Information letter

On September 26–27, 2023 the IOM RAS will hold the International Conference “Era of Sergey F. Oldenburg in the Russian Academy of Sciences” dedicated to the 160th anniversary of Academician S.F. Oldenburg (1863–1934).

Academician Sergey F. Oldenburg was one of the key figures in the history of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the late 19th century and the first third of the 20th century. He served as its permanent secretary from 1904 to 1929 and was the director of the Asiatic Museum and the Institute of Oriental Studies from 1916 to 1934. In large part due to his efforts the Academy maintained its status of the leading scientific organization in the country. S.F. Oldenburg was the head of and participant in many academic committees. From July 25 to August 31, 1917 he was the Minister of Education in the Russian Provisional Government.

As for his scientific worldview, S.F. Oldenburg was a representative of the “new school” of Oriental studies established by V.R. Rosen (1849–1908). S.F. Oldenburg’s works covered diverse topics and were characterized by new approaches. He did research on Indology, history of Buddhist culture, Iranology, textology, source studies, folklore studies, archaeology. He contributed greatly to coordinating research done by the international academic community. In 1897 he founded the international research publication series “Bibliotheca Buddhica” for publishing written artefacts discovered in Eastern Turkestan. Russian Turkestan expeditions to Turfan (1909–1910) and Dunhuang (1914–1915) played an important role in the study of the cultural heritage of Northwest China. S.F. Oldenburg actively promoted growth of manuscript and archival collections of the Academy of Sciences, especially the Asiatic Museum, research on texts written in ancient scripts, and the study of Buddhist culture in Russia.

The following topics will be discussed during the Conference:

- scientific and cultural traditions of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS);
- relations between RAS and the state in the late 19th and the first third of the 20th century;
- projects to reform RAS in the late 19th and the first third of the 20th century;
- work of S.F. Oldenburg to organize academic research in Russia;
- research heritage of S.F. Oldenburg;
- problems in developing Oriental studies in the first third of the 20th century;
- contribution of S.F. Oldenburg to preservation of academic and museum collections;
- international activities of S.F. Oldenburg;
- development of S.F. Oldenburg’s research projects at present.

Working languages of the Conference: Russian, English, Chinese.

The application should include the following information:

- Information about the participant (full name, academic degree, academic title, place of work);
- Presentation title and abstract (600 characters, 100 words maximum).

Please send your application by September 10, 2023 to the following email: iom@orientalstudies.ru with “Oldenburg Conference” in the subject line.