Dominic Timm

Dominic Timm first studied theater studies and language, literature, and culture at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, where he later earned a master's degree in Slavic studies. Since April 2023, he has been a doctoral student in the DFG-funded research training group "Family Matters".

Thesis topic: "Narratives of childhood in the Russian present"

This project is about examining those lines of narration through which the notions of 'child', 'childhood' and – when connected to the former – 'family' have been negotiated in contemporary Russia since 2000. Such narratives about childhood and children in their relation to the family are sought out in diverse cultural artifacts: Relevant literary works, the political rhetoric of Putin and the Kremlin as well as the Russian Orthodox Church, furthermore more popular media such as web videos, the relevance of which should not be underestimated due to their wide audience, and furthermore possibly works of other media as well. The aim of the study is to highlight the contribution of these discourse objects to the construction and structuring of symbolic and imaginary notions of the family and the creation of bonds and dis-bonds to them. Such a parallel examination of different narratives in different media by different authors, who remain connected by their discursive work on the generic concept of 'childhood', enables a mediated access to the tasks, duties and forms that are attributed to the Russian family – not only by official, political authorities.