Upcoming Conference in Balkan Studies at the University of Sofia

The Faculty of Slavic Studies at the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its program in Balkan Studies with a conference entitled Balkan Languages, Literatures and Cultures: Divergence and Convergence.  The conference will take place on 30-31 May 2014. The preliminary program features 119 papers in English, French, German, Russian and Bulgarian by scholars from Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey and the US. The papers address issues within the broad areas of linguistic structure and the lexicon, codification of the standard languages, language contact, etymology, onomastics and phraseology, ethnolinguistics, comparative literary studies, literature and society, ethnology, cultural history, identity and religion, political studies, the fine arts, music and folk dance.

Good luck to the organizers of this conference and to the program in Balkan Studies at the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.

Call for Papers for the Conference of the Society for Romanian Studies (SRS), Bucharest, 17- 19 June 2015

The SRS is an international inter-disciplinary academic organization that promotes professional study, criticism, and research on all aspects of Romanian culture and civilization, particularly concerning the countries of Romania and Moldova. 

For information about SRS visit www.society4romanianstudies.org. 

The 2015 SRS conference will be hosted by the Faculty of Political Science, the University of Bucharest. We thank them for their support.

Linking Past, Present and Future: The 25th Anniversary of Regime Change in Romania and Moldova (1989/1991) 

Anniversaries represent opportunities to reflect on past events, re-assess their impact on the present, and draw lessons for the future. Together with other 20th century historical events – including World War I, World War II, and the communist take-over – the overthrow of the communist regime represented a watershed event for Romania and Moldova, the most recent great transformation it is seen as having led to the end of the communist dictatorship, democratization of the political system, the introduction of market economy, cultural liberalization, the opening of borders, and a re-alignment with the West. At the same time, given Romania’s and Moldova’s persistent problems with political instability, pervasive corruption, slow economic growth, populism, and nationalism, the significance of the 1989/1991 regime change and its outcomes remains a source of contestation. The aim of this conference is to take a fresh look at the transformative events of a quarter century ago. We wish to examine their significance for the two countries’ post-communist trajectories, past, present, and future both domestically and in the wider European and Eurasian contexts with the help of broad historical, political, literary, and cultural disciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiries. 

 

Keynote Speakers: Dennis Deletant (Georgetown University) and Mihaela Miroiu (SNSPA). 

 

We welcome proposals for papers, panels and roundtables from junior and senior scholars working in a variety of disciplines: history, sociology, anthropology and ethnography, political science, philosophy, law and justice studies, literature and linguistics, economics, business, international affairs, religious, gender, film and media studies, art history, music, and education, among others. Possible topics might include, but are not limited to: 

 

• Precursors of 1989 (anti-Stalinist revolts and resistance, resistance through culture, the role of dissidents, everyday forms of resistance, Braşov 1987, etc.)

• The external context (Gorbachev’s Soviet Union, the events in East and Central Europe) 

• Western propaganda and the Romanian diasporas 

• 1989 in popular and official memory, historiography, film, literature and the arts 

• Legacies of World War I and World War II 

• Sources and archives 

• Communism, post-communism, and the arts 

• Writers and artists in post-communism 

• The Romanian new wave and the legacy of communism 

• European Union accession 

• Moldova between West and East 

• Legal and constitutional reforms 

• Party and electoral politics, and voting behavior 

• Free markets, neoliberalism and state paternalism 

• Romania’s place in Europe and in the region 

• Romania’s relationship with the Republic of Moldova 

• Moldova’s place in Europe and the region 

• The status of ethnic, religious and sexual minorities in Romania and Moldova 

• The reconfiguration of social stratification 

• Post-communist media and journalism 

• The role of the Orthodox Church, and of other religious groups 

• Dynamics of migration from and into Romania and Moldova 

• Policy analysis and public administration 

• Urban policies and architecture in communism and post-communism 

 

Individual paper proposals should include the title of the presentation, a brief abstract of up to 500 words, a short c.v., and contact information of the presenter. They should be sent in a single attached Word document by August 1, 2014 at srs2015conference@gmail.com. 

Proposals for 2-hour panels including 3-4 papers, one chair, and 1-2 discussants should provide a title and description of the panel topic, abstracts of all papers, short vitae, and contact information for all participants. Panel participants should be drawn from at least two different universities. 

Round tables proposals of 3-5 participants should include title and description of the topic, short vitae and contact information for all participants. In addition, the conference organizers will accept proposals for book panels. Submissions and presentations in French will be accepted, as long as they are for full panels and roundtables including members from more than one university. Participants will be notified of the acceptance of their proposal by October 15, 2014. 

 

In order to assure that the conference is accessible to scholars from across the Atlantic region and to those from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, the conference fees will be quite modest. For scholars from North America, the fee will be 40 USD; for those from the Eurozone and Western Europe, 40 Euros, and from Romania, Moldova and parts east, 40 Romanian Lei. Graduate students will be exempt from this fee. SRS membership will also be required and additional for those paying in USD and Euros, but included for those paying in Lei. 

Upcoming conference: "Imagining Alternative Modernities"

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS

ABSTRACT DEADLINE: MARCH 17
 
We are excited to announce the interdisciplinary conference, "Imagining Alternative Modernities: Interventions from the Balkans and South Asia", which will take place at The Ohio State University, Columbus, October 9-11, 2014. The conference completes and complements a series of interdisciplinary activities in 2013-14, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through the John E. Sawyer Seminars on the Comparative Study of Cultures grant program. For more information on the seminar, please visit: sawyer.osu.edu.
 

Keynote Speakers:

Tomislav Longinović, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan, Yale University
 

On the surface, the Balkans and South Asia might seem to have little in common. However, despite many specific differences, they share similar dilemmas of linguistic, religious, cultural, and ethno-national complexity, similar turbulent political developments associated with imperial, post-colonial, and Cold War legacies, and a similar diversity of responses to these historical and contemporary challenges. Both areas have seen a mixing of people through migratory settlement, conquest, contact, and trade. But both have also experienced periods of reaction to cultural hybridity: a radical unmixing of people through partition and population exchange. The impact of these upheavals is seen in the direct violence of war and devastation, but also through crises on the levels of language, religion, and other modes of culture and human creative activity. The unique yet similar issues within each region compel us
towards a comparative approach that will offer a transnational perspective on the intersection of language, religion, culture, and nationalism.

 
We thus invite proposals for paper presentations from any disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective within the humanities and social sciences addressing one or more of the following themes in the Balkans or in South Asia, or comparatively between the two regions:


1.Violence, Gender, and Human Rights

2.Nation, Religion, Language, and Secularism

3. Minorities, State, Language, and Citizenship

4. Postcolonial and Postsocialist Perspectives on Neoliberalism
 

Additionally, selected papers will be included in a collection of essays resulting from the conference.

Graduate students are encouraged to participate. Limited funding is available for student lodging.

Please send a 350-word abstract in PDF format and brief (one paragraph maximum) bio to sawyerseminar@osu.edu by Monday March 17, 2014 (11:59pm).

Notifications of acceptance will be sent by May 1, 2014 and the program will be announced by June 1, 2014. 

Call for Applications! 2014 Summer Research Laboratory at Illinois

The Summer Research Laboratory (SRL) on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia is open to scholars with research interests in the East European region for eight weeks during the summer months from June 16 until August 8. The SRL provides scholars access to the resources of the University of Illinois Slavic collection within a flexible time frame where scholars have the opportunity to seek advice and research support from the librarians of the Slavic Reference Service (SRS).  Graduate students and junior scholars will also have opportunity to attend a specialized workshop on Scholarly and Literary Translation from June 16-20, 2014.

The deadline for grant funding is April 15 and is fast approaching! REEEC will continue to receive applications for the Summer Research Lab after the grant deadline, but housing and travel funds will not be guaranteed.

For further information and to apply, please use this link http://www.reeec.illinois.edu/srl/?utm_source=SEESA%20&utm_medium=Bloglistserv&utm_campaign=SRL2014.

For graduate students, the SRL provides an opportunity to conduct research prior to going abroad and extra experience to refine research skills.  Students will also have the opportunity of seeking guidance from specialized librarians skilled in navigating resources pertaining to and originating from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia.

The SRS is an extensive service that provides access to a wide range of materials that center on and come from: Russia, the Former Soviet Union, Czech and Slovak Republics, Former Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. The International & Area Studies Library, where the Slavic reference collections are housed, contains work stations for readers, a collection of basic reference works, and current issues of over 1,000 periodicals and 110 newspapers in Western and area languages.

The Slavic Reference Service provides access to several unique resources pertaining to the Russian, East European and Eurasian region.  Currently, there are plans at the University of Illinois’ to become the first library in the Western Hemisphere to gain access to the Russian State Library’s Electronic Dissertations Database, which contains the full text of nearly 1 million dissertations in a wide variety of fields. 

In addition, the SRS provides access to

•  the Andrei Codrescu Collection (1929-2004) granted to the library by the poet with 42 folders of materials containing manuscripts, reviews, interviews, literary drafts, materials from conferences, etc.;   
• full-text access to well over 100 Romanian humanities and social science journals through Central and Eastern European Online Library;
• the microfilm collection Yugoslavia: Peoples, States, and Society consisting of 109 reels, which include a unique set of short monographs, pamphlets, and other materials on the Balkan Wars, World War I and the South Slavs, interwar Yugoslavia, and World War II; 
• microfiche collection Russian-Ottoman Relations, 1600-1914. Part 1: The Origins, 1600-1800 containing approximately 193 titles on Russian-Ottoman relations: diplomatic treaties, travel reports, decrees, eye-witness accounts of military campaigns, and policy deliberations;
• other extensive print, digital, and microform holdings relating to Eastern Europe, including rare materials acquired via Keith Hitchins and other noted scholars.

 

Imagining Alternative Modernities: Interventions from the Balkans and South Asia

We are excited to announce the interdisciplinary conference, "Imagining Alternative Modernities: Interventions from the Balkans and South Asia", which will take place at The Ohio State University, Columbus, October 9-11, 2014. The conference completes and complements a series of interdisciplinary activities in 2013-14, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation through the John E. Sawyer Seminars on the Comparative Study of Cultures grant program. For more information on the seminar, please visit: sawyer.osu.edu.

On the surface, the Balkans and South Asia might seem to have little in common. However, despite many specific differences, they share similar dilemmas of linguistic, religious, cultural, and ethno-national complexity, similar turbulent political developments associated with imperial, post-colonial, and Cold War legacies, and a similar diversity of responses to these historical and contemporary challenges. Both areas have seen a mixing of people through migratory settlement, conquest, contact, and trade. But both have also experienced periods of reaction to cultural hybridity: a radical unmixing of people through partition and population exchange. The impact of these upheavals is seen in the direct violence of war and devastation, but also through crises on the levels of language, religion, and other modes of culture and human creative activity. The unique yet similar issues within each region compel us towards a comparative approach that will offer a transnational perspective on the intersection of language, religion, culture, and nationalism.

We thus invite proposals for paper presentations from any disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspective within the humanities and social sciences addressing one or more of the following themes in the Balkans or in South Asia, or comparatively between the two regions: 

1. Violence, Gender, and Human Rights 

2. Nation, Religion, Language, and Secularism 

3. Minorities, State, Language, and Citizenship 

4. Postcolonial and Postsocialist Perspectives on Neoliberalism

Additionally, selected papers will be included in a collection of essays resulting from the conference.

Graduate students are encouraged to participate. Limited funding is available for student lodging.

Please send a 350-word abstract in PDF format and brief (one paragraph maximum) bio to sawyerseminar@osu.edu by Monday March 17, 2014 (11:59pm). Notifications of acceptance will be sent by May 1, 2014 and the program will be announced by June 1, 2014. 

The Balkan Language Initiative

American Councils for International Education announces its Summer 2014, Fall 2014, and Academic Year 2014-15 language study programs in the Balkans. The Balkan Language Initiative Program features language and cultural immersion in:
- Tirana, Albania
- Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Skopje, Macedonia
- Belgrade, Serbia

Applications and complete program information are available at:
 http://www.acBalkansAbroad.org

THE PROGRAM
The Balkan Language Initiative provides participants with intensive individualized instruction in the languages of the Balkans. Courses are designed to strengthen speaking, listening, reading, and writing proficiency in the language of study. Classes are conducted in small groups or private tutorials by native speakers with extensive experience teaching foreign students. In addition to classroom learning, American Councils emphasizes language immersion outside of the academic program through: volunteer opportunities, cultural excursions, extracurricular activities, and life with host families. U.S. undergraduate or graduate credit is provided through Bryn Mawr College.

LANGUAGES OFFERED
- Albanian
- Bosnian
- Macedonian
- Serbian

FINANCIAL AID

American Councils has several scholarship funds for overseas study. Information on these scholarships and many other funding possibilities are available online:
 http://acstudyabroad.org/financialaid/

APPLYING
Applications, additional program information, and eligibility requirements are available at http://www.acBalkansAbroad.org

Applications for the summer 2014 programs are due by February 15, 2014.

Applications for the fall 2014 and academic year 2014-15 programs are due by March 15, 2014.

Must be 18 to apply.

QUESTIONS?
Email: outbound@americancouncils.org

 CONTACT
American Councils for International Education
Attn: Outbound Programs
1828 L Street, N.W. Suite 1200
Washington, D.C. 20036
Web: www.acStudyAbroad.org
Phone: 202.833.7522

CALL FOR PAPERS: STATE VS INDIVIDUAL MORALITY IN POST-SOCIALISM

Deadline 10 February 2014

About STSS (www.tlu.ee/stss)

STSS is fast-growing open-access interdisciplinary journal for the study of transition societies. Created in 2009, it has been indexed by SCOPUS in 2012 and we are currently in Q3 (3rd quartile), ranking 320 out of 552 journals included in sociology and political science. Given that we are an independent journal created only four years ago we believe this is already a good result and we are confident we can improve our ranking quickly in the next few years. Please check our articles if you want to be convinced of our potential. Our primary focus is post-socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the former USSR, although we are open to contributions focusing on any other world region.

We are a bi-annual publication of the Institute of Political Science and Governance and the Institute of International and Social Studies of Tallinn University and it is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), EBSCO, ProQuest, and the International Political Science Abstracts (IPSA). All our articles are available for free through the Central European Online Library and our website www.tlu.ee/stss that you are welcome to visit if you want to learn more about us. In addition to the targeted call given below, we welcome articles all year round.

================================================
We are looking for 1-2 more papers on the topic: STATE VS INDIVIDUAL MORALITY IN POST-SOCIALISM.

Over the past decade we have witnessed a tendency to critically look at the way state morality, laws and rules are constructed. Following the appearance of Gibson-Graham's seminal work (1996), the term diverse economies has come to populate a growing number of scholarly works across a wide range of disciplines. As part of this scholarship alternative narratives to capitalism have been explored and neoliberalism has been criticised. Based on the Bourdieaun remark that individual and state moralities do not necessarily overlap, a number of empirical works (Polese 2008; Rasanayagam 2011; Wanner 2005) have shown the limits of the corrupt-non-corrupt distinction. This, in turn, has highlighted the potential conflict between what is legal (with a definition of legality provided by the state) and what is socially acceptable by the citizens
themselves (van Schendel & Abrahams 2005). This has led to the understanding that what a society, or a group of individuals, is ready to accept and justify is not necessarily what the state official narrative (based on laws and rules) would accept.

We welcome empirically-rich accounts, constructed on recent and/or ongoing research, that broadly deal with the topic suggested above.

The deadline for the 2014 Spring issue is 10 February 2014. However, potential contributors are welcome to contact us at an early stage to discuss an idea you might want to develop or have developed. Please visit the webpage www.tlu.ee/stss for further information on submission guidelines or contact stss@tlu.ee (also if you would like to discuss a proposal).


Suggested preliminary literature

Gibson-Graham, J.K. (1996). The End Of Capitalism (As We Knew It): A Feminist Critique of Political Economy. Oxford UK and Cambridge USA: Blackwell Publishers.

Polese, A. (2008). "If I Receive it, it is a Gift; if I Demand it, then it is a Bribe" on the Local Meaning of Economic Transactions in Post-soviet Ukraine. Anthropology in Action, 15(3), 47-60.

Rasanayagam, J. (2011). Informal Economy in an Informal State in Surviving Post-Socialism. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy,15(11/12), 681-696.

van Schendel, W. & I. Abraham (Eds.) (2005). Illicit Flows and Criminal Things: States, Borders, and the Other Side of Globalization. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Wanner, C. (2005). Money, Morality and New Forms of Exchange in Postsocialist Ukraine. Ethnos 70(4), 515-537.