Humanities & Social Sciences News

Each civilization, each government and society has had to come to terms with the tension between the individual and the state, of what can be done, said, written, researched, read, performed, painted, photographed or texted, and what is deemed harmful to the state and its citizens and by whom this is to be decided. In this mini exhibit we catch a glimpse into the past and present of nearly 300 years of censorship in Russia.

As the nations of the west slowly and haltingly began to limit the restrictions of censorship, Tsarist Russia was just beginning to impose and broaden its reach. And in the 20^th century, the Soviet Union expanded censorship to new and horrific depths. Marianna Tax Choldin (Ph.D, University of Chicago, 1979), a noted authority on the censorship of both periods, has coined a phrase, now taken up by many in Russia who write about censorship—OMNICENSORSHIP (ВСЕЦЕНЗУРА)—the Soviet version of censorship, unacknowledged officially, but all-pervasive, and woven through the entire fabric of Soviet society. All citizens–scholars, scientists, artists, composers, librarians, teachers, journalists–knew not only what they MUST NOT do, but also what they MUST do in order to get ahead or in the worst of times, just to survive. If unexpressed thoughts could have been censored, they would have been, and indeed, in the darkest days of the Stalinist purges, it seems as if they sometimes were. Self-censorship was, by necessity, an integral part of the system.

A December 1989 issue of the journal Ogonek asking the question—FAREWELL CENSORSHIP?

First in the era of the “The Thaw” (early 1960s) and then again in the era of Glasnost (late 1980s), there were signs, at least in some areas, of more permissiveness, a greater freedom of artistic expression. In the introduction to The Red Pencil: Artists, Scholars, and Censors in the USSR, Maurice Friedberg and Marianna Tax Choldin wrote: “What is at issue in this age of glasnost is whether the oppressive status quo will remain in place, whether all cultural and intellectual life in the USSR will be continued to be controlled by a faceless censor endowed with unlimited powers or whether some degree, however modest, of procedural legality is to be introduced.”  [pp. xvi-xvii]

The fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought new hope that a civil society, based upon just such a system of procedural legality, would develop. Twenty-two years later the issue is unresolved and the battle rages on: unlimited censorship vs. freedom of the press and freedom of political and artistic expression.

The exhibit is located in the Second Floor Reading Room of the Joseph Regenstein Library and will run from May through August 2013. Note that the exhibit is displayed in two floor cases and one wall case, each slightly removed from the others.

Photograph of Algerian dancer from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago

In 1893, visitors to the World’s Columbian Exposition were introduced to a form of dance not seen before in the U.S. On the Street in Cairo section of the midway, dancers performed the first bellydance seen in the U.S., a dance which has exploded in popularity since then. A new mini-exhibit on Regenstein’s 3rd floor examines some aspects of the birth of American Bellydance and the modern variations. It is on display from April 1 through September 1, 2013. Exhibit viewers are encouraged to check out an MP3 player with musical accompaniment to the exhibit from the nearby Recordings Collection desk.

Bellydance at the Columbian Exposition: For the Street in Cairo display, Sol Bloom hired a number of performers including dancers. Among the dancers was a woman who came to be known as “Little Egypt.” This dancer was highly popular and inspired many imitators. By the beginning of the 20th century, many women were performing under the name “Little Egypt” and it was associated with bellydancing up through the mid-20th century as the dance became more commonly known. 

Cabaret Style: While bellydancing is thought of as traditional to the Middle East, what Americans associate with bellydance is part of a style distinct to the Americas, which draws from traditional forms but uses different costuming and many different moves. Cabaret style dancers perform in many different contexts in the US, including restaurants, at theatrical performances and in films. 

American Tribal Style: This fast-growing American style of bellydance is a hybrid of several different dance forms and costuming styles. Developed in San Francisco by Fat Chance Bellydance troupe, American Tribal Style or ATS now has multiple offshoots. ATS bellydance is a structured improvisational group form at its heart, with a specific repertoire of moves combined in performance using various communication methods and an alternating system of leading. 

Dancers from Different Drummer Bellydance troupe perform at a street festival in Bloomington, IN. (Photo by Adam Zolkover.)