across early modern Europe. Taking the well-documented Petrine import of various Western theoretical discourses into Russia as a starting point, I will explore these discourses as a key to Peter’s exercise of authority through reform. Reading Peter’s highly symbolic gestures, such as the foundation of Saint-Petersburg on uninhabited lands, with theorists such as Machiavelli and Descartes, I will illuminate the alignment of sovereignty and knowledge in the renewed visions of authority and subjectivity.

Thematic axes : Histoire technique et histoire institutionnelle des arts // Institutional and Technical History of the Arts, Transculturalités // Transculturalities, Dynamiques interculturelles, Politiques des littératures et des arts : enjeux et situations

Research programmes : LabEx TransferS (2011-2015)

Keywords : Literature, Slavic Studies, Philosophy