Alternative Communities

“Gagarin and the Rave Kids: Transforming power, identity, and aesthetics in the post-Soviet nightlife.”

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

in Consuming Russia: Popular Culture, Sex, and Society Since Gorbachev. Adele Barker, ed. Duke University Press, 1999.

"Soviet Hegemony of Form: Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More"

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

Comparative Studies in Society and History, v. 45, n. 3, 2003.

"Ночные танцы с ангелом истории. Критические культуральные исследования пост-социализма."

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

in: Культуралные исследования. под. ред. Александра Эткинда. Санкт-Петербург: Европейский университет, 2005.

"Night Dances with the Angel of History: Critical Cultural Studies of Post-Socialism," in Russian Cultural Studies. Alexandr Etkind, ed. St Petersburg: European University Press, 2005.

"Suspending the Political: Late Soviet Artistic Experiments at the Margins of the State""

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

Poetics Today, vol. 29, n. 4, 2008.

"Ночные танцы с ангелом истории. Критические культуральные исследования пост-социализма."

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

in: Культуралные исследования. под. ред. Александра Эткинда. Санкт-Петербург: Европейский университет, 2005.

"Night Dances with the Angel of History: Critical Cultural Studies of Post-Socialism," in Russian Cultural Studies. Alexandr Etkind, ed. St Petersburg: European University Press, 2005.

"Suspending the Political: Late Soviet Artistic Experiments at the Margins of the State""

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

Poetics Today, vol. 29, n. 4, 2008.

"Necro-Utopia: The Politics of Indistinction and the Aesthetics of the Non-Soviet"

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

with a discussion and a response
Current Anthropology, v. 49, n. 2, 2008.

Informal communities of Russian artists and intellectuals during the late Soviet years practiced a “politics of... more Informal communities of Russian artists and intellectuals during the late Soviet years practiced a “politics of indistinction.” They claimed to be uninterested in anything political and differentiated themselves from ordinary “Soviet citizens,” whether supporters of or dissenters from the system. However, their apolitical lifestyles and pursuits contributed greatly to creating the conditions for making the collapse of the Soviet state imminent. Close examination of one such group, the Necrorealists, raises a set of questions that are central for an understanding of momentous and unexpected social transformations, and of the concept of "politics" more broadly

"Suspending the Political: Late Soviet Artistic Experiments at the Margins of the State""

by Alexei Yurchak Алексей Юрчак

Poetics Today, vol. 29, n. 4, 2008.

Die zweite Revolte am Öresund.

by Ebbe Volquardsen

In: politikorange. Mythos 68. (= Zeitung zur Ausstellung »berlin68 – Sichten einer Revolte« im Ephraim-Palais, Berlin vom 9. Juni bis 2. November 2008), 2008, 15.

Camphill Communities in Disparate Socio-Legal Environments: Negotiating Community Life for Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Germany and the United States

by Janelle Christensen

MA Thesis: Advisor Dr. Katarina Heyer

The following work is a case study analysis of a global program called Camphill Communities, which provide... more The following work is a case study analysis of a global program called Camphill Communities, which provide village/community centered living and working environments for adults and children with developmental disabilities.  This project is specifically examines the disparate socio-legal environments with which Camphill Communities must contend in Germany and the United States (US).  The two communities selected for this research are Camphill Lehenhof, located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and Camphill California, located in Santa Cruz County, California. 
The case study analysis of Lehenhof and Camphill California included research on the philosophy on which the Camphill Communities were based (Anthroposophy) as well as the local and national legal codes.  In addition, a minimum of one month of participant observation was carried out in each location.  Ethnographic interviews were conducted with the staff (termed “coworkers”) to determine their understanding of the law and how they knowingly altered their behavior to accommodate it. Participant observation coupled with ethnographic interviews also elucidated the “living law” and “norms of decision” within the Camphill Communities. 
The contrasting legal regulations and cultural expectations of each respective country have a significant impact on the communities’ internal structure and philosophy.  Future research  is recommended that might include interviews with individuals with developmental disabilities, in accordance with Human Rights Regulations.