GLOBAL ART FORUM 8: September 1st--7th, 1920: Soviet Orientalism and Political Mobilisation

PAPER: September 1st--7th, 1920: Soviet Orientalism and Political Mobilisation

During the week of September 1- 7, 1920, the Third Communist International (Comintern) convened the First Congress of the Peoples of the East in Baku. Over 2000 delegates converged in the capital of Soviet Azerbaijan from across India, Iran, Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and other so-called "Eastern" regions, drawn by the Bolshevik's public support for anti-imperialism, social equality, and the struggle against capitalist domination. This event and the subsequent 1920s transformations in Soviet policies towards "the East" would inform Soviet academic practices and political administration for many decades. As a story, these events offer an important point of departure from Edward Said's more famous European-focused critique of Orientalism.

Masha Kirasirova (Assistant Professor and Faculty Fellow of History, New York University Abu Dhabi)

This session was part of Art Dubai's Global Art Forum 8. More information at www.artdubai.ae