Matters of Humanities
Within the podcast series Matters of Humanities, we showcase the voices of researchers at the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University.
Serie 1: History of Islam in Europe
Arabist Maurits Berger talks about the history of the Islam in Europe: going back to the first Muslim who set foot in Europe, and seeing what kind of interactions have taken place between Muslims and Europeans since then.
Serie 2: Scandal and Controversy in Russian literature
Senior lecturer Otto Boele examines eight notorious texts in Russian literature, paying particular attention to the commotion that they created.
Serie 3: Name that Language
Dr. Kate Bellamy and Dr. Andrew Wigman host the pilot podcast ‘Name That Language’, the podcast in which, with the help of an expert from the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL), they explore the ins, outs, ups, and downs of one of the world’s 7000 or so languages. The catch? You won't hear the name of the language until the very end of the interview.
Serie 4: Muslim Futures
In this first ever podcast from LUCIS, hosts Yasmin Ismail & Sara Bolghiran explore what it means to imagine Muslim futures. Over 6 episodes we explore questions around what it means to imagine, the politics of imagination and what it would mean to engage with Muslims from the perspective of futures.
Matters of Humanities
Scandal and Controversy in Russian literature - Episode 1: Russia gave nothing to the World
The first episode of the podcast is about “Philosophical letters addressed to a lady” by Pyotr Chaadaev (1794-1856), published in 1830. Russia has always had a love-hate relationship with the West; the debate between the “Westernizers” and the “Slavophiles” in the nineteenth century is a case in point. Pyotr Chaadaev was a “Westernizer” who claimed Russia hadn’t contributed anything to world civilization. He had to pay a high price for his “unpatriotic” views. How could a Russian declare that his fatherland was a complete failure? Chaadaev had the nerve to make such a claim and was severely punished for it.
Sources used in this episode of "Scandal and Controversy in Russian Literature":
- Pipes, Richard. 1969. “Biographical Sketch,” in: The Major Works of Peter Chaadaev. A Translation and Commentary, translated by Raymond T. McNally (Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press), pp. 1-11.
List of translations used in this episode of "Scandal and Controversy in Russian Literature":
- Chaadaev, Pyotr. 1969. “Philosophical letters addressed to a lady” and “Apology of a madman.” Translated by Raymond T. McNally. In: The Major Works of Peter Chaadaev. A Translation and Commentary (Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press).
- Pushkin, Alexander. n.d. “To Chaadaev,” translated by Yuri Menis (https://ruverses.com/alexander-pushkin/to-chaadaev/12366/)
All other translations were done by Otto Boele.
© Otto Boele & Electrical Films 2024