Please join us on Thursday, 30 January at 5.30, in the Knox Shaw Room, Sidney Sussex College for the first lecture of Lent Term 'Translation Speaker Series' sponsored by CamCCEEES, the Slavonic Section, Cambridge Polish Studies and Cambridge Ukrainian Studies.
THE EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Our guest speaker is TOMASZ GRUSIECKI, Associate Professor of Early Modern European Art and Material Cultures, Boise State University. His research encompasses early modern cultural entanglements, European perceptions of the wider world, eco-critical examinations of artistic materials, and zoopolitics of art-making, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe from 1500 to 1700. He is the author of the book 'Transcultural Things and the Spectre of Orientalism in Early Modern Poland-Lithuania' (Manchester University Press, 2023). In Spring 2025, he is a Residential Fellow at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.
The lecture will reconsider tapis polonais (so-called “Polish carpets”), misattributed in the 19th century despite their Persian provenance. Drawing on archival and literary sources, it highlights their commissioning by Polish-Lithuanian elites and manufacturing in Ruthenia (modern Ukraine), challenging nation-centric notions of artistic origin. These carpets exemplify the fluidity of cultural forms, calling for a transcultural perspective that embraces their dynamic reinterpretations across geographies and histories.
We look forward to welcoming many of you to this special event.
