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Join us for the next CESTA lunch seminar entitled, "Digital Tools for Visualizing Flow and Networks of Samizdat, Tamizdat and Gosizdat".

Lunch: 12:30 - 1:00 pm
Workshop: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

for lunch and to receive the Zoom link for the workshop (if unable to join in person at Wallenberg Hall, Bldg. 160, Rm 433a).

Georgii Korotkov (èצӰ��), “Visualizing the Unseen: Approaches to Periodical Metadata”
This presentation will demonstrate an open-source platform designed to simplify and enhance the visualization of periodical metadata, making it more accessible through interactive and scalable tools. The project addresses challenges in metadata analysis, such as fragmentation, complexity, and the need for technical expertise, by providing an intuitive and adaptable solution. Built on modern web technologies, it automatically processes metadata to generate visualizations like publication timelines, authorship networks, and thematic clustering while maintaining flexibility for various research and archival needs. While still in its early stages, the platform serves as a proof of concept, with its open-source nature inviting collaboration and iterative improvements based on user feedback. Ultimately, the project aims to lower barriers to metadata exploration, fostering new research opportunities and interdisciplinary engagement across academia, libraries, and digital humanities projects.

Ilaria Sicari (èצӰ��, Ca' Foscari) with Valeria Korotkova (èצӰ��), “Soft Power with Hard Cover: Visualizing Transnational Routes and Networks of Tamizdat”
During the so-called Cultural Cold War, the ideological struggle between the two blocs was primarily fought on the battlefield of cultural production and the weapons massively employed in the fight were books. Since 1954, when the Free Europe Committee (FEC) launched its first program for producing and clandestinely distributing in the Eastern bloc tamizdat (leaflets, periodicals and books) as well as other banned printed materials (Western periodicals and books), a massive flow of printed texts started to circulate across and beyond the “Nylon Curtain.” During this workshop, there will be schowcased different digital tools employed for analyzing, extracting and visualizing data from a corpus of archival documents with the aim to represent the complexity of the transnational production and cross-border circulation of tamizdat and others printed materials by proposing a model for mapping the topography of Cold War culture.