[CivilSoc] 2002 Caucasus-Central Asia Dissertation Workshop

[elfimov@ssrc.org]

CALL FOR PROPOSALS
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SSRC Dissertation Development Workshop
"Globalizing the Caucasus and Central Asia"
April 2002
For centuries the Caucasus and Central Asia have been famous for their dense
conglomeration of religions, languages, and peoples imperfectly drawn
together around changing allegiances of empire, Silk Road trade, and
communism.  Yet this very plurality of social orders has also long made
these regions a daunting site for scholars.  Many have sidestepped these
pluralisms by taking refuge in singular places, singular actors, and
singular events.  Yet with the carefully bounded narratives that delineate
rather than explore, we risk losing sight of the boundary crossings and
zones of cooperation that could suggest very different histories,
sovereignties, and cultural idioms, than the language of the nation-state
has long encouraged.
The 2002 SSRC Caucasus and Central Asia Workshop invites young scholars in
the social sciences and related humanities disciplines, at any stage in
their dissertation project, to participate in a three-day workshop that will
expressly consider new frames for understanding this world area.
The workshop will be held in late April 2002 in the United States (location
to be announced) and will involve 10 doctoral students and 5 faculty
participants who will convene for three days of intensive and critical
discussion of both the students' dissertation projects, as well as larger
theoretical and methodological issues.
Among the broad questions we look to explore are:  What have been the
dominant trends in the study of this world area, and how might they be
reconfigured by shifting the terms of debate, or the focus of attention?  Is
the term "globalization" useful for going back ten centuries to the life of
the Silk Road?  Did the internationalism of the Soviet period for this world
region draw on particular idioms of community? Especially of interest are
historically informed, theoretical questions about the constitution of
global communities and the presentation of post-Soviet subjects in light of
emergent global contours. What is most called for in the redirection of new
social science scholarship in these areas?
The workshop invites a variety of topics and approaches.  Possible topics
might include: cultural syncretism; alliance formation and alignments of
power in pre-Soviet, Soviet, and post-Soviet times; changing relations
between Russia and the states of Central Asia and the Caucasus in the light
of new regional and global links forged between the Middle East, Europe and
the United States; dynamics of national, cultural, and religious movements;
local specificities and global processes today and yesterday; language
politics; gender and performance; nation building, and nationalism; the
semiotics of economic and political platforms; historical narratives and
cultural imaginaries; policy directives to better suit trenchant
pluralities; rhetorics of "community" in the study of the region; and more.
Applicants should submit the following materials by December 18, 2001:
   -- A five-page, double-spaced statement outlining a dissertation project
and how it responds to the themes of the workshop
   -- Curriculum Vitae
   -- One letter of recommendation from the applicant's main supervisor
Successful candidates later will be invited to submit a longer writing
sample of 15-25 pages, and an experimental syllabus for an upper-level
undergraduate course on any aspect of Caucasus or Central Asian studies that
both highlights canonic works in their field and flags new avenues of
inquiry. The application statements, writing samples, and syllabi will be
circulated among all participants prior to the beginning of the workshop.
The SSRC will cover all transportation, accommodation and related expenses
for workshop participants.
Eligibility: applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents,
currently enrolled in an accredited Ph.D. program, and at the planning,
research or writing stage of their dissertation projects. The deadline for
the receipt of applications is December 18, 2001. Decisions regarding final
participants will be announced by February 2002.
Please address all inquiries and correspondence, including applications to:
Eurasia Program, Social Science Research Council
810 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 377-2700, x459; Fax: (212) 377-2727
E-mail: eurasia@ssrc.org; Web: http://www.ssrc.org