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Russian Women Writers Project Completed

Posted on February 10, 2025February 10, 2025 by Liladhar

At UC Berkeley Library, with the leadership and guidance from the library’s current acting AUL for Associate University Librarian for Digital Initiatives and Information Technology, Lynne Grigsby, we are excited to report the completion of the Russian Women Writers Collection’s digitization. The collection’s analog items can be searched here.

The digital component of the project can be accessed here.

My predecessor, Dr. Allan Urbanic, was instrumental in helping us with the description of the project, which is as follows, “Russian Women Writers Collection
This project has been created in cooperation with the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. In recent years, scholarship has focused on women’s contributions to the history of Russian literature. It has also been discovered that many of these writers were poorly represented in American libraries’ collections. The project first concentrated on filling in the corpus of women writers at the beginning of the 19th century. As the project moved forward, the works of Russian women authors of the later 19th century and the 20th century have been added.”

Maklakova, Lidii͡a Filippovna. Di͡evochka Lida razskaz dli͡a di͡eteĭ. Izd 2-e. Moskva: Tipo-lit. T-va I.N. Kushnerev i Ko., 1894. Terms governing use and reproduction Researchers may make free and open use of the UC Berkeley Library’s digitized public domain materials. However, some materials in our online collections may be protected by U.S. copyright law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use (Title 17, U.S.C. § 107) requires permission from the copyright owners. The use or reproduction of some materials may also be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, or trademark law. Responsibility for determining rights status and permissibility of any use or reproduction rests exclusively with the researcher. To learn more or make inquiries, please see our permissions policies (https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies). — Maklakova, Lidii͡a Filippovna. Di͡evochka Lida razskaz dli͡a di͡eteĭ. Izd 2-e. Moskva: Tipo-lit. T-va I.N. Kushnerev i Ko., 1894.

Terms governing use and reproduction
Researchers may freely and openly use the UC Berkeley Library’s digitized public domain materials. However, U.S. copyright law may protect some materials in our online collections (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use (Title 17, U.S.C. § 107) requires permission from the copyright owners. The use or reproduction of some materials may also be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, or trademark law. Responsibility for determining rights status and permissibility of any use or reproduction rests exclusively with the researcher. Please see our permissions policies to learn more or make inquiries (https://www.lib.berkeley.edu/about/permissions-policies).
Source
Russian Women Writers

One can look at the usage data of the item called Di͡evochka Lida razskaz dli͡a di͡eteĭ as shown below,

Di͡evochka Lida razskaz dli͡a di͡eteĭ's download statistics as a graphical representation — Di͡evochka Lida razskaz dli͡a di͡eteĭ’s usage statistics

Library Trial: Muslim in Russia Online (Brill Database)

Posted on January 22, 2025January 21, 2025 by Liladhar

UC Berkeley Library has set up a trial of Brill’s Muslim in Russia Online Database. The database trial will continue until February 1, 2025. You can access the trial here.

This collection examines the varied Russian Muslim population during the period of 1861-1918. It includes works by and about Muslims, highlighting the significance of this heritage as the history and spirituality of Muslims in Russia are being reexamined. A word of caution: Most of the periodicals in this database have been digitized from microfilms; thus, digitization quality is problematic. The OCR seems unchecked and automated “dirty,” so one has to look at the images.

Please access the database here: https://shorturl.at/M4IyT

Please see the screenshot below:

Title: V mīri͡e musulʹmanstva:ezhenedelʹnai͡a, literaturnai͡a, politicheskai͡a i obshchestvennai͡a gazeta.<br />Date: 1911<br />
Date in Source: [1911-1912] — Title: V mīri͡e musulʹmanstva:ezhenedelʹnai͡a, literaturnai͡a, politicheskai͡a i obshchestvennai͡a gazeta.
Date: 1911
Date in Source: [1911-1912]

Here are the key points about this database are highlighted below:

Role in Russian State: Muslims played a crucial role in the creation of the multinational Russian state, completed with the annexation of Central Asia in the 1860s. By 1897, Muslims made up almost 11% of Imperial Russia’s population (14 million).
Russian State Policy: Russian policy towards Muslims varied. Initially, there was forced Russification and Christianization. From Ekaterina II onwards, the policy shifted towards legitimizing Muslims. Under Alexander III, discrimination against non-Christians, including Muslims, increased.
Early 20th Century: The early 1900s saw a rise in Muslim nationalism, fueled by religious reformism and liberal ideas. The First Russian Revolution (1905-1907) led to significant political changes, including creating the State Duma and civil freedoms.
Union of Muslims of Russia: Formed in 1905-1906, this organization became the most powerful political body for Muslims until 1917, with branches across various regions.
Intellectual and National Identity: Early 20th century saw more Muslim intellectuals and interest in national identity, heritage, and traditions.
1917 Revolutions: Muslim nationalist movements grew during the February and October Revolutions of 1917. Post-1917, Bolshevik policies negatively impacted Muslims’ religious freedoms.
Muslim Press: Until 1905-1907, Muslim issues were poorly reported. The 1905 revolution led to a surge in Muslim publications. These periodicals covered a range of ideological perspectives and helped address Muslim problems.
Unique Publications: Publications from 1861-1918 provide insights into Muslim life in the Russian Empire and their leaders’ perspectives. These works are valuable for understanding Muslims’ historical and spiritual heritage in Russia.

Library Book Talk (Webinar): On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe

Posted on January 22, 2025January 21, 2025 by Liladhar

Please save the date on your calendars for an exciting upcoming conversation-book talk (On Savage Shores : How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe) for our community of UC Berkeley Library and affiliated staff and librarians.
Date: February 6, 2024
Day: Thursday, Time: 12-1 pm (Pacific Time) 8 pm-9 pm UK Time

Zoom Webinar Link: https://berkeley.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LGoU0V9ZQXegc5fHxlF_WA

Registration: https://ucberk.li/3GW

Free and Open to All with prior registration. If you need special assistance or accommodation, please contact Dr. Liladhar R Pendse, the event organizer.

About the Webinar: In this webinar, Professor Caroline Dodds Pennock (She/her) will discuss her book, On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe. This book challenges the traditional Eurocentric view of the Age of Discovery by focusing on the Indigenous Americans who crossed the Atlantic to Europe after 1492. For centuries, history has taught that global history began when the “Old World” met the “New World” with Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. However, Caroline Dodds Pennock’s research reveals that, for many Indigenous people—Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit, and others—Europe was the “New World.”

A Collage of pages of Codex Mendoza. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, believed to have been created around the year 1541.[1] It contains a history of both the Aztec rulers and their conquests as well as a description of the daily life of pre-conquest Aztec society. The codex is written using traditional Aztec pictograms with a translation and explanation of the text provided in Spanish. It is named after Don Antonio de Mendoza (1495-1552), the viceroy of New Spain, who supervised its creation and who was a leading patron of native artists. — Collaged pages of Codex Mendoza. The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, believed to have been created around the year 1541.

These individuals, including enslaved people, diplomats, explorers, servants, and traders, saw Europe as a land of both wonder and cruelty, filled with vast wealth inequality, and strange customs. Their experiences, marked by abduction, cultural clashes, and loss, have been largely excluded from mainstream historical narratives. This book tells the untold stories of the Indigenous Americans who traveled to Europe, such as the Brazilian king who met Henry VIII, the Aztecs at the court of Charles V, or the Inuit displayed in London pubs. Pennock uses their stories and European accounts to reveal how these Indigenous people, though marginalized, left a lasting impact on European culture and society.

About the author

Professor Caroline Dodds Pennock (She/her) has been at the University of Sheffield since 2010, where they are known as one of the few British historians specializing in Aztec studies. Their current research, however, has expanded to include Indigenous histories in a global context, with a particular focus on the Atlantic world. Dr. Caroline Dodds Pennock recently published On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe, which tells the stories of Indigenous Americans who traveled to Europe in the sixteenth century. These accounts, often involving abduction, loss, and cultural appropriation, have largely been overlooked in mainstream history.

Professor Caroline Dodds Pennock, University of Sheffield. Image Credit: University of Sheffield

Dodds Pennock, Caroline. On Savage Shores : How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe / Caroline Dodds Pennock. First American edition. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2023.

https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991086032106106532

Event Sponsors: Social Sciences Division. Library’s Equity and Inclusion Committee, Institute for European Studies, UC Berkeley and Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS), UC Berkeley

Exhibit: “The Book as Art” up until February 28, 2025

Posted on January 2, 2025December 20, 2024 by Lynn Cunningham

The Book as Art showcases a selection of artists’ books from the collections of the Art History/Classics and Environmental Design libraries. The selected items span several decades and include artists’ books from Ed Ruscha, Sol LeWitt, Kiki Smith, Jenny Holzer, and many more.

The exhibit will be up in the Bernice Layne Brown Gallery in Doe Library until February 28, 2025.

Curated by: Nina Bayley, Lynn Cunningham, Abby Scheel

See the Library events calendar for more information

book as art flyer

Lewitt case

ruscha case

“Eclipse and Revelation” by Professor Henrike Lange now available as an audio book

Posted on December 20, 2024 by Lynn Cunningham

Professor Henrike Lange’s recent book Eclipse and Revelation: Total Solar Eclipses in Science, History, Literature and the Arts has been released as an audio book read by Professor Chris Hallett.

Lange
Hallett

Library Trial: Piatidnevka Digital Archive (DA-PIAT) through December 5, 2024

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Liladhar

The UC Berkeley Library has started a trial of Piatidnevka Digital Archive. The trial will end on December 5, 2024. Please provide your feedback to your Librarian for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies at Lpendse at berkeley dot edu

The Piatidnevka Digital Archive is a valuable resource for researchers studying early Soviet history, particularly between 1929 and 1931. Published six times a month, this journal documents the Soviet Union’s brief experiment with a five-day workweek. The archive provides insight into the Soviet goal of replacing traditional societal norms with innovative approaches. It contains a wealth of visual and textual materials, including photographs, articles, editorials, and commentaries that offer firsthand perspectives on this significant period.

The trial can be accessed here.

The Piatidnevka (Пятидневка, “Five Day Week”) Digital Archive stands as an invaluable asset for scholars engaged in the study of early Soviet history. Specifically focusing on the period between 1929 and 1931 and published six times per month, this illustrative journal provides critical insights into the Soviet Union’s brief but notable experiment with a five-day workweek, comprising four workdays followed by a day of rest. This initiative reflects the broader Soviet aim of dismantling traditional societal structures in favor of innovative paradigms. The archive is rich in visual and textual content, offering wonderful artistic photos, articles, editorials, and commentaries that furnish first-hand accounts of this significant phase in Soviet history. — The title page of issue of Piatidnevka for July 1930.

Rare Photography Book Donations from Richard Sun: Part 2 of 3

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Nina Bayley

These rare books are part of a generous curated donation from Richard Sun. They may be viewed in the Art History/ Classics Library. Request them in advance as they may be stored off site.

Zaido The Earth is Only a Little Dust Under our Feet Night Calls

As it was Given to Me Dream Children Jamais je ne t’oublierai

The Hidden Mother Landing Lights Park Hello My Name Is

Rare Photography Book Donations from Richard Sun: Part 1 of 3

Posted on October 23, 2024 by Nina Bayley

Here are a selection of recently received donations of rare photobooks generously curated and donated by Richard Sun. They may be viewed in the Art History/ Classics Library. Please request in advance, as they may be located off site.

50% the Visible Woman Agata An Exorcism

Aeronautics in the Backyard Gretta Margins of Excess

Women Young American Memento Mori

Library Trial: Brill’s British Intelligence on Russia in Central Asia, c. 1865–1949

Posted on October 17, 2024October 17, 2024 by Liladhar

The UC Berkeley Library has initiated a thirty-day trial of British Intelligence on Russia in Central Asia, c. 1865–1949’s database. The trial ends on November 17, 2024

One may access the trial here: Brill’s British Intelligence on Russia in Central Asia.

Please log in using proxy or VPN if you are accessing the resource from an off-campus location.

The database contains the following primary sources according to the self-description below, ”

Michell’s Russian Abstracts

During the 1870s and 1880s, the India Office Political and Secret Department considered the Russian and Central Asian question so vital that it employed an interpreter, Robert Michell, whose task was to review and translate Russian printed reports and extracts from Russian newspapers and other publications. Newspapers and journals regularly monitored included the Moscow Gazette, Turkestan Gazette, Journal de St Petersbourg, Russian Invalid, St Petersburg Gazette, Golos, Turkestan Gazette, and Novoye Vremia.

Political and Secret Memoranda

At about the same time, as a result of the increasing quantity of intelligence now being regularly received, the India Office Political and Secret Department began to produce printed memoranda in order to provide ministers with easily digestible précis of the information they needed to formulate policy. For officials in India and London, processing information from the frontiers and providing background papers for successive incoming governments and their ministers became an almost full-time occupation. The Memoranda was arranged and numbered by contemporary India Office officials in an alphanumeric sequence that reflected the geographical subject area. Memoranda relating to Central Asia, which included items reflecting the great political debate and guessing game over the nature of Russian intentions in the region, were usually put away in series “C”.

Political and Secret Files on Soviet Central Asia

Although Anglo-Russian rivalry officially ended with the Convention of 1907, Russian ascendancy in Central Asia continued to interest the British imperial administrations. The two powers confronted each other again after the First World War and the Russian Revolution. With the creation of Soviet Socialist Republics in the period between the two World Wars, the British rulers of India were increasingly concerned with infiltrating Indian politics of communist and nationalist agents and ideas. During this period, a new generation of British military and political intelligence officers, spies, and adventurers made courageous, sometimes unofficial, journeys into the Central Asian republics and beyond into Sinkiang. A British Indian agent was stationed at Kashgar in 1893, but 1911 the post was upgraded to Consulate-General. Kashgar became the listening post and source of regular intelligence briefings, political diaries, and trade reports.

Provenance and Archival Background

The archives of the India Office Political and Secret Department (and Military Department) form part of the Oriental and India Office Collections (OIOC) now within the Asia, Pacific, and Africa Collections at the British Library. The Political and Secret Department papers and printed material have now been catalogued under the OIOC reference L/PS. Military Department papers are located under the reference L/MIL.

Save the date: October 17, 1 p.m. PDT: Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales (Webinar)

Posted on October 11, 2024October 11, 2024 by Liladhar

Thursday
Oct. 17, 2024
1 p.m. PDT
Zoom

Navigating Identity, Belonging, and Citizenship: A Conversation with Professor Canizales

In this webinar, Stephanie L. Canizales, Ph.D., will discuss her new book, Sin Padres, Ni Papeles, which explores the complex experiences of unaccompanied young migrants from Central America and Mexico in the United States. Canizales illuminates the long history of this migration and how young migrants find meaning and demonstrate resilience in the face of significant adversity.

Free and open to the public

The event will be recorded for archival purposes.

ucblib.link/3F8