Call for papers

The Construction of ‘Us’ and ‘Them’:
Discourses on populism and nationalism

University of Helsinki, 7-8 September 2007

A key
theme in politics, which translates to many fields of study, is
identification * or disidentification. ‘Us’ and the sometimes equally
relevant ‘them’ are articulated at various levels from the family circle,
to the neighbourhood, local identifications, sub-cultural groups,
political parties and social movements, and further to the level of
nationhood and beyond. These may overlap or draw from each other in the
process of their articulation. One of the cases in contemporary Europe,
are the overlapping identifications with the EU, nation, region and the
locality. They may also deal with populism, exclusion and minorities.

A useful tool for recognising and understanding the logics operating in
these processes is discourse theory. The key note speaker at the
conference is professor Ernesto Laclau - an author of, most recently, On
Populist Reason (2005), and also Hegemony and Socialist Strategy; Towards
a Radical Democratic Politics (Verso: London, 1985, with
Chantal Mouffe), New Reflections on Revolutions of Our Time (1990), and
Emancipation( s) (1996). Laclau’s discourse theory have made major
contributions in the field of politics, but also history, literary
studies and sociology, as well as area studies. This is his first visit
to Finland.

The conference seeks to discover different cases, logics and phenomena in
the construction of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Papers addressing nationhood and
populism are particularly sought for, but other ‘we’ groups may also be
studied, with focus on either empirical or theoretical problems - or a
combination of both.

The aim of the conference is to allow a truly interdisciplinary forum for
the study of these questions. The conference language is English.
Abstracts for presentations (ca. 150 words) should be emailed to the
conference organiser by 15 March 2007.

The conference is organised by Emilia Palonen on behalf of the Academy of
Finland funded research
project Nations and Their Others: The Finns and the Hungarians since
1900, led by Heino Nyyssönen. It is supported by the Aleksanteri
Institute, the Department of Government and the Collegium Helsinki at the
University of Helsinki.

Contact:
Dr. Emilia Palonen,
University of Helsinki
emilia.palonen@ helsinki. fi
emiliapalonen@ yahoo.co. uk
(please use both addresses)
Tel. +358 40 5077198

Deadline: 15 January 2007

The goal of this Third Millennium Foundation (TMF) initiative is to develop a cadre of young activists from different countries whose understanding of, commitment to and effectiveness in human rights work have been enhanced through a year long , in-depth exposure to and reflection on a broad range of perspectives, situations and
experiences related to human rights issues. Through these practical training fellowships, the Program aims to provide the fellows with the skills necessary to start or advance a career in the field of human rights.

The fellowship involves two different placements, one in the home country of the fellow and one abroad. Fellowships are awarded for practitioners as well as for students (graduate and undergraduate students of any faculty). One of the two placements is in the developing world or, in the country where the fellow intends to start her/his professional career.

Applicants must have two sponsoring organizations engaged in human rights work, broadly defined (or organizations related through a single project). One in the developing world, and one in the country where the fellow intends to pursue her/his professional career. These nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will, in most cases, be involved in human rights education, monitoring, reporting, litigation,
grassroots mobilization, providing direct services or advocacy. Most of these organizations would identify themselves as part of the broader, universal human rights movement, relying on the norms found in United Nations and regional treaties and declarations.

Objectives:

To deepen the fellows’ understanding of the diversity of situations and contexts facing human rights work and human rights activists in different countries as well as their practical and theoretical knowledge of and skills in human rights work and advocacy;
To deepen their understanding of the values underlying human rights work and the moral, emotional and psychological dimensions of that work;
To provide assistance to human rights groups in different countries (including the fellows’ own countries) through the year-long work of the fellows;
To facilitate the development of friendships and collaborative partnerships with young human rights activists from other countries;
To enhance the willingness and ability of young activists from different countries to call on the strengths and experiences of activists in other countries, and lend their own strength and experiences to these same activists;
To enhance the exchange of experiences among human rights groups in different countries through the shared experiences of these young activists.

More Information:

http://www.seedsoftolerance.org/docs/hr_fellowship_app.pdf

http://www.seedsoftolerance.org/initiative_intl_fellowship.html

Deadline: January 15, 2007

2007 ANNUAL SOYUZ SYMPOSIUM

Call for Papers

LOCATING “EURASIA” IN POSTSOCIALIST STUDIES:

THE GEOPOLITICS OF NAMING

April 27-29, 2007

Princeton University

The geographical and symbolic fragmentation of the “Soviet bloc” was one of the main outcomes of the collapse of state socialism in the late 1980s. A seemingly neutral and natural geographical collage of “Eastern Europe,” “the Balkans,” “the Baltics,” “the Caucasus,” “Eurasia,” and “the Central Asia” has replaced the politically enforced unity of the “Second World.” Yet, as some scholars of the region have pointed out, the new mapping of postsocialist space exhibits one persistent tendency: the “westernization” of eastern Europe is accompanied by a simultaneous “easternization” of its margins.

For its 2007 meeting, SOYUZ invites submissions for presentations on the emergence of “Eurasia” as a geocultural space, distinct from and even opposing to “Europe.” How does the reclaimed notion of “Eurasia” help to construct and symbolically uphold eastern borders of new Europe? To what extent this notion was instrumental in shaping new alliances, practices, and identities outside European borders? As at previous SOYUZ meetings, priority is given to rich ethnographic work while entertaining a broad range of topical and ideological terrains.

Presentations may be from any discipline (anthropology, sociology, geography, folklore, political science, history, cultural studies, law, economics, literary scholarship, etc.). We are looking for papers that combine solid archival and/or ethnographic material with theory. We are especially interested in submissions from scholars examining the role of “Eurasia” in the Far East. We will be able to make travel subsidies available for several foreign presenters (from the region).

The symposium has been held annually since 1992, and is at once an intimate forum where scholars can exchange ideas and engage in dialogue and also the site of cutting edge presentations from some of the most exciting thinkers within the growing field of postsocialist research.

(http://www.uvm. edu/~soyuz/ conferences. html)

The 2007 SOYUZ Program committee includes:

Judith B. Farquhar,
Professor of Anthropology and of Social Sciences (University of Chicago)

Kristen Ghodsee,
Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies (Bowdoin College); program
coordinator for SOYUZ

Sergey Glebov,
Assistant Professor of History (Smith College); co-editor of Ab Imperio.

Bruce Grant,
Associate Professor of Anthropology (New York University)

Mark von Hagen,
Boris Bakhmeteff Professor of Russian and East European Studies and Chair,
Department of History (Columbia University)

Krista Hegburg,
Doctoral Candidate, Anthropology (Columbia University)

Serguei Alex. Oushakine,
Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures (Princeton University)

Please send an abstract (no longer than 500 words) and a brief CV to Serguei Oushakine (oushakin@princeton. edu) by January 15, 2007.

Applicants will be notified of the program committee’s decision in February 2007.

Policy-Connect Collaborative Research Grants
US Department of State’s Title VIII Program

IREX is pleased to announce the 2007 Policy-Connect Collaborative
Research Grants
competition. IREX’s Policy-Connect program seeks to attract, select,
and support advanced research by US experts in policy-relevant
subject areas related to Southeast Europe and Eurasia, facilitate
collaboration among and between US and international scholars, and
disseminate knowledge about Europe and Eurasia to a wide network of
constituents in the United States and abroad.

Policy-Connect provides American scholars with the means and support
necessary to conduct
research, particularly on lesser-studied regions such as the Balkans,
Central Asia, and the
Caucasus, where issues central to the national security and foreign
policy interests of the
United States must be studied. The knowledge and expertise gained by
the grant recipients become a valuable resource for the policymaking
community, as the scholars share the results of their research
through research briefs, policy fora, and individual meetings.

The Policy-Connect Program provides fellowships to US scholars and
professionals for overseas
research on contemporary political, economic, historical, or cultural
developments relevant to
US foreign policy. Fellowships support collaborative teams of two or
three US scholars
and professionals for up to 12 months. Upon completion of the
project, scholars will be
requested to present their research findings at a Policy Forum at the
US Department of State and to write a short policy paper.

This year applications will be accepted for research on the following
topics and regions:

• Eurasia & Southeast Europe: ethnic and religious conflict,
transition economics, access
to information, youth and women’s issues, and citizen participation
in politics and civil society.

• Cross-regional: Post-Soviet relations
between Eurasia and the Middle East/North Africa and/or South Asia.

Eligible Countries of Research Focus

• Eurasia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

• Southeast Europe: Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia
(Former Yugoslav Republic of), Romania, Serbia and Montenegro.

• Cross-regional: Countries of Eurasia
(see above) and Algeria, Afghanistan, Bahrain,
Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank/Gaza, and
Yemen.

Applications and supporting materials for
Policy-Connect Collaborative Research Grants are
available on the IREX website at:
http://www.irex. org/programs/ policy-connect/ index.asp

¯ Grant Award: Up to $30,000
¯ Duration: Up to 12 months
¯ Application Deadline: April 1, 2007

Policy-Connect Collaborative Research Grants are funded by the US
Department of State’s Title VIII Program and John J. and Nancy Lee
Roberts.

Questions may be addressed to the Policy-Connect
Program Staff at policyconnect@ irex.org or by calling (202) 628-8188.

IREX, 2121 K Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037 USA

11th Cultural Studies Symposium, Ege University
EGE UNIVERSITY

11th INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL STUDIES SYMPOSIUM

May 9-11, 2007

Ege University, Faculty of Letters, Izmir, TURKEY

CALL FOR PAPERS

“Memory and Nostalgia”

The dialectic between `Memory’ and `Nostalgia’ has always been a significant issue for various disciplines like history, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, gender studies, media studies, literature, etc. Especially nostalgia, as Sean Scanlan states, has “an uncanny ability to exceed any constraining definition” (1).
As a Greek term, comprising the two parts “nostos” (to return home) and “algos” (pain), nostalgia, Linda Hutcheon explains, was coined in 1688 by a Swiss medical student “as a sophisticated … way to talk about a literally lethal kind of severe homesickness” (1). In Nicholas Dames’ terms, nostalgia is a form of “retrospect that
remembers only what is pleasant and only what the self can employ in the present; … [it is] an absence; what it lacks is what… has come to be regarded as memory in its purest form” (4). Nostalgia, then, is a “memory that is always only the necessary prehistory of the present [which] consists of the stories about one’s past that
explain and consolidate memory rather than dispersing it into a series of vivid, relinquished moments and … [which] can only survive by eradicating the `pure memory’” (Dames 4).

Nostalgia has always been a useful compensatory tool to construct an alternative historical reality created by the images of the golden past, especially when there is discontent with the present socio-economic situation in any culture. Just like governing bodies, modern global corporations also use nostalgia to advertise their
commodities by relating either their products or companies to a more desirable time in the past. By implanting modified images in the prospective clients’ minds, such advertising strategies rewrite history through forged memories about the good old days when prices were more reasonable, goods more durable, and services were more
satisfactory.

As Dylan Trigg, the author of The Aesthetics of Decay: Nothingness, Nostalgia, and the Absence of Reason (2006) claims, “nostalgia demands … the fixation of the past … Thus, both static images – memories – and lived experience – place – serve as homogenous platforms for the nostalgic conscious to impose and identify itself” (1). Both memory and nostalgia, then, have always had some spatial and territorial connotations, whether real or ideal, either in some negative or positive sense.

This symposium, then, aims to explore how memory and nostalgia collaborate to construct a meaningful space in a given culture, both individually and collectively, either through “the willing suspension of disbelief” or as a state apparatus, with reference to such issues as globalism, consumerism, nation-states, neo-conservatism, etc. During the symposium we hope such questions as Linda Hutcheon raises about the relationship between postmodernism and nostalgia will also be discussed: “Was [the] postmodern recalling of the past an example of a conservative – and therefore
nostalgic – escape to an idealized, simpler era of `real’” (1). Or, if “nostalgia is given surplus meaning and value at certain moments – millennial moments, like our own,” has nostalgia become an “obsession of both mass culture and high art” or is it only “the media’s obsession”? (Hutcheon 1).

Proposals might include, but are not limited to:

· Nostalgia and Collective Memory

· Cultural Memory as Cultural Repression

· Cultural Memory = Nostalgia?

· Culture as Nostalgic Object and Commodity

· Nostalgia, Consumerism, and the Heritage Industry

· Nostalgia and Ideology

· Diaspora and Nostalgia

· Diaspora as Temporal Displacement

· Nostalgia and Ideology

· Homologies of Religious Faith and Cultural Memory or Nostalgia

· Nostalgia as a Social Disease

· The Violence of Cultural Memory

· Nostalgia as the Abdication of Memory

· Community without Nostalgia?

· Trauma, Collective Memory, and Nostalgia

· Pain and Authenticity

· Nostalgic Structures of Feeling in Cultural Studies

· Mourning and Melancholia in Cultural Memory

· Reflective and Restorative Nostalgia

· Nation, Narration, and Nostalgia

· Counter Nostalgia

· Literature and Art as Cultural Memory

· Media of Memory (Historical Monuments, Public Archives, Oral Histories, etc.)

· Popular Culture, Amnesia, and Nostalgia

· Personal Memory, Collective Identity, and Nostalgia

· Historiography, Autobiography, and Nostalgia

· Memory as a Means of Cultural Regeneration

· Nostalgia, Memorabilia, and “Subcutaneous Advertising”

· Values and Nostalgia

· Nationalist Interests and Nostalgia

The deadline for submission of proposals: January 05, 2007.

The notification for acceptance of proposals: January 22-26, 2007.

We welcome proposals for individual papers, entire sessions, presentations, performances, films, roundtables, workshops, conversations, or alternative formats both in English and Turkish. However, there will be no simultaneous translations during the conference. The time allowance for any presentation is 20 minutes.
Abstracts for papers should be 250-300 words in length and should include a title. Please e-mail your proposals and short bios to: css2007@mail. ege.edu.tr and egeucss@gmail. com or mail/fax them to:

Atilla Silkü

Ege Üniversitesi, Edebiyat Fakültesi,

Amerikan Kültürü ve Edebiyatý Bölümü,

35100-Bornova, Ýzmir, Turkey

Fax: +90 (232) 388 11 02

Please note that selected papers will be published in the forthcoming proceedings.

Seminar Registration Fee: USD 50 regular, USD 30 graduate students and research assistants. USD 75 On-site registration

Please deposit the non-refundable seminar fee to:

Garanti Bankasi, Bornova Branch (Branch # 524), Izmir , Phone: +90 232 342 6002

USD Account # 9093282 ( For International transfers: Swift Code: TGBATRISXXX )

YTL Account # 6298461

Mail or fax your registration form and a copy of your bank receipt to:

Atilla Silkü (address above)

For further information please visit symposium web site:

http://css.ege. edu.tr

Co-Organized by:
Ege University Departments of American Culture and Literature &
English Language and Literature
The Embassy of the United States of America
The British Council

The American Studies Association of Turkey (ASAT)

ESF-LiU Conference - Literature for Europe, Sweden, May 2007
Please find below information on an ESF Research Conference which may be of particular interest to you:

ESF-LiU Conference
Literature for Europe : European Identities and European Literature in a Globalizing World
Vadstena Klosterhotell, Sweden
12-16 May 2007
Chaired by: Theo L. D’haen (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, BE)

Scientific programme and application form are accessible on-line through www.esf.org/ conferences/ 07230
(closing date for application & for abstract submission: 28 February 2007).

Some grants available for young researchers to cover the conference fee and possibly part of the travel costs.

Many thanks for passing on the attached flyer to your colleagues who may be interested in this event.

Contact person at ESF: Mr. Rachid Adghoughi (radghoughi@esf. org).

Kind regards,
Corinne Wininger - Le Moal
Publicity Officer - Research Conferences

European Science Foundation - Research Conferences Unit
1 quai Lezay-Marnésia, BP 90015 67080 Strasbourg , Cedex
Phone: +33 (0)388 76 71 35
Fax: +33 (0)388 36 69 87
clemoal@esf. org
www.esf.org/ conferences

GRANT- American Councils Programs for Research & Language Training in Eurasia
American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS announces the following Fall 2007 and Academic Year 2007-2008 fellowship programs: Title VIII Research Scholar Program: Provides full support for three to nine-month research trips to Russia, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. Fellowships include roundtrip international travel, housing, living stipends, visas, insurance, affiliation fees, archive access, research advising, and logistical support in the field. …далі »