The Literary Cartography of Trans-Siberian Railway

Abstract

The Trans-Siberian Railway created and connected the geographic space of Siberia, thus constructing Russia’s geographic attributes across the East Asian continent, which greatly shaped the Russian national imaginary. The tension in the relationship between Europe, Russia, and Asia is hence pulled out. This study focuses on the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which became a key base in the period of the Revolution and the Civil War, as Russia’s national and human contexts subtly changed during its construction. Against this turbulent historical background, the railroad became an important element in literature, creating the idea of “railroad literature”. Thus, the creation of a cartography of railroad literature makes it possible to present and reflect dynamically the comprehensive picture of this period of Russia’s history.

Presenters

Ou Menglian
PhD, Cultural Studies, Saint-Petersburg University, Sankt-Peterburg, Russian Federation

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Literary Humanities

KEYWORDS

The Literary Cartography, Trans-Siberian Railway, Railroad literature, Techno-cultural phenomenon