Public Health Hazard or Miraculous Water?  Science and Progress in Soviet-Style Anti-Religious Propaganda Films

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 4:00-6:00 pm; Knight Library Browsing Room

This presentation focuses on Soviet-style anti-religious propaganda films produced in the 1960s and illustrates how religious practices were portrayed as “subversive,” “unhealthy,” or anti-progressive. These films attempted to convince people of the fraudulent nature of religious pilgrimage sites during the Cold War era by focusing on the public health hazards associated with bacterial and virus infection from “miraculous water” and touching and kissing holy statues by pilgrims. Using film clips and other visual examples, the lecture explores the cinematographic phenomenon of “soft propaganda” that has not received attention in the emerging field of Cold War film studies.

Kinga Povedák is a senior research fellow at the HUN-REN-SZTE ’Convivence’ Religious Pluralism Research Group and assistant professor at the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology (University of Szeged). Dr. Povedák is the convenor for the Choreomundus Program (International MA in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage) sponsored by the European Research Council. Her research interests include vernacular religiosity during Socialist times, Christianity and popular music, the musical life worlds of Roma communities, and Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity. Her recent publications include the co-edited volume The Secret Police and the Religious Underground in Communist and Post-Communist Eastern Europe (2021, with James Kapaló) and Religion and “Securitization” in Central and Eastern Europe (2023, co-edited with András Máté-Tóth).

Sponsored by: Folklore and Public Culture Program; Ira E. Gaston Bequest; Department of Cinema Studies; Department of Comparative Literature; Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

The Flock Party provides a fun, interactive, and informative celebration to welcome students and set the tone for the new year. Find an organization to join, get free food and swag, and have a blast at the UO’s block party.

Saturday, September 24 at 12:00pm to 2:30pm

Erb Memorial Union (EMU), EMU Green

Need Summer Term Courses?

https://folklore.uoregon.edu/welcome/class_schedule/

Folklore and Public Culture Program

PLC 118 – 541-346-1505

Initial Registration opens May 2.

Professional ethnographic photographer and folklorist, Douglas Manger, will present on folklore fieldwork photo-documentation. Open House luncheon to follow at Oregon Folklife Network (Knight 242).

Location: Knight Library DreamLAB
Date: July 6, 11:30
RSVP for lunch here

Details:

A Broader View: Photo-Documentation in the Context of Folklore Fieldwork

Time waits for no one, especially the contract fieldworker on a tight schedule and even tighter budget. We’ll explore ways to capture your subjects in the moment in simple ways with available light. Your host: photographer/folklorist Douglas Manger, Oregon Folklife Network senior fieldwork contractor.

Four photo-documentarians whose work we will visit: Walker Evans (1903-1975), Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), Mariana Yampolsky (1925 -2002), Mary Ellen Mark (1940-2015).

References:

— Available Light

— How to Photograph Using Only The Available Light

— Portrait Photography Tips

Join us!

Contact: ofn@uoregon.edu

Link to flier: https://folklore.uoregon.edu/files/2022/06/A-Broader-View_-Photo-Documentation-in-the-Context-of-Folklore-Fieldwork-reduced-size.pdf

The English Department and Folklore and Public Culture Program Commencement Exercises will take place on Monday, June 13, at 4:00 – 5:00 p.m., on the East Campus Green (Knight Law Center Lawn) – following the general University-wide ceremony.

Visit this link for everything you need to know about the Dept. of English and Folklore and Public Culture Graduation Celebration Ceremony.

https://english.uoregon.edu/commencement-spring-2022-news/2022-uo-english-celebration-ceremony