Centres and institutes
Cultural Identity and Memory Studies Institute
The dual concern of the institute is to explore cultural identity and cultural memory: that is, the investigation of the diverse textual representational constructs and creations (e.g. traditions, myths, literary canons, and political institutions) by which national and other culture groups explore, criticise and renew their sense of identity and their public and private memories.
The institute's research comprises various perspectives, methodologies and theoretical frameworks, but at its core is a shared interest in interdisciplinary explorations of cultural identity and cultural memory. The institute seeks to bring together different approaches in an innovative way and to engage with both the academic community and the wider public.
Centre for Global Postsocialisms, Southeast, Central, and East European Studies
The Centre for Global Postsocialisms, Southeast, Central, and East European Studies (GloPost) at St Andrews was founded in 1990. Its aim is to promote Russian, post-Soviet and Eastern European research and teaching by bringing together members of staff from various departments across the University who share interests in this field.
The centre sponsors visiting speakers, runs informal colloquia and offers a package of taught postgraduate courses leading to higher degrees in Central and East European Studies.
Members of the centre supervise PhD students in the following areas:
- Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet literature, culture and history of ideas (18th-21st century)
- Russian, Soviet, Central and East European history
- international relations
- Art history of modern Russia and Central and Eastern Europe
- Russian, post-Soviet and Central and Eastern European film
- Orthodox and Eastern Christianity
- Caucasus and Central Asian politics and security
- Russian and Central European politics and social movements.
Centre for Poetic Innovation
The Centre for Poetic Innovation is dedicated to poetry and poetics. It brings together practitioners, critics and researchers from a wide range of cultures and languages.
Its key aims are:
- hosting speakers, workshops and conferences.
- public engagement and impact activities.
- joint research grant applications and research projects.
- support and development of doctoral and post-doctoral research.
The Centre for Cross-Cultural circa Nineteenth-Century Research
The Centre for Cross-Cultural circa Nineteenth-Century Research (c19c) was launched in May 2017 and seeks to extend and redefine study of the 19th century in three main directions:
- The delineation of circa 19th-Century Studies extends the centre's research beyond established chronologies for the field. It recognises the ‘long’, multiple and nascent ‘nineteenth century’ in different national, geographical, sub-disciplinary, and cultural-linguistic frames, as well as the many transnational movements that work within and beyond them.
- The focus on the cross-cultural dynamics of nineteenth-century studies promotes research that investigates the circulation, exchange and interconnections of ideas and cultural heritages. The centre recognises the importance of multi-cultural, interdisciplinary, multilingual and intermedial research that is informed by expertise in given cultures, languages and disciplines. Its work overtly encourages comparative, multilingual and transdisciplinary approaches to the 19th-century and its many cultural productions. Researchers bringing insights from other periods are particularly welcome to join in its debates.
- The research is inclusive of expertise inside and outside academia in the spirit of the advancement of knowledge in 19th-century amateur ‘literary and scientific’ societies. The centre recognises the particular importance of working with archives, museums, galleries and collections, to promote research that is inter-medial and multi-medial.
Through the above, c19c therefore seeks to foster next-generational research that brings new and renewed understanding of the 19th century. Emeritus, postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers are particularly welcome in the group of current researchers in different disciplines.
