Conference: Alevi-Bektashi Communities in the Ottoman Realm, Bogazici University, 13-15 Dec 2011‏

ALEVI-BEKTASHI COMMUNITIES IN THE OTTOMAN REALM: SOURCES, PARADIGMS AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

Program:

13.12.2011 (Tuesday)

Opening: 10:30-11.00

SESSIONS

1) The Medieval/Pre-Ottoman Background

Discussant: Cemal Kafadar, Harvard University

Panelists:

11.00-11.30 Ahmet Karamustafa, Washington University in St. Louis, "Sofu, Abdal, Dede: Kaygusuz Abdal and Vernacular Islam in Medieval Anatolia"

11.30-12.00 Ayfer Karakaya-Stump, College of William and Mary, "The Vefa'iyye, the Bektashiyye, and Genealogies of ‘Heterodox Islam' in
Anatolia: Rethinking the Köprülü Paradigm"

12.00-12.30 Coffee Break

12.30-13.00 Sara Nur Yıldız, Orient-Institut Istanbul, "Historicizing Sufi Communities in Medieval Anatolia: Reconsidering the Dominant Paradigms of Syncretism,Heterodoxy and High/Low Islam"

13.00-13.30 Mark Soileau, Mardin Artuklu Üniversitesi, "The Folk Among the Wonders: Finding Alevis in Bektashi Hagiographies"

13.30-15.00 Lunch

2) The Safavids and the Early Modern Context of the Kizilbash/Alevi Movement

Discussant: Derin Terzioğlu, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi.

Panelists:

15.00-15.30 Cornell Fleischer, University of Chicago, "The Common Parlance of Messianism and Millenarianism in Islamdom in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries"

15.30-16.00 Shahzad Bashir, Stanford University, "Seeing Red: The Kizilbash as Image and Rhetoric in Persianate Literature"

16.00-16.30 Vural Genç, İstanbul Üniversitesi, "The Battle of Chaldiran in Iranian Sources"

16.30-17.00 Coffee Break

17.00-17.30 Fariba Zarinebaf, University of California Riverside, "Shah Isma‘il Safavi in Persian, European and Ottoman Myths"

17.30-18.00 Ferenc Csirkés, University of Chicago, "The Safavid and Ottoman Reception of the Poetry of Shah Isma‘il Hatayi"

14.12.2011 (Wednesday)

3) Tekkes and Dergâhs

Discussant: Gülru Necipoğlu, Harvard University

Panelists:

10.00-10.30 Cemal Kafadar, Harvard University, "Dutlug Bolsun: Amidst Stone and Soil at the Convent of Seyyid Ali Sultan (a.k.a. Kızıl Deli)"

10.30-11.00 Zeynep Yürekli-Görkay, University of Oxford, "Haji Bektash, His Shrine and the Ottomans"

11.00-11.30 Coffee Break

11.30-12.00 Mahir Polat, İstanbul Üniversitesi, "Lost or Imaginary? Looking for the Cemevi in Ottoman Architectural History"

12.00-12.30 Frances Trix, Indiana University,"Survival Strategies for Bektashi Tekkes in the Western Balkans: Ergeri (Albania), Kalkandelen (Macedonia), Gjakova (Kosova)"

12.30-14 :00 Lunch

4) Under the Shadow of Empire: Kizilbash/Alevi and Bektashi Communities' Relations with the Ottoman and Safavid States

Discussant: Ayfer Karakaya-Stump, College of William and Mary

Panelists:

14.00-14.30 Kathryn Babayan, University of Michigan, "The Waning of the Kizilbash in Iran Revisited"

14.30-15.00 İbrahim Kaya Şahin, Tulane University "Towards an Ottoman Sunnism: Perceptions of Bektashis/Alevis/Shi‘is/Safevis in Chronicles from Aşıkpaşazade to Celalzade"

15.00-15.30 Derin Terzioğlu, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, "How to Conceptualize Ottoman Sunnitization: A Historiographical Discussion"

15.30-16.00 Coffee Break

16.00-16.30 Erdal Küçükyalçın, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, "Janissary-Bektashi Relations Revisited: Religious Symbolism in Janissary Banner-signs"

16.30-17.00 Alişan Akpınar, İstanbul Üniversitesi, "The Ottoman State's Perception of the Alevis during the Hamidian Era"

17.00-18.00 Buffet

18.30-20.00 Social Program

Dertli Divani Baba (Veli Aykut), Keynote Speaker/Performer Narrative Performance: "The Language of Alevi Hymns"


15.12.2011
(Thursday)

5) Memory, History and Construction of Identity

Discussant Arzu Öztürkmen, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi

Panelists:

10.00-10.30 Markus Dressler, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, "Rewriting Kızılbaş Alevism and Bektashism: Conceptual and Theoretical Challenges"

10.30-11.00 Ulaş Özdemir, Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi, "History Through Sacred Words: The Presence of Haji Bektash Veli in Ahl-i Haqq Lore"

11.00-11.30 Erdal Gezik, Independent Researcher, Holland, "Beyond the Limits of Writing: Construction of the Religio-Cultural Memory of Dersim Alevis"


11:30-12:00 Coffee Break


12.00-13.00 Roundtable

13.00 Closing Remarks & Visit to the Tekke of Nafi Baba (optional)

M.Phil/Ph.D. at Goldsmiths, University of London Location: London DL: 8 May 2012

The Department of History is inviting applications for 2 three-year bursaries, open to incoming students, tenable from 24 September 2012. Bursaries will be initially offered for one year and will be renewed annually, subject to satisfactory progress reports.
Deadline for applications: 5pm, Tuesday 8 May 2012
The department will waive the full-time Home/EU tuition fees otherwise payable by the student. This award is open to applications from incoming students who have been awarded a full-time place on the MPhil/PhD programme in the History department commencing in September 2012.
We also welcome applications from international students – however, the award will not exceed the home/EU fee per annum. In this instance, the bursaries will comprise fee-discount awards rather than full fee waivers.
Bursaries will be awarded on the basis of academic excellence. Consideration will also be given to allocation of awards across the spectrum of subjects studied within the department. For more details on the existing expertise in the department, see: http://www.gold.ac.uk/history/staff/
The award cannot be held in combination with an award from a Research council or similar body.
The deadline for applications is 5pm Tuesday 8 May 2012. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews on Wednesday 6 June.
In order to apply you should fill out and e-mail the PhD bursary application form to Ms Kerstin Feurle, the History Department Postgraduate Coordinator, at k.feurle (@gold.ac.uk). Please mark your e-mail with the subject heading BURSARY APPLICATION.
NB You must have first been awarded a place on MPhil/PhD programme in History before applying for a bursary.
http://www.gold.ac.uk/history/news-events/eventtitle,29788,en.php

Internship at the International Council on Human Rights Policy Location: Geneva - Switzerland DL: 15 November 2011

Interns will assist in translating short texts on human rights issues to be posted online at www.ichrp.org or communication materials. Texts will be provided in English and will need to be translated into French. Students will gain exposure, practical experience and insights into the workings of an international research institution focusing on human rights.
QUALITIES REQUIRED
 Student in 3rd year of undergraduate programme or further, trained to translate from English into French.
 Excellent attention to detail.
 Some knowledge of international relations, and possibly of human rights terminology.
 Computer literacy and familiarity with commonly used software (i.e., Microsoft Office, Internet applications).
 A high level of motivation, a responsible attitude and good organisational skills, along with the ability to work as a member of a team.
INTERNSHIP DURATION
Internships are offered for a period of eight months from mid-November 2011, early December at the latest.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
 In general, texts will be submitted once per week and will need to be translated within 48 hours after submission. Average length per week is 1000-1500 words.
 Confidential and unpublished information obtained during the internship may not be used by interns without the written authorisation of the Executive Director.
 Internships are not remunerated. (Remunerated assignments may occasionally arise. These would be subject to a separate contract.)
 Possibility to attend meetings related to the research programme at the Council.
 Interns will telecommute.
PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING
To apply for an internship, please send your CV, a translation sample and a motivation letter in French or English to Ms Axelle Devun at devun@ichrp.org (include in the subject line of your email “Translation Internship”). The deadline for applications is: 15 November 2011 by noon, Geneva time.
Please note that only shortlisted candidate will be contacted.

Internship at Girls Not Brides Location: London DL: 16 November 2011

Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage is seeking a talented and enthusiastic intern to boost the impact of its global drive for a world without child marriage. Girls Not Brides is a new global partnership initiated by The Elders that brings together a broad range of organisations from across the world working to tackle child marriage at the grassroots, national and global levels. The intern will be part of a small secretariat based in The Elders’ office in London that coordinates, supports and promotes the Girls Not Brides partnership. The internship will be for four months and would ideally start as soon as possible. This is an excellent opportunity for a talented graduate to be part of the establishment and growth of an exciting new initiative.
Applicants must be well-organised and have excellent research, writing and administration skills. He or she should have a proven interest in gender issues and human rights, as well as a demonstrable affinity with the work of Girls Not Brides. The intern will: assist the Secretariat with research on key issues relating to Girls Not Brides work; assist with contact and information management; and provide logistical/organisational support to the team.
Essential qualifications include a relevant bachelor or master’s degree, excellent written and spoken English (fluency in French would be a significant advantage), some work experience in a similar area and a keen eye for detail. A modest allowance will be offered to cover daily expenses. UK or EU university graduates and post-graduate students are welcome to apply; non-EU candidates must present a visa that permits student placement.
To apply, please send your CV as soon as possible (and before Wednesday 16 November) to Marianna.Brungs@GirlsNotBrides.org clearly stating “Application for internship” in the subject line. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis and the position will be filled as soon as possible. We regret that due to the large number of expected applications, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

EASA 2012 - "The Other" and the de-fetishization of the state, Nanterre, 10 -13 July 2012‏

CFP: "The Other" and the de-fetishization of the state

Call for papers for the 12th EASA conference in Nanterre (10 -13 July 2012). Deadline for Paper Proposals is 28 November. Propose your paper here:

http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa2012/panels.php5?PanelID=1284



Convenors

Carlo Cubero (Estonian Institute of Humanities, Tallinn University)
Klavs Sedlenieks (Riga Stradins University)
Polina Tšerkassova (Tallinn University, Estonian Institute of Humanities)
Short Abstract


This panel will discuss the contentions and compromises that characterise the relationship between individuals and the state, which lead to its de-fetishisation. We encourage contributors to examine how terms like managing diversity, social cohesion or integration are active fields of power.
Long Abstract

This workshop seeks papers that interrogate the different contentions and compromises that characterise the complex relationship between individuals and the state, which lead to de-fetishisation of the state. We are interested in papers that critique the notion of the state as an entity that secures its continuity and indisputability by infusing its power into each individual. We encourage contributors to examine different ways that anthropologists can understand the significance of state policies on homogenisation, such as social cohesion and integration policies. We are particularly interested in ethnographies that explore how individuals and social groups that are deemed as 'insufficiently integrated' or 'not educated enough' or 'underdeveloped' by the state consciously or semi-consciously employ various strategies that challenge and/or reproduce the homogenising policy of the state. We are also interested in ethnographies of the state that examine the complex ways in which policy makers contend and conform with an imagined ideal state in ways that contribute and undermine the state legitimisation and state-building project.

For example, we will discuss to what degree are terms like local and foreign, managing diversity, aliens, social cohesion, or integration are not only one-way developments but active fields where power is gained and lost, legitimised and de-legitimised. When does the lack of 'integration' becomes a 'problem' and when it can become a particular source of power leverage for those the state wants to 'domesticate'? When do action and non-action become equally powerful strategies?

18th Biennial Conference on Balkan and South Slavic Linguistics, Literature, and Folklore, University of Washington, Seattle, 29-31 March 2012‏

18th Biennial Conference on Balkan and South Slavic Linguistics, Literature, and Folklore

CALL FOR PAPERS

Abstract Submission Deadline: Friday, November 18, 2011

The 18th Biennial Conference on Balkan and South Slavic Linguistics, Literature and Folklore will take place at The University of Washington in Seattle, WA, USA, March 29-31, 2012.
The conference organizers are now accepting proposals for papers that treat some aspect of Balkan and/or South Slavic linguistics, literature, and folklore, as well as culture. Abstracts should be maximum one page, including examples and bibliography if needed (12-point font, at least 1" margins), and should be anonymous.

Abstracts should be submitted in PDF format, by email, to Bojan Belic (bojan@uw.edu). The paper title, author name(s), affiliation(s), and contact information should be given in the body of the email.

More information is available at http://depts.washington.edu/slavweb/18BSSLLF/index.php.

Questions about the conference may be directed to James Augerot (bigjim@uw.edu) or Bojan Belic (bojan@uw.edu).

MA Peace and Conflict Studies (international double degree) Kent/Marburg‏

The University of Kent and University of Marburg are now accepting applications for the international double degree programme Peace and Conflict Studies for the 2012-2013 year.

This international double award is jointly offered by the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent and the Centre for Conflict Studies at the University of Marburg. Upon successful completion of the programme students will be awarded an MA degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from Kent University and an MA degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Marburg. The two year full-time programme encompasses 120 ECTS credits (240 Kent credits). The programme includes a mandatory internship of at least 10 weeks. The Master dissertation is jointly supervised and marked by academic staff at Kent and Marburg.

This multidisciplinary programme features compulsory modules on theories of conflict, conflict resolution, research methods/methods of conflict analysis and intergroup conflicts. Optional modules cover a wide range of topics including negotiation, mediation, diplomacy, development, critical approaches to peace and conflict studies, international political economy, foreign policy, human rights and terrorism.

Students will spend the first year at Kent University and the second year at Marburg University where courses are taught in English. Thus, international students do not need to speak German to study in Marburg. Alternatively, fluent German speakers can opt to spend the first year in Marburg where compulsory courses will be taught in German and spend the second year in Canterbury. The universities do not operate on a system of deadlines for applying to this programme. We do recommend submitting applications by the end of June 2012. Nonetheless, applications received after this date will still be accepted.

Further information on modules, application requirements, fees, and scholarships is available

at http://www.uni-marburg.de/konfliktforschung/studium/international-d...

and http://www.kent.ac.uk/politics/postgraduates/taught-programmes/mape...

Please note: We can offer five stipends for German nationals. These stipends are funded by the DAAD. These stipends cover the period between September 2012 and March 2013 at Kent University. German applicants who want to be considered for one of the DAAD stipends have to add a written statement of no more than 400 words to the application. This statement should explain why the applicant wants to be considered for a DAAD stipend. German students who want to be considered for a DAAD stipend have to submit their application to Kent University by 01 June 2012. Successful applicants who receive an offer for a DAAD stipend have to both take up the stipend and register at Kent University by 16 July 2012. This stipulation applies for German nationals only who want to be considered for a DAAD grant.

German nationals can also apply for funding by the ´Auslandsbafoeg` funding scheme. If you qualify for funding, the tuition fees at Kent University can fully be covered by a grant (i.e. non-repayable funding) by the ´Auslandsbafoeg` scheme.

The Fanatic: 14 November 2011, İstanbul Şehir University, Dept of Political Science and IR, Monday // 15.00-18:00‏

Fanaticism’ and ‘the Fanatic’ are powerful mobilising tropes of national and international politics today. In his recent book On Fanaticism (2010), Alberto Toscano observes that there are few terms in our political vocabulary as damning as that of ‘the fanatic’: it ‘stands outside the frame of political rationality, possessed by a violent conviction that brooks no argument and will only rest, if ever, once every rival view or way of life is eradicated’. Dominique Colas notes in her clasic study that “civil society and fanaticism have mutually defined each other since the 16th century,” (Civil Society and Fanaticism, 1997).



Radically polysemous terms, inteligible only as weapons in specific historical circumstances, and in terms of their reciprocal influence, we seem only to know the one in terms of the other. And yet they also shift and change places: there are civil society fanatics as much as there have been fanatical enemies of civil society. Whereas many dismiss the fanatic as obscuring or inflaming political disagreement, the discourse of the fanatic may instead also illuminate the theory as well as the practcies of politics and power in penetrating ways.



During the last 20 years, a new wave of thinkers have mobilised the figure of the fanatic as a means of re-visiting such core political problems as the relationship between religion and politics, faith and knowledge, theory and practice, reason and revolution, civil society and the state. This symposium explores the figure of the fanatic in political, historical and cultural discourse. What are the promise and the threat of the fanatic today? How can we trace its emergence or repression through the history of modernity? Who or what takes the place of the fanatic both historically and today – the Jew, the Muslim, the Christian, the communist, the terrorist, the liberal, the capitalist, or even the philosopher and the theologian?



Abir Hamdar (Lancaster University, UK)

Bülent Diken (Lancaster University, UK)

Julian Reid (University Of Lapland, Finland)

Kemal Sayar (Marmara University, Istanbul)

Michael Dillon (İstanbul Şehir University, Istanbul)







Symposium will be conducted in English



Time: November 14, 2011 - Monday // 15.00-18:00

Venue: Istanbul Şehir University Altunizade Campus Conference Hall

İstanbul Şehir University

Department of Political Science and International Relations http://www.sehir.edu.tr/en/Pages/Homepage.aspx

Discourse / Conversation / Communication Conference, Loughborough, UK‏

"Discourse / Conversation / Communication", International conference, Loughborough University, UK, 21-23 March 2012

Confirmed plenary speakers: Michael Billig, David Buckingham, David Deacon, Paul Drew, Derek Edwards, Peter Golding, Jim McGuigan, Angela McRobbie, Graham Murdock, Michael Pickering, Jonathan Potter, Teun A. Van Dijk, Liesbet Van Zoonen.

CALL FOR PAPERS
We invite submissions for individual papers that engage with empirical and theoretical topics in communication studies, discourse analysis, conversation analysis, media studies, social interaction, or cultural studies. Preference will be given to papers that address in original ways the promises and challenges or research in these areas.

Possible topics include:
* cultural economies and media industries
* popular culture and cultural history
* identity, difference and communication
* political communication
* communication and social exclusion
* media and religion
* memory and media
* comparative media research
* political and nationalist discourse
* discursive psychology
* membership categorization analysis
* conversation analysis

Abstracts should be up to 350 words in length and written in English. Only one abstract as single / first author will be accepted from any one individual.

Please submit your Abstract via Loughborough University's Conference Administration page: http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~ssca1/DCconf2012/DC2012home.html.

Deadline for Abstracts: 1st December, 2011.

Looking forward to meeting you in Loughborough!
***
Dr. Sabina Mihelj
Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies
BSc Communication and Media Studies Programme Director
Department of Social Sciences
Brockington Building
Loughborough University
LE11 3TU Loughborough
UK

Url: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ss/staff/mihelj.html

The Institute for Advanced Study, Paris (IAS), long-term fellowships‏

The Institute for Advanced Study – Paris (IAS-Paris) invites you to
submit applications for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years for
five- or nine-month residencies. Longer stays (i.e. nine months) are
given priority for 2013-2014. IAS-Paris is planning to host about
fifteen guest researchers for 2012-2013 and about twenty-five guest
researchers for 2013-2014 to work on research projects of their choice.

*Deadline for applications: 20 January 2012.*

Eligible applicants:

- High-level international researchers in the humanities and social
sciences (HSS)
- Postdoctoral researchers that hold a position in a university or
research centre (having held a doctorate for at least three years, plus
a minimum three years of full-time research experience)

Applicants may request residencies for the following periods:

• 1 September 2012 to 31 January 2013 or
• 1 October 2012 to 30 June 2013 or
• 1 February to 30 June 2013

• 1 September 2013 to 31 January 2014 or
• 1 October 2013 to 30 June 2014 (requests for nine-month residencies
are given priority for the 2013-2014 academic year) or
• 1 February to 30 June 2014

The application, in English or French, is submitted via an online
application system. Paper applications are not accepted.

The online application is comprised of the following:

– Completed application form
– Curriculum vitae and list of publications (20 pages maximum)
– Information on your research project (between 5 and 10 pages / 1,000
to 2,000 words), including:
. A selected bibliography on the topic
. A statement on current or potential partnerships with institutions or
researchers based in France
– Two separate project summaries, one in English and one in French, of
1,500 characters / 200 words maximum, including the project’s title

Further information: Please see the section "Becoming a fellow".

Discipline(s): Humanities and social sciences
http://www.paris-iea.fr/en/evenement/appel-candidature-iea-paris-pour-les-annees-universitaires-2012-2013-et-2013-2014

Rethinking the Self: Transnational and Transdisciplinary Bioethical and Biopolitical Concerns, Helsinki, 10–12 April 2012‏

Rethinking the Self: Transnational and Transdisciplinary Bioethical and
Biopolitical Concerns
International symposium at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies,
University of Helsinki, Finland, 10–12 April 2012.

Keynote speakers include Prof. Beverley Skeggs, Goldsmiths, University
of London, UK, and Dr. Jenny Slatman, Maastricht University, the
Netherlands.

This international and interdisciplinary symposium addresses how
cultural, medical and political understandings of the self are shifting
and changing in contemporary societies. It explores how humanness is
imagined and conceived in various symbolic systems of knowledge, and how
gender, disability, class and ethnicity articulate these understandings.
With a particular focus on how ideas of the flesh and national identity
reconfigure experiences of the embodied self, the symposium aims to
bring together scholars whose work engages with issues that range from
medical and cultural technologies, globalisation, migration and
neoliberalism to phenomenology and ethics, political ideologies and
subjectivities, and theories of social transformation.

This symposium aims to create a transdisciplinary dialogue regarding the
local and global changing understandings of and practices related to the
self by bringing together speakers from a broad range of cultural,
methodological, national, disciplinary and transnational foci. It seeks
to further conversations and research on topical and vexing questions of
the self, especially in relation to recent medical, cultural,
technological, political, social and neo-colonial developments. With an
emphasis on the biopolitics of bodies, machines and institutional
structures, the symposium also addresses the ethics of human selfhood,
specifically how we define the human and what is at stake in our
definitions of this now global being.

We welcome submissions for papers, poster-presentations and artwork from
a broad range of disciplines and fields of research. Topics can include,
but are not limited to:

* Theories and technologies of the self
* Community belonging and violence
* Contemporary medical therapies, technologies and ethics (organ
donation and transplantation, gene therapy, HIV therapies, etc.)
* Class dimensions of the self
* The self, disability and monstrosity
* Self harm and narratives of the self
* Medicalised race theories
* Gender, sexuality and queering the self
* Phenomenology, the senses and an embodied sense of self
* Ethics and the ethics of the human

If you would like to participate, please submit an abstract of no more
than 300 words and a brief biography (max. 100 words) to Suvi
Salmenniemi (suvi.salmenniemi[at]helsinki.fi) and Donna McCormack
(donna.mccormack[at]helsinki.fi) by *1st December 2011*. For more
information, see
http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/events/rethinking-the-self.htm

Conference: Identity in the era of Globalization and Europeanization, Skopje, 3-4 November 2011‏

International conference Identity in the era of globalization and europeanization to be held in Skopje, 3-4 November 2011, organized by the Institute for sociological, political and juridical research and Institute of sociology, Faculty of Philosophy of the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, R. Macedonia.

http://isppi.ukim.edu.mk/FTP/Pokana%20A4-2.pdf

Conference: Debating the End of Yugoslavia, University of Graz, 4-6 November 2011‏

South East European Dialogues (SEED): Debating the End of Yugoslavia
Centre for Southeast European Studies, Karl-Franzens-University Graz
4-6 November 2011


The Centre for Southeast European Studies is organizing the international conference “Debating the End of Yugoslavia” from 4-6 November 2011.

2011 is the 20th anniversary of the disintegration of Yugoslavia, providing for an opportunity to reflect on this event which not only shaped the region, but also Europe at large.

The conference constitutes the most important academic event on this occasion this year. Instead of discussing the dissolution again, the conference is taking an innovative approach. On the first and second day, (4 & 5.11.) eye witnesses remember and reflect on the dissolution of Yugoslavia. This includes politicians, journalists, diplomats and other personalities from public life. The recollections of eye witnesses are commented by scholars, who provide a background and open a discussion. On the second and third day (5 & 6.11.), some 35 leading historians, sociologists, lawyers, anthropologists, political scientists and economists from former Yugoslavia, the rest of Europe and North America discuss the state of scholarly debate.

The conference is thus not just a conference on the dissolution of Yugoslavia, but also aims at identifying new directions for research. In addition to the interdisciplinary perspectives, the conference also brings together senior scholars with younger researchers and provides for a dialogue on these issues between scholars from former Yugoslavia.

During the conference, the university museum will host an exhibition of the Design Studio Trio (Sarajevo), which has designed iconic posters, magazine covers and ads over the past 20 years.

Programme available at: http://www.uni-graz.at/en/opv1www/events-2.opv1www-newpage?=

ECMI MMTE Research Internship

Minority Map and Timeline of Europe (MMTE) Research Internship Announcement
http://bit.ly/sbPzLn

MMTE Staff

Out-of-house Research Intern

1. Role/Tasks:

1.1. Research and write upon one country-minority entry
1.2 Update information on country-minority entries
1.3 Update information on other websites and add links to the MMTE

2. Position:
2.1 Three full-time positions/one four-month internship period

3. Remittance
3.1 Research will be contracted on a paid basis

Responsibilities

The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) is currently seeking three out-of-house interns for a four-month paid internship period from January to April 2012 to undertake research for the newly redesigned Minority Map and Timeline of Europe (MMTE). In collaboration with the General Coordinator and Project Leader/Editor, interns will research and write upon one country-minority entry with the use of the Minority Map and Timeline of Europe (MMTE) Template. Interns will have the opportunity to choose which country they would like to research upon, this being dependent upon if the country-minority entry has not already been completed. While interns may research upon a country they are not residing in, it is highly sought after that interns have very good knowledge of their chosen country-minority entry. Through both primary and secondary data use, will write upon the general environment/relations of the country and government concerning its minority population as well as further examining major communities living throughout the country. Responsibilities will also include locating statistical data concerning population numbers for the interactive map as well as writing events for the interactive timeline. During the internship, interns will update other information when necessary as well as add information from the MMTE and links to relevant websites.

Skills/Knowledge

Out-of-house interns will generally be based in the country that is being researched upon for the country-minority entry. Internships are intended for junior scholars who have recently finished a second degree (i.e master's degree) in a pertinent discipline, and who have researched upon and have exposure to one of the regions, countries, and/or minorities of the Minority Map and Timeline of Europe. As research will be performed out-of-house, it is important that the applicant is able to work independently and meet deadlines. For these reasons, interns must have regular access to a computer, a reliable broadband Internet access, be able to commit to a full-time workload, and be willing to use Skype and e-mail during the internship period. The intern must be organized and have excellent communcations skills. Excellent English skills are required for this internship, while other language skills, particularly in the country of study, are extremely valuable.

Application by e-mail only, no phone calls please

Please provide a letter of motivation titled "MMTE Research Internship", curriculum vitae, three reference details (including contact details/e-mail addresses), and short writing sample (5-7 pages), which may be an excerpt of an academic paper (not edited by someone else) that demonstrates knowledge of the regions, countries and/or minorities (in general or upon the intern's specific choice) or other relevant disciplines, as well as English language competence. Applicants should also provide a list of three country-minority entries they are interested in researching upon. Applicants that are not selected for the internship period will be entered in a roster for future internship possibilities.

Dates/Contact

Due date for submissions: 25 November 2011

Short-listed applicants will be contacted by: 9 December 2011

Please forward all application materials to: William McKinney, mckinney@ecmi.de

Narratives and Practices of Informality Panel, IUAES Commissions on Urban Anthropology and on Enterprise Anthropology‏

At the heart of this panel lays the use of informal practices that both generate(re)distribution of welfare in countries marked by structural inequality and help coping with a-symmetric socio-economic relations or changing demographic patterns in divided societies. Complex and comprehensive informal practices may create, or contribute to create, a more equitable system functioning parallel to state-driven welfare distribution. This may be the case when a substantial number of actors engage systematically with them. The alternative system generated may be seen as persistent and unofficially reshaping central policies, especially when not tailored for context and place, or distinct categories of citizens.


Most studies on socio-political discontent concentrate on its visible mobilization, such as street protests or electoral preferences, whilst neglecting actions that do not overtly challenge both the real and the symbolic order a state is based upon. Starting from Scott's (1984) conceptualisation of the art of silent and non-organised resistance this panel aims to add on two interpretative frameworks. One is that silent resistance is not necessarily a temporary solution for a citizen-led (re)negotiation policy, for it may be seen as modifying that very policy in the medium or long term. The other is that once a new political measure acquires a more persistent nature it may be seen as a solution to structural inequalities and national (socio-economic) threats.


This panel is primarily intended to show the persistent and/or systemic nature of the informal sector. It will bring together empirically based accounts of and on its specific capability to prompt redistribution of welfare not only in low income countries but also in better off ones (including EU member states). The main aim is to suggest that informal practices are not necessarily depending on economic (under)development. Contributions that draw on ethnographically based accounts of informal practices are welcome.






INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

ISSUES OF LEGITIMACY:
Entrepreneurial Culture, Corporate Responsibility and Urban Development

Naples, Italy, 10-14 September 2012

Convened by:
IUAES Commissions on Urban Anthropology and on Enterprise Anthropology

With the Collaboration of:
University of Naples Federico II; University of Naples 2; Media Group Il Denaro;
Brazilian Anthropological Association; Centro de Investigationes y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social, Mexico; China Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences; China Commission on Urban Anthropology; Colegio de Etnólogos y Antropologos Sociales, Mexico; Indian Anthropological Association; International Association of Southeast European Anthropology; IUAES Commission on Anthropology of Women.

General Outline

Over the last three decades, the crisis, and subsequent de-legitimization, of polarized political ideologies which had characterized international politics since the Second World War has apparently brought about the supremacy of economics over politics, and an acceleration of economic globalization. While it has became gradually clear that, cross-culturally, such supremacy and acceleration are not overarching phenomena and their predominance cannot be taken for granted, it has also become clear that in such a climate national policies struggle to take on board individual and corporate interests, demands from local communities and, most problematically, international regulations. To complicate matters further, all too often such international regulations prove to be inspired by concepts that are ambiguous, elusive, badly defined or impossible to apply, thus compounding on the perceived weak legitimacy of governance and the law in the broader society.

In today’s increasingly competitive global economic scenario, urban settings are a dominant form of associated life that encapsulate the socio-economic impact of increasingly significant international regulations and flows of capital and people. By and large, governance and the law have generally failed to meet constructively the challenge posed by the complexities and implications of this world-wide phenomenon, thus raising a critical problematic of both legitimacy and legitimation.

If our understanding of human beings in society is to share the responsibility of a complex view, we must take very seriously the interplay between personal morality and belief and civic responsibility, and between value and action. This requires, in the first place, an informed awareness of the vanity of the monist approach to the complex ways in which people merge social morality and personal choice into practices that observably recognize more than the self. We are invited to distinguish individual action that, motivated by selfish instrumentalism, has no civic value from individual action that fulfils personal interest on a practical and moral level. In this second case we must ask whether individual-oriented necessarily means individualistic. An astute answer to this question needs to steer well away from the cultural determinism of the conceptual opposition of the individual to society that forces the Hegelian concept of plurality — to be human is to be part of the human community, alone one is inexistent — into an ideological opposition between being in community (i.e., belonging to) and being cum community (i.e., being together with). This kind of strong perspectivism about morality and rational choice informs the dominant definition of membership of society and, classically, of non-membership, or indeed undeserving membership. It is based on a circular argument obnoxious to reason and observation — a begged question, in fact a succession of begged questions. Broadly recognizing that in today’s world individual action generally takes place in a context marked by imperfect competition, constraints and inequality, it would be difficult to argue that these conditions are pre-determined, through culture or formal location in terms of production and consumption; nor could they be described as fixed and self-perpetuating, may be with people’s unwitting complicity.

Anthropological analysis of diverse ethnographies has brought to light strong entrepreneurial cultures firmly rooted in the morality and ramifications, in practical life, of a strong continuous interaction between the material and the non material. A major task of this Conference will be to reflect on the significance, ramifications and impact, or potential impact, on the broader society of such an empirical sine qua non. The key role that the varied forms of individual and collective entrepreneurialism, and the attendant culture and social impact, have to play in such a scenario is much too often frustrated by the aforementioned perspectivism. Eschewing confusion between individuality and individualism, anthropologists have highlighted key aspects of entrepreneurialism that point to the naivety of the economic maximization view. They have demonstrated the moral and cultural complexity of individual action, bringing out the social value of entrepreneurialism. They have also demonstrated how misplaced or instrumentally selective moralities in policy and in the production and enforcement of the law both play a critical role in such a failure, encourage exclusion, and are key in the widening gap between governance and the governed across the world. It is critical, however, to move further.

Through empirically based analyses, this Conference will explore these complex issues widely, in Western and non-Western settings, in relation to five broad themes. They are:

1. Access to Credit, Entrepreneurialism and the Law: Problematic Issues for Enterprise;

2. Cross Cultural and Ethnic Business in Mixed Cities;

3. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Urban Development;

4. Entrepreneurialism, Neo-Liberalism and Socio-Economic Policy;

5. Women Entrepreneurs: Between Socio-Cultural Hindrance, Challenged Integration and Economic Success.

AAOC's First International Conference, Kean University’s Human Rights Institute, 12 November 2011‏

We are pleased to announce the first international conference organized at Kean University’s Human Rights Institute in New Jersey on November 12, 2011. The theme of the conference is:

Chameria Issue: International Perspectives and Insights for a Peaceful Resolution
AAOC's First International Conference on Chameria
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Kean University
University Center Theatre Hall
11 am - 2:00 pm.
1000 Morris Avenue
Union, New Jersey 07083

The Albanian American Organization Chameria is an nonprofit organization of Albanian-American citizens who are born in Chameria (northwestern Greece) and individuals of Cham descent that have as main mission the resolution of the Chameria issue.

The post-WWII and post-Cold War period have been a period of ethnic conflict, which, amongst other things has manifested itself in the ways of wars and continuous tensions in Southeastern Europe. After Kosovo's independence, how has the continuous presence of Chameria issue affected the regional peace in the region, and more broadly what can be done to achieve a peaceful solution to the ethnic Albanians issue in the Balkans? Abstracts or paper drafts are welcomed on topics that are specific or relevant to the Chameria issue or other ethnic minorities in Greece, and Greek-Albanian relations in general. Special guest panelists will include Prof. James Pettifer from the UK, member of the Oxford University History Faculty & St Cross College and Stanley J. Seeger Research Fellow at Princeton University; Prof. Sali Bollati, and other international academics and representatives.

Admission to the event is free. All inquiries regarding program details should be sent to: chameriaorganization@gmail.com <mailto:chameriaorganization@gmail.com>

Please feel free to forward this message to your colleagues as well. Thank you.


Warmest Regards,

Ilir Ademi

Vice-Director
Albanian American Organization Chameria
www.chameriaorganization.org<http://www.chameriaorganization.org/>
Telephone:+1 (773) 742-8803
Email: chameriaorganization@gmail.com

EU Energy Security and its Geopolitical Challenges, The International Journal of Energy Security and Environmental Research‏

Inaugural Special Issue for
The International Journal of Energy Security and Environmental Research.
Publisher: Nikolaos Markoulakis (Nottingham Trent University)

Special Issue Editors:
Dr. Diana Bozholova, AKC (King’s College London)
Tom Hashimoto, LL.M. (Vistula University, Warsaw; University of Tartu, Estonia)

Co-conveners of Study Group on Energy within the UACES-BASEES CRN on EU-Russia Relations are cordially inviting abstracts, papers and inquiries for the above inaugural special issue on EU energy security and its geopolitical challenges.

While the editors are primarily interested in scholarly works which explore a wide range of impacts on EU-Russia relations from energy-related perspectives, we also invite analyses on the place of common interests such as the Caspian region and the Middle East. Thematically, the submissions are expected to be spread from natural gas and oil to nuclear and renewable energy.



Please note that our approach to both energy security and geopolitics is interdisciplinary. Works which combine various methodologies are highly encouraged to be a part of our project. The Journal is peer-reviewed.

Topics of interest include:

How does the development of the Nord Stream project influence the European Neighbourhood Policy? What would be the Russian objectives in this project?

Is there a new set of challenges on energy security in the EU due to ethnically motivated conflicts in the Western Balkans? Can Romania and Bulgaria be new key players in the region for energy geopolitics?

How does the Law and Economics approach to the energy security increase the efficiency of EU management? What would be the consequences of efficient EU energy policy on EU-Russia relations?

DEADLINE (First Draft)

10 January, 2012 – the first draft to the special issue editors (for publication in March/April)

Submission of abstracts and informal inquiries to the special issue editors are highly encouraged. For speedy communication, weencourage the abstracts to reach us by 15 November, 2011 via diana.bozhilova@kcl.ac.uk.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This inaugural special issue is linked with the UACES-BASEES CRN workshop on Energy, held on 11 November at the Bulgarian Embassy in London. The publisher as well as the special issue editors will be present for a small journal presentation and following inquiries. The workshop is open for public, but please let us (diana.bozhilova@kcl.ac.uk) know in advance.

Communications Intern at the European Rail Industry Location: Brussels DL: 1 November 2011

Trainee – Railway Systems Unit

UNIFE is looking for a trainee for a period of between 4 and 6 months to start as soon as possible, the latest in September 2011. The trainee will be part of the Railway Systems Unit of UNIFE, which supports UNIFE members in standardisation, regulation and R&D at European level.

Deadline for submissions is 23 August 2011
More information here

Communications Intern

UNIFE, the European Rail Industry, is looking for an intern in the Communications Unit. The candidate will assist in event organisation and editing UNIFE publications. He/she will report directly to the Head of Communications.

Only candidates available for an interview in Brussels will be considered.
Deadline: 1 November 2011
More information here

Traineeships at the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion Location: Luxembourg DL: 20 November 2011

Traineeships at the ESPON Coordination Unit Luxembourg


25 October 2011 - The ESPON Coordination Unit is looking for two trainees for a period of 5 months to join our international team, starting preferably in the beginning of February 2012.
The ESPON 2013 Programme

ESPON is a network providing European observation and evidence on territorial development and cohesion. The activities are implemented as a programme under the Structural Funds 2007-2013 and the objective of European territorial cooperation. The mission is to enhance European knowledge, data and indicators on territorial structures, trends, perspectives and impacts of sector policies which can meet policy demand related to EU Cohesion Policy and be useful for policy makers and practitioners around Europe.

The ESPON 2013 Programme is the second generation of ESPON. The budget of this programme amounts to around 47 million Euros in total. All 27 EU Member States as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are partners in the programme, which is managed by the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructures, Department for Spatial Development of Luxembourg. The European Commission is playing an active advisory role during the programme implementation.

Applied research projects and targeted analyses, defined by stakeholders and based on ESPON results, will be carried through until the end of 2013 by contracting Transnational Project Groups composed of scientists and consultants. A scientific platform for European territorial research shall be further developed, including the ESPON Database, tools and territorial indicators. The awareness and capitalisation of comparable information on European regions shall be ensured through publications and events etc. at European and transnational level.

You can find more detailed information about the ESPON 2013 Programme and the existing ESPON achievements and results on www.espon.eu.
The ESPON Coordination Unit

The ESPON CU will by end 2011 include 14 staff members and 2 trainees.

The CU is located in Luxembourg City, 5-10 minutes walk from the train station.
The job for the trainees

The ESPON CU offers a five-month period of training for young academics in the final stage of their university studies related to territorial development and planning, geography, regional economics, European studies, political science and/or other relevant fields.

The work in the CU is organised in three clusters each dealing with a key area of the implementation of the ESPON 2013 Programme: 1) Programme, Finance and Budget, 2) Project Development and Coordination and 3) Capitalisation, Publication and Analysis.

During the traineeship period one trainee will be involved mainly in tasks related to the cluster on Capitalisation, Publication and Analysis. The other trainee will mainly be involved in tasks of the cluster related to Programme, Finance and Budget. The trainee jobs will accordingly include a variety of tasks related to the ESPON 2013 Programme.

The current development of the ESPON 2013 Programme requires an enhanced effort concerning the communication and publication of ESPON results. A commitment in the Capitalisation Cluster will therefore be required. Some support to the Project Cluster is also envisaged, among others, to support the preparation of responses on project reports.

The work in the Programme, Finance and Budget cluster includes a variety of financial and administrative tasks.

Both trainees might as well be involved in dissemination tasks related to the implementation of the communication plan, support the organization of events and preparation of meetings, seminars and workshops.

Please note that an allowance of 1.000 Euro per month will be available. It should be treated as an indemnity to support your living expenses while training at the ESPON CU.
Your profile

You are a student registered at a university during the entire period of the traineeship and carry a passport from Member States of the European Union or from Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein (full partners in the ESPON programme).

Applicants should demonstrate:
Interest and some knowledge in relation to European cooperation in the field of EU Structural Funds, regional policy and/or spatial development and planning, geography, regional economics, European studies, political science, public administration, communications and/or other fields related to territorial development.
Motivation for learning and contributing to management, financial and administrative tasks, to content-related tasks related to project development and coordination as well as tasks related to communication and capitalisation on programme activities.
Attention to detail and accuracy, capability to meet pre-defined deadlines, ability to quickly grasp new tasks would be irreplaceable in order to fulfil her/his tasks and duties successfully.
An excellent understanding and fluency in spoken and written English and preferably good communication skills in other languages.
Strong interpersonal skills, being keen team players, capable of taking direction and working on their own initiative, consulting if needed, open and capable of working in a complex multicultural environment, involvement in performing tasks and accuracy.
Knowledge and experience of working with Microsoft Office.

For persons interested in the cluster on Capitalisation, Publication and Analysis traineeship, experience in desk research (i.e. finding relevant literature and synthesising it) will be a key asset. Furthermore, with specific regard to the capitalisation activities, good communication skills and experience of promotional/marketing activities will be an advantage.

For persons interested in the post related to the Programme, Finance and Budget cluster traineeship specific attention will be devoted to candidates presenting administrative flair and motivation related to project management or financial management. For both trainees’ communication competences, and experience in reporting, preparing presentations and organizing events will be considered an advantage.
How to apply

Your application shall include the following:
A motivation letter in English – not longer than 1 page. Your motivation letter may include the following: Why you would like to be a trainee at the ESPON CU? Which personal assets do you feel you can bring to the ESPON CU? Your expectations for the traineeship: what you hope to learn from it?
Your Curriculum Vitae in English– not longer than 3 pages;
A profile table duly filled-in (available below).

All the above mentioned documents are to be sent by e-mail to traineeship@espon.eu. Please specify in the subject of the e-mail the following information: “Your First Name and Last Name – Profile you are applying for* - ESPON TRAINEESHIP APPLICATION”.

*Profile A: Capitalisation, Publication and Analysis cluster.

*Profile B: Programme, Finance and Budget cluster.

Deadline for submitting an application is 20 November 2011.

You will be informed, latest by the end of December, about the outcome of the selection. Please be informed that copies of your relevant university certificates and diplomas as well a proof of being registered at your University will be necessary for the contracting, in case you are selected.

The ESPON Programme applies the principle of equal opportunities between men and women.
Further information

You can get further information about the job and the ESPON Coordination Unit by contacting:

Alexandra Frangenheim (e-mail: alexandra.frangenheim@espon.eu)

Veronika Tóth (e-mail: veronika.toth@espon.eu)

Fellowships at the JAMS Foundation Location: San Francisco, CA, USA DL: 2 December 2011

Weinstein International Fellowship
The Weinstein International Fellowship program, inaugurated in 2008, provides opportunities for individuals from outside the United States to visit the U.S. to learn more about dispute resolution processes and practices and to pursue a project of their own design that serves to advance the resolution of disputes in their home countries.

The JAMS Foundation Board of Directors will approve Fellowships of up to $25,000 in support of projects outlined by Fellowship applicants. This program is intended to be flexible and open to innovation, and applicants are encouraged to develop proposals that will increase the availability of dispute resolution education, training and services in their home countries and beyond.

During their time in the U.S., Fellows will spend some of their time at a JAMS Resolution Center. Depending on the nature of their proposal, Fellows may also participate in a university program or be connected to other organizations or institutions. Such affiliations can take may forms, from formal enrollment in graduate degree programs to more informal arrangements providing varying degrees of access and support. Applicants are strongly encouraged to research and establish such affiliations prior to or concurrent with their Fellowship application. While the JAMS Foundation will make every effort to facilitate introductions where possible, it is Applicant’s responsibility to identify and establish affiliations with organizations with which they plan to work or study.

Fellowships may be from one month to one year in duration.

It is anticipated that Fellows will come from countries that do not have an established culture of using mediation for cases in litigation. Part of the Fellows’ time in the United States will be spent observing how JAMS administers and resolves such cases.

Criteria
Applicants must be fluent in English
Fellowship period must be one month to twelve months in duration
Applicants must be available to attend a week-long gathering of Fellows in the San Francisco Bay Area in early September, 2012
Preference for proposals that would help applicant’s home country establish viable dispute resolution systems or change how disputes are resolved
Preference for applicants who have experience as lawyers, law professors, court administrators, government officers, ADR practitioners, or judgesInformation Sought From Applicant
Purpose and goal of Fellowship
Anticipated activity or activities in the U.S.
Proposed duration and location(s) of Fellowship
Plan for accomplishing Fellowship objectives upon return to home country
Educational background
Dispute resolution training and experience
Organizations or institutions with which you are affiliated in your home country
Organizations or institutions with which you expect to be affiliated while in the U.S.
Amount of funding sought and proposed budget regarding use of funds
Other sources of funding available, applied for, or awarded
Additional non-monetary resources or support requested from the JAMS Foundation
Current visa status for entry into U.S. (visa type, expiration date)Please note that pursuant to U.S. State Department regulations, the JAMS Foundation is not an approved ‘Sponsor’ with regard to the issuance of visas to foreign nationals. While the JAMS Foundation will make every effort to help facilitate visa applications of Weinstein Fellows, Fellows are individually responsible for obtaining the necessary visa for the purposes and duration of their Fellowship.

Please also note that pursuant to U.S. Internal Revenue Service regulations, Fellowship funding is subject to taxation as income. This tax may be affected by a number of factors, including recipient’s country of origin, whether that country has a tax treaty with the U.S., and the purpose for which Fellowship funds are used. Additional information regarding the taxation of income to foreign nationals is available at www.irs.gov.

Fellowship applications for 2012 will be reviewed by the JAMS Foundation Board of Directors at their first quarterly meeting on January 27, 2012. Applications must be received by December 2, 2011 in order to be eligible for consideration, and may be submitted electronically or in hard copy.

Complete application submissions include the following:
Fellowship application form
Curriculum Vitae
Two signed letters of recommendation
Letters of recommendation may be included with your application or sent directly from the recommending party. If submitted electronically, signed letters must be scanned and sent in PDF or comparable format.

Fellowship awards will be announced in March, 2012. For more information visit this link.