Interruptions, Reactions and Continuities in Central and Eastern Europe, 11th International Postgraduate Conference on Central and Eastern Europe, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London, 15-17 February 2012‏

The 11th International Postgraduate Conference on Central and Eastern
Europe. The School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University
College London
15-17 February 2012
Crises have been common in the history of Central and Eastern Europe. The
term crisis implies that a particular order, whether financial, social or
political is thrown into a state of flux. The resultant instability
usually forces those affected to react to the disturbance and reassert a
sense of equilibrium. By unravelling the operation of social and political
mechanisms that are normally taken for granted, crises give rise to a
number of questions: Were crises preceded by a generally accepted order?
How did individuals confronted with a crisis react to the new state of
affairs? Were their attempts successful or has instability remained?
This conference examines the concept of crisis from a plethora of
disciplinary angles within the Central and Eastern European context. It
offers a platform for discussing a complex set of interactions,
interruptions and continuities that various forms of crises provoke.
The conference invites postgraduate students and early career researchers
in the Humanities and Social Sciences to take part in an interdisciplinary
debate about the nature, meaning, causes and results of crises in Central
and Eastern Europe, including South-East Europe, Russia and the countries
of the former USSR. The disciplines include, but are not limited to,
anthropology, art history, cultural and literary studies, economics,
geography, history (medieval to modern), linguistics, politics and
sociology. We particularly encourage comparative and multidisciplinary
perspectives, as well as proposals using new research methodologies.
We look forward to receiving submissions on topics including but not
limited to the following areas:
• financial and economic crises;
• social crises, gender and sexuality struggles, crises of memory and
identity, crises of
values, crisis of political activism;
• environmental and energy crises;
• existential crises, crises of the subject, philosophical, religious and
confessional crises;
• representation of crises in literature, film and drama
• institutional, political and security crises, crises of regime,
succession and legitimacy, crises of empire;
• urban crises, rural and agrarian crises.
Paper abstracts of up to 300 words and a brief biography should be sent
with full contact details (E-mail, Telephone, Postal Address) to
postgradconference2012@gmail.com. Paper presentations should not exceed
twenty minutes. The language of the conference is English. A selection of
papers will appear in a separate Conference publication.
Further information will be available on the following website in due course:
http://www.ssees.ucl.ac.uk/postgradconf2012.htm