CES-EUC: July 2008 Archives

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July 29, 2008

Journal: Biological Constraints on the Literary Imagination

Call for Papers

Biological Constraints on the Literary Imagination

We are soliciting essays for a special journal issue dedicated to what could broadly be labelled "evolutionary literary studies" -- an emerging field of scholarship that has (arguably) been amongst the most innovative and controversial contributions to literary studies in recent years. Although evolutionary criticism is a far from homogeneous "school", most of the work done from this perspective shares a thematic, content-centred focus. Often drawing on the findings of traditional sociobiology, whose main interest is to trace echoes of our ancestral past in the experience and behaviour of modern humans, critics have explored character, plot structure and stylistic features of literary texts with view to explaining them as expressions of adaptive functions.

Hence scholars have read nineteenth-century novels in terms of mate choice, explained the Byronic hero of Romantic and post-Romantic literature by referring to the selective pressures of sexual attraction and investigated fairy tales for their concurrence with notions of beauty shaped by an evolutionary calculus. However, in equating such fictional realities with ancestral conditions of an evolutionary past, such readings not only fall prey to a simplistic mimeticism, they also run the risk of becoming formulaic, reductive and predictable, confirming the same suspicions raised against evolutionary perspectives on art by their critics.

With this projected special issue, by contrast, we wish to go beyond such thematic investigations and instead explore how evolution can help to explain intrinsic features of literary aesthetics not only with regard to the production of literature, but also on the level of its reception. By emphasising this dimension, we hope to extend the scope of evolutionary literary criticism beyond the predictable interpretations currently en vogue and make it available to a genuinely literary scholarship.

Proposed articles should consider the following questions:

- What are the biological foundations of literary fictions and why do humans have the desire to create and consume them?
- How are textual features and adaptive cognitive algorithms (the evolved architecture of the human brain) related?
- How does the literary inventory of textual features reflect these algorithms and what does literature implicitly presuppose about the human brain?

Potential contributions may be informed by the concerns of cognitive narratology and cognitive poetics as well as take a more specifically evolutionary angle. When employing adaptationist explanations, the essays should take into account the sophisticated standard of evolutionary psychology as established by (and developed since) the volume "The Adapted Mind" in 1992, notably its emphasis on the differentiation between ultimate and proximate causes (adaptive value and actual function) and reveal an awareness that adaptive algorithms may perform completely different functions, or even turn out to be dysfunctional, in a modern cultural environment.

Please submit 300-word abstracts by 1 September 2008 to Prof. Dr. Anja Müller-Wood (wood@uni-mainz.de) and Dr. Katja Mellmann (katja.mellmann@germanistik.uni-muenchen.de).

Dr. Katja Mellmann
Institut für deutsche Philologie Schellingstraße 3 D-80799 München
katja.mellmann@germanistik.uni-muenchen.de
http://www.mellmann.org

Posted by sjearlds at 11:08 AM

DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship Program

AICGS is now accepting applications for the next round of DAAD
fellowships. The application deadline for Spring 2009 (January 2009 -
June 2009) is August 31, 2008.

The DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship Program, funded by a generous grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), is designed to bring scholars and specialists working on Germany, Europe, and/or transatlantic relations to AICGS for research stays of two months each. Fellowships include a monthly stipend of up to $4,725, depending on the seniority of the applicant, transportation to and from Washington, and office space at the Institute.

Please note that the DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship supports fellows
conducting research at AICGS in Washington, D.C. We are unable to
support research in Germany/Europe.

DAAD/AICGS Research Fellows will be expected to produce a short
analytical essay that will be published on the AICGS website and
distributed via the Institute's bimonthly email newsletter, The AICGS
Advisor http://www.aicgs.org/analysis/advisor/index.aspx . For fellows producing research output of exceptional quality and interest, AICGS will provide opportunities for public presentations to the broader Washington policy community.

Project proposals should address a topic closely related to one or more of the Institute's three research and programming areas:
1. Business and Economics
2. Foreign and Domestic Policy
3. Society, Culture, and Politics

Special consideration will be given to research projects addressing the Institute's current and future project emphases
http://www.aicgs.org/projects2/ within these areas. Projects should
also be compatible with and supportive of the AICGS Mission, which is to strengthen the German-American relationship in an evolving Europe and changing world. The Institute produces objective and original analyses of developments and trends in Germany, Europe, and the United States; creates new transatlantic networks; and facilitates dialogue among the business, political, and academic communities to manage differences and define and promote common interests.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
http://www.aicgs.org/fellowships/daadfellowshipfaq.aspx

QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
1. Applicants must be German or American citizens.
2. All application materials MUST be received by AICGS by the deadline in order to be considered for fellowships in the specified period.
3. APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
There is no formal application form. To apply for the DAAD/AICGS
fellowship program, please submit the following materials:
a. a brief cover letter (please indicate your citizenship in the cover letter); b. a curriculum vitae, with a list of publications (if relevant); c. a project proposal (5-7 pages, double-spaced) outlining in clear, concise terms the substantive thrust of the research and its relevance to the AICGS mission, and the reasons for carrying it out at AICGS; d. two letters of reference (for graduate students and recent Ph.D.s (received in the last five years) only).
4. APPLICATION DEADLINES:
For the Fall Session (July - December): February 28
For the Spring Session (January - June): August 31
Please note that fellows must be in residence at AICGS during the period they have applied for. Unfortunately, no exceptions can be granted.
5. VISA REQUIREMENTS :
If selected as DAAD/AICGS fellows, German nationals must be eligible for and obtain a J-1 visa from a U.S. consulate or embassy in Germany. Applicants should be aware that, due to U.S. immigration regulations, J-1 visas may be subject to the 2-year rule, which prohibits individuals from returning to the United States on an immigrant visa for a period of two years upon completion of their fellowship at AICGS. (Please contact the U.S. Embassy in Germany for further information on the 2-year stipulation. ) AICGS will provide detailed information about the visa process once a fellow has been selected.

Please send all application packets to the following address:
DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship Program
American Institute for Contemporary German Studies
1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20036
or by e-mail to: kverclas@aicgs.org

Posted by sjearlds at 11:00 AM

European History, 11/05-08/2008, Louisville

European History Call for Papers

The European History Section of the Southern Historical Association invites proposals for individual papers and complete panels for presentation at its annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, November 5-8, 2009.

Papers on any aspect of European history, covering any time period, are welcome. The program committee especially encourages proposals involving comparative history, such as Europe and the Americas, Europe and Britain, Europe and Africa, or Europe and Asia (West, East, South, or Southeast).

Presenters may include graduate students as well as faculty members. Panels should consist of two and preferably three papers, a commentator, and a chair. It is not recommended that a panel consist exclusively of graduate students.

Submissions should include a one-page description of each paper and a short c.v. of each panelist, and should be emailed to: david.redles@tri-c.edu

or mailed to
David Redles, Chair
EHS Program Committee
Division of Social Sciences
Cuyahoga Community College
11000 Pleasant Valley Rd
Parma,OH 44130
Email: david.redles@tri-c.edu
Visit the website at http://www.utm.edu/staff/accarls/ehs/

Posted by sjearlds at 10:58 AM

Goethe, Literature, Science, 09/18/2008, Johns Hopkins

Call for Papers
Elective Affinities: Goethe, Literature, Science
Fifth Biennial Graduate Student Conference in German Studies
Department of German and Romance Languages and Literatures
Johns Hopkins University
December 5-6, 2008

"Es ist eine Gleichnisrede, die dich verführt und verwirrt hat...hier wird freilich nur von Erden und Mineralien gehandelt, aber der Mensch ist ein wahrer Narziss: er bespiegelt sich überall gern selbst; er legt sich als Folie der ganzen Welt unter." (Die Wahlverwandtschaften)

Drawn from chemistry, the title of Goethe's 1809 novel "Wahlverwandtschaften" refers to the potential of unpredictable separations and realignments, the stability or fragility of both chemical bonds and human connections. The novel could be read as lab notes to an experiment in catalyzing interpersonal shifts which occur when new encounters disturb an equilibrium. This exploration of the realm of science and experimentation is evident throughout Goethe's oeuvre and becomes articulated in his literary writings.
Conversely, in becoming text, these experiments develop significance well beyond the laboratory, and contribute to the continuing fascination and broad scholarly involvement with Goethe as recent works in the poetics of knowledge have shown.

By using a variety of approaches and sources, this conference seeks to investigate the perspectives and intersections of Goethe's entire literary and scientific oeuvre, as well as that of the era which came to be named after him. How i s his universalizing approach relevant today, e.g. in contemporary scholarship or in educational debates? How do Goethe's experiments and scientific writings help us situate his work within the history of philosophical thought and literary practice? How are Goethe's own experiments reflected in his literary work and how do they inform his literary production? How do these experiments and connections gain new meaning through writing and being written?

Keynote Speakers: David E. Wellbery (University of Chicago) and Eckart Förster (Johns Hopkins University)

Possible paper topics could explore, but are not limited to, the following "elective affinities:"

- Goethe on Bild, Bildung, Bildungsroman, Einbildungskraft, Nachbildung
- Natur, Naturdichtung, Naturphilosophie, Naturwissenschaften in the Goethe Era
- Goethe in relation to his contemporaries
- Universalizing approaches (e.g. Nationalliteratur versus Weltliteratur, Bildung)
- Symbol, metaphor, morphology
- Idea, image, Urphänomen
- Protoscience, pseudoscience, the future of science: Goethe as alchemist, magus, prophet
- Narrative science, science of narrative -- before, in, and after Goethe

Please send a one-page paper abstract in English or German by September 18th, 2008 to goetheconference@gmail.com.

For further information, refer to the conference webpage:
http://web.jhu.edu/grll/goetheconference.html

For any questions, please contact the organizers:
Doreen Densky (doreen.densky@jhu.edu) and Tove Holmes (tovekat@jhu.edu).

Posted by sjearlds at 10:55 AM

Mediating the Message: The Poetics of Communication in German Literature, Language, Film and Culture, Cincinnati (01.09.2008)

Call for Papers

Mediating the Message: The Poetics of Communication in German Literature, Language, Film and Culture

The German Graduate Student Governance Association of the University of Cincinnati and the editors of the graduate student journal Focus on German Studies present the Thirteenth Annual Focus Graduate Student Conference held on October 31- November 1, 2008 at the University of Cincinnati

"Mediating the Message: The Poetics of Communication in German Literature, Language, Film and Culture."

On September 12, 2001, German newspapers unanimously ran the headline: "Nothing will ever remain the same again!" Five years later, Katharina Hacker's novel "Die Habenichtse" argues the exact opposite. In a world where war and terror is delivered on our doorstep or into our inbox every morning, people live in a world of make-believe rather than reality. German authors and filmmakers have concerned themselves with the interplay between this traumatic attack and its media coverage. They depict a distorted perception of reality toying with images that were broadcast in the media. German intellectuals discuss the (mis)use of power that tools of communication have always been prone to: the power to convey ideas, images, concepts and thoughts that have shaped our cultural knowledge and influenced individuals or entire people for centuries. In the age of digital media, ideas and notions are now transmitted in the blink of an eye. However, the question of reality and validity remains open.
Analyzing communication processes---and the layers in between--- exposes the failure that may lead to far-reaching problems of incomprehensible dimensions. This conference seeks to stimulate discussion on how these communication processes work in the framework of literary texts and films. We would like to address following questions:

- What kinds of roles do theories of communication play in literature and film?
- How have communication processes changed over time?
- How do cultures communicate with each other within literature and film?
- In what way do images and texts correlate and communicate with each other?
- How do genders communicate with each other in literature and film?
- How are the media depicted in literature and film?
- How is the question of reality addressed in literature and film?
- What role do the media play in canon formation?

We invite graduate students from all disciplines to submit paper proposals responding to these or similar questions related to the interplay between communication, literature, film and culture in modern or pre-modern time periods. Possible topics include, but are by no means limited to:

- communication theories in literature (e.g. Luhmann)
- communicating criticism: the media in the eye of literature (Medienkritik etc.)
- philosophical notions of media and technology (e.g. Benjamin, Frankfurt School, etc.)
- intercultural communication in literature and film (e.g. Migrantenliteratur und --film)
- depiction of media in literature and film (e.g. treatment of war, terrorism, politics in the media that is interpreted by authors, intellectuals and films)
- discussion in literary media (literature debate of the 90s, Fräuleinwunderliteratur etc.)
- literary awards and their media coverage (Büchner-Preis,Hölderlin-Preis, Bachmann-Preis etc.)
- gender-based modes of communication in literature and film
- interplay between text and images in literature and film
- themes of globalization and technology in literature and film
- interplay between music and film
- image of "Amerika" in German literature and film
- intercultural communication in second language acquisition
- interplay between narrator and plot
- language of the media: between fact and fiction / communication orcoercion?
- spread of information in medieval/ early modern time periods (e.g. use of Gutenberg printing press)

Revised conference papers can also be submitted for publication in our Focus on German Studies journal. Information on the keynote speaker will be announced soon. Please send an abstract of 250-300 words in either English or German as a MS Word attachment by September 1, 2008 to Alexandra Hagen and Marie Buesch at fogs.editor@gmail.com (ATTN: Focus on GS Conference). On a separate cover sheet, please list the proposed paper title, author's name, university affiliation and email address. Conference participants have the option of housing with UC graduate students.

Posted by sjearlds at 10:53 AM

The Changing Face of History, 10/17-19/2008, Maine

"The Changing Face of History" graduate student conference Location: Maine, United States

Deadline: August 14, 2008

"The Changing Face of History" conference is for graduate students in history or related fields. "The Changing Face of History" is a general term, implying new modes or ways of thinking about historical events or concepts. This conference is perfect for graduate students looking for an informal environment to present a paper, meet other graduate students, and have a good time. The conference dates are Oct. 17-19, 2008 at the University of Maine in Orono, Me. Meals are provided for most of the weekend.

Jennie Woodard
275 Stevens Hall
University of Maine 04457
(207)299-8779
Email: jennie.woodard@umit.maine.edu

Posted by sjearlds at 10:51 AM

Europe before the European Community, 1918-1957 Images and Ideas, 12/11-12/2008, London

The deadline for submission is 1 October 2008.

United Kingdom

Europe before the European Community, 1918-1957

Images and Ideas

11-12 December 2008

The 1920s and 30s were a moment of deep reflection on the identity of Europe. Almost all intellectuals and many artists and other writers of the time expressed their own understanding of Europe: Thomas Mann, Benedetto Croce, Lionel Robbins, Jaques Maritan, Carl Schmitt, Hugo von Hofmannstahl, Ortega Y Gasset, Miguel de Unamuno, Martin Heidegger, the members of the Frankfurt School – to mention just a few. Most of these authors survived the war and were able to see the birth of a new Europe thanks to the Schumann plan and the creation of the EEC.

The purpose of this conference is to shed light on the understanding of Europe and on representations and discourses concerning its identity between 1918 and 1957 by studying the ideas of some of Europe’s most prominent intellectuals, writers and artists. Above all, the conference aims to analyse how their perception of Europe changed between the crisis produced in the aftermath of the Great War and its rebirth with the creation of the EEC.

CALL FOR PAPERS
If you are interested in offering a 20 minute paper please send a title, an abstract of no more than 300 words and, if you wish, a short CV to Dr. Mark Hewitson or to Matthew D’Auria.

Matthew D'Auria
Centre for European Studies
University College London
Gower Street - London - WC1E 6BT
Tel: +44 20 7679 3038

Visit the website at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ces/events/index.htm

Posted by sjearlds at 10:49 AM

Fellowship: Germany, Europe, and/or transatlantic relations, Washington DC

Fellowship Deadline: 2008-08-31

AICGS is now accepting applications for the next round of DAAD fellowships. The application deadline for Spring 2009 (January 2009 - June 2009) is August 31, 2008.

DAAD/AICGS Research Fellows will be expected to produce a short analytical essay that will be published on the AICGS website and distributed via the Institute's bimonthly email newsletter, The AICGS Advisor. For fellows producing research output of exceptional quality and interest, AICGS will provide opportunities for public presentations to the broader Washington policy community. Project proposals should address a topic closely related to one or more of the Institute's three research and programming areas:

1. Business and Economics

2. Foreign and Domestic Policy

3. Society, Culture, and Politics

Special consideration will be given to research projects addressing the Institute's current and future project emphases within these areas. Projects should also be compatible with and supportive of the AICGS Mission, which is to strengthen the German-American relationship in an evolving Europe and changing world. The Institute produces objective and original analyses of developments and trends in Germany, Europe, and the United States; creates new transatlantic networks; and facilitates dialogue among the business, political, and academic communities to manage differences and define and promote common interests.

Please send all application packets to the following address:

DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship Program
American Institute for Contemporary German Studies
1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20036
or by e-mail to: kverclas@aicgs.org

Visit the website at http://www.aicgs.org/fellows/opps/daad.aspx

Posted by sjearlds at 10:47 AM

World History Encyclopedia

Call for Papers Date: 08/31/2008

ABC-CLIO is seeking scholars to contribute 1,000-1,500 word articles to its forthcoming 21-volume World History Encyclopedia. The project, which will consist of approximately 8,000 entries written by hundreds of scholars, is led by world historian, Alfred Andrea, President-Elect of the World History Association and Professor Emeritus at The University of Vermont. The work will be organized via eight themes [Environment/Population, Society/Culture, Migration/Travel, Politics/Statecraft, Economics/Trade, War/Diplomacy,Thought/Religion, Science/Technology] threaded through nine different eras.

Please visit the URL listed below to view the list of open topics. These should be of interest to scholars of history, global studies, cultural studies, social sciences, and those in other humanities fields. In order to meet review standards, we do require that contributors hold a Ph.D., ABD, or have recognized expertise in the field.

Open Topics list available at:

http://www.abc-clio.com/academic/aboutus/callToAuthors.aspx

If you are interested in writing any of the entries listed, please send a query letter and a c.v. to:

Fred Nadis, Project Editor, FNadis@abc-clio.com

Jeanie Azizian, Project Coordinator, JAzizian@abc-clio.com

Fred Nadis
ABC-CLIO
130 Cremona Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93117-5505
phone: (805) 968-1911 x132
toll free: (800) 368-6868 x132
fax: (805) 685-9685
Email: fnadis@abc-clio.com

Posted by sjearlds at 10:45 AM

LIMINA: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies

LIMINA: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies - Call for Submissions, Volume 15
Call for Papers Date: 2008-09-30

Limina is an online, refereed, academic journal of historical and cultural studies based in the Discipline of History at The University of Western Australia. Limina provides opportunities for new work to be communicated in a lively and diverse forum, and encourages studies that engage with, discuss and enlarge theoretical debates. We are especially committed to publishing the work of postgraduate students and early career researchers. Research students include current postgraduates working on Graduate Certificates and Diplomas, Masters students, and Doctoral candidates. Early career researchers are students whose research degrees are in progress or were completed within the last five years.

Limina publishes scholarly articles of approximately 5000 words from any field within the humanities, favouring work of an interdisciplinary nature. They must demonstrate original research and must be substantially different from other published work. Please ensure that your submission conforms to the Limina style guide. For more information please visit our website at:

http://limina.arts.uwa.edu.au

Submissions (in MS Word or RTF format) or enquiries by email:

limina@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

The final submission date for articles to be considered for Volume 15 is 30 September 2008 with intent to publish in June 2009.

LIMINA
c/o Department of History
University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Hwy
Crawley WA 6009
Australia
Email: limina@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Visit the website at http://limina.arts.uwa.edu.au

Posted by sjearlds at 10:43 AM

The Victorian Everyday

CFP: NVSA 2009
Call for Papers Date: 2008-10-15

THE VICTORIAN EVERYDAY

Wellesley College: April 3-5 , 2009

NVSA solicits submissions for its annual conference; the topic this year is The Victorian Every day.

The conference will feature a keynote panel including Tim Barringer, Laurie Langbauer, and Ruth Yeazell and a visit to the remarkable Ruskin Collection at the Wellesley College Library.

Proposals (no more than 500 words) by Oct. 15, 2008 (e-mail submissions strongly encouraged): Professor Deb Gettelman, e-mail: dgettelm@holycross.edu Chair, NVSA Program Committee, English Department, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA 01610

Please note: all submissions to NVSA are evaluated anonymously. Also, while any topic might reasonably be placed in relation to the everyday, the program committee is particularly eager to see papers that make a claim about the category itself. Successful proposals will stay within the 500-word limit and make a compelling case for the talk and its relation to the conference topic. Please do not send complete papers, and do not include your name on your proposal.

Please do include your name, institutional and email addresses, and proposal title in a cover letter. Papers should take 15 minutes (20 minutes maximum) so as to provide ample time for discussion.

The Coral Lansbury Travel Grant ($100.00) and George Ford Travel Grant ($100.00), given in memory of key founding members of NVSA, are awarded annually to the graduate student, adjunct instructor, or independent scholar who must travel the greatest distance to give a paper at our conference. Apply by indicating in your cover letter that you wish to be considered. Please indicate from where you will be traveling, and mention if you have other sources of funding.

To join NVSA, or to renew your membership for 2008-2009, please return the tear-off below to Prof. Joan Dagle at the address indicated on the form.

Jonah Siegel, President, NVSA phone: (732) 932-7679
Department of English fax: (732) 932-1150
Rutgers University email: jsiegel@rci.rutgers.eduNew Brunswick, NJ 08901

Deb Gettelman
Department of English
College of the Holy Cross
1 College Street
Worcester, MA 01610
Email: dgettelm@holycross.edu
Visit the website at http://web.stonehill.edu/nvsa/

Posted by sjearlds at 10:39 AM

Akademie Schloss Solitude

For the twelfth time in 18 years the international residency program
Akademie Schloss Solitude - located in Stuttgart, Germany - is granting approx. 65 residency fellowships of three to twelve months in duration. A public foundation opened in 1990 and funded by the State of Baden- Wurttemberg, the Akademie Schloss Solitude operates an international residency program awarding live/work fellowships to artists. Hundreds of artists from over 70 countries have developed and advanced projects at the Akademie since its opening, creating a close-knit, global network of Solitude alumni that expands from year to year.

For the second time, the application round also offers the possibility to apply for a residency fellowship in the art, science & business program. Scholars, scientists and professionals from the disciplines of the Humanities, the Natural Sciences and Economics (individually or suggested by a business) are invited to apply. The art, science & business program`s goal is to promote the dialogue between art, the humanities, science, business and other professional endeavors, as it no longer considers the arts, science and business as separate, discrete activities. Instead, these areas can be seen as complementary to one another and their combination holds the potential to create a dynamic and fruitful exchange.

Persons up to 35 or who have completed a university or college degree
within the past five years are welcome to apply. Currently enrolled
university or college students (at the time of application) will not be considered for selection. Each fellowship recipient is granted Euro 1000 per month, in addition to free lodging. The independent jury consists of a jury chairperson and specialist jurors who independently allocate the fellowships for their respective disciplines.

The jurors for the twelfth application round are: Beatriz Colomina,
Princeton/USA (Architecture), Dan Graham, New York/USA (Visual Arts),
Christoph Schlingensief, Berlin/Germany (Performing Arts), Yves Béhar, San Francisco/USA (Design), Mircea Cartarescu, Bucharest/Romania (Literature), Lucia Ronchetti, Rome/Italy Music/Sound) und Sarah Morris, New York/USA (Video/Film/New Media). For the art, science & business program: Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht, Stanford/USA (Humanities), Vadim Bolshakov, Harvard/USA
(Natural Sciences) and Caroline Gerschlager, Vienna/Austria (Economy).

Application deadline is October 31, 2008 (Postmark). As of July 1,
application forms can be downloaded from the application website
http://application.akademie-solitude.de or can be requested in writing from the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Solitude 3, 70197
Stuttgart, Germany, mail@akademie-solitude.de.

Posted by sjearlds at 10:36 AM

The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships

The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships are
designed to encourage original and significant study of ethical or
religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences, and particularly to help Ph.D. candidates in these fields complete their dissertation work in a timely manner. Twenty-nine awards of $24,000 each will be available in the 2009 competition.

Applications will open the first week of September and the deadline for submission is November 14, 2008.
Applications are available *online only.* To learn more, and to apply, visit http://www.woodrow.org/fellowships/religion_ethics/index.php.

Potential applicants who have questions AFTER a full review of the Newcombe Fellowship Web site may email charlotte@woodrow.org.

Posted by sjearlds at 10:35 AM

Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowships in Women's Studies

The Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowships in Women's Studies support
the final year of dissertation writing for Ph.D. candidates in the
humanities and social sciences whose work addresses issues of women and gender in interdisciplinary and original ways. Awards of $3,000
each are applicable to research/travel costs. Applications will open the first week of September and the deadline for submission is October 13, 2008.

Applications are available *online only.* To learn more, and to
apply, visit http://www.woodrow.org/fellowships/women_gender/index.php.

Potential applicants who have questions AFTER a full review of the Women's Studies Fellowship Web site may email ws@woodrow.org.

Posted by sjearlds at 10:33 AM

Funding

Five (5) one-year Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships are available for the 2009-2010 academic year for untenured scholars in the humanities who are no more than eight years out of their doctorate. The PhD is the only terminal degree eligible. The fellowship is open to all scholars, national and international, who meet application terms. The programs of the Penn Humanities Forum are conceived through yearly topics that invite broad interdisciplinary collaboration. For the 2009-2010 academic year, we have set Connections as the theme. Humanists and those in related fields are invited to submit research proposals on any aspect of this topic, except educational curriculum building and the performing arts. Fellows teach one undergraduate course each of two terms in addition to conducting their research.
The fellowship stipend is $46,500, plus health insurance. Fellows are
required to be in residence during their fellowship year (September-May).

Full Fellowship guidelines, Connections topic description, and application (downloadable) are available on the Forum's website only:
http://www.phf.upenn.edu

Completed application and supporting materials must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

Contact Info:
Wendy Steiner
Richard L. Fisher Professor of English
Director, Penn Humanities Forum
University of Pennsylvania
3619 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6213
[n.b. read application guidelines on website before applying] Website:
http://www.phf.upenn.edu

Posted by sjearlds at 10:30 AM

Theorizing Narrative Genres and Gender, 05/15-16/2009, Germany

Deadline for proposals: 1 November 2008

Call for Proposals

Theorizing Narrative Genres and Gender

Proposals are invited for an international two-day conference to be held at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany), on 15 and 16 May 2009.

Organised within the framework of the project NEWW (New approaches to European Women's Writing), this conference would like to discuss (1) the ways in which certain narrative genres (novels, short stories, fairy tales, autobiographies, personal diaries, etc.) have been gendered, and (2) the impact that these texts have had on readers, both men and women. Finally (3), what consequences have
readers' reactions and the gendered critical discourse had for the formation and development of narrative literary genres?

Recent research, for example on the feminocentrism of the seventeenth-and eighteenth-century French and English novel, on narratology or on the differences between female and male reading, has shown that not only is the literary discourse tied to issues of gender, but the metadiscourse is equally imbued with it; the 'querelles des femmes' were frequently intertwined with literary disputes.

In keeping with the NEWW's objectives, the conference will cover a relatively long time period, extending from 1400 to 1900, and will also present contributions treating European literatures that are considered 'marginal'.

Contributors could address the following issues:
* the effects that literary genres (e.g., the novel) were supposed to have on a female public;
* the relationships between morality and literature, between realism and idealism;
* the impact of the concept of gender on key aesthetic notions;
* the consequences for literary history;
* the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in literary movements;
* the 'gendered' quality of literary theory and narratology.

Contributions will preferably move beyond individual cases and attempt to expand the discussion within a theoretical perspective. Proposals (approximately 250 words) in French or English, the conference languages, may be sent to the organisers Suzan van Dijk, Universiteit Utrecht (Suzan.vanDijk@let.uu.nl) and Lieselotte Steinbrügge, Ruhr-Universität Bochum(lieselotte.steinbruegge@rub.de). Contributions should be 20 minutes long. The articles resulting from this meeting will be published; a committee of readers
will make a selection.

Deadline for proposals: 1 November 2008.

The focus of the project NEWW (New approaches to European Women's Writing, 2007-2010) is the position of women writers (active before 1900) in the national and international literary field of their epochs and the place of women in the historiography of European literature up to 1900. See www.womenwriters.nl.

NEWW held its first conference, 'Femmes écrivains à la croisée des langues, 1700-2000' (Women Writers at the Crossroads of Languages), in May 2007 in Geneva; a volume of articles based on the conference papers is in preparation under the direction of Agnese Fidecaro, Henriette Partzsch, Suzan van Dijk and Valérie Cossy. It will be published by MétisPresses in Geneva.

The second conference, 'Readers, Writers, Salonnières: Female Networks in Europe, 1700-1900', took place in May 2008 in Chawton, Hampshire (UK). A selection of papers will be published.

Posted by sjearlds at 10:25 AM

Theorizing Narrative Genres and Gender, 05/15-16/2009, Germany

Deadline for proposals: 1 November 2008

Call for Proposals

Theorizing Narrative Genres and Gender

Proposals are invited for an international two-day conference to be held at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Germany), on 15 and 16 May 2009.

Deadline for proposals: 1 November 2008.

The second conference, 'Readers, Writers, Salonnières: Female Networks in Europe, 1700-1900', took place in May 2008 in Chawton, Hampshire (UK). A selection of papers will be published.

Posted by sjearlds at 10:25 AM

July 15, 2008

Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society, 06/23-26/2008, Zurich

Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society

Switzerland

Call for Papers / Travel Grants:

Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? – Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society?

Conference at the University of Zurich, Department of German with the support of the European Commission

Conveners: Roland Axtmann (Centre for the Study of Culture and Politics, University of Swansea), Kathrin Fahlenbrach (University of Halle), Martin Klimke (University of Heidelberg), Joachim Scharloth (University of Zurich)

Location: Department of German, University of Zurich Date: June 23-26, 2009

Recent research into the development and implications of transnational modes of political organization has tended to concentrate on the growth of institutions involved with international political and economic governance. This has been counter-balanced by growing research into international protest movements that appears to paint a picture of an emerging transnational civil society; one that includes formalized Non-Governmental Organisations such as OXFAM, Amnesty International and international labour movements as well as the seemingly more spontaneous movements associated with anti-globalization and anti-capitalist activism. The study of transnational social movements is, then, central to the development of our understanding of the internationalization of politics as such and in particular to attempts to conceptualize a global civil society.

However, such research is problematic and in need of expansion and realignment in both the conceptual and empirical dimensions. There are three central issues that need to be addressed:

Firstly, research into transnational social movements often presupposes a series of normative claims regarding the desirability of particular forms of democratic activity. It then relies on these norms to both explain and justify research findings. But the movement from centralized and state-led national politics to a global politics of multiple actors in a multi-polar context precisely calls such norms into question: they are a source of the conflictual dynamics of global politics not its outcome and still less a governing explanatory principle. Research needs to conceptualize the way in which an irreducible tension between a demand for universal norms and the reality of a global pluriverse is constitutive of the terrain traversed by transnational movements.

Secondly, research into social movements tends overwhelmingly to concentrate on movements of the left. This leads not only to the minimizing of the attention paid to social movements of the right. It also simply generalizes a particular dimension of political differentiation while suppressing others. This may have been sufficient for the study of the first wave of post-war transnational movements in 1960s Europe. It is not sufficient for today. For instance, an increasingly significant political phenomenon consists of transnational nationalisms: movements organized for national ‘liberation’ that operate across borders, connected to and sustained by networks of migrant co-nationals and other sympathizers. Movements organized to oppose trade liberalization may be motivated by nationalist and particularist sentiments as well as social democratic nostalgia. Religious movements cannot easily be contained within a left-right spectrum. Research into transnational social movements must undertake empirical examination of the multiple dimensions along which groups are dispersed and also to conceptualise this distribution.

Thirdly, to date research has concentrated on European-style social movements and has identified similar variants in other regions. But this might mean that religious movements such as Falun Gong in China are not properly attended to.

The goal of this conference is to address these issues; to consolidate present research and to begin developing new empirical findings and new conceptual frameworks.

We especially encourage applications referring to the following topics:

• Globalization of Politics – Globalization of Protest? • Transnationalism within Right Wing Protest Movements • Filling the Gap: European Protest Movements as a Result of a Lack of Democracy within the EU • EU Polity and Europeanization of Protest • Applying the Concepts of “Civil Society” and “Social Movements” in Eastern Europe and non-European Countries – Potential and Limits • Even Newer Social Movements – Creating new Public Spheres? • Building Transnational Protest Identities – Languages, Images and Actions • European Anti-Corporate Campaigns in a Globalized Economy • Migration and Ethnicity as a Source of Protest • Professionalizing Protest • The Future of Political Participation: Social Movements, Lobbying or Party Politics • Taming Protest: The Rituals of Violence

Applications from postgraduate students, early stage researchers (PhD-students), postdocs and young scholars from all disciplinary and national backgrounds are strongly encouraged and form the main target group for this event.

All travel and accommodation costs within reasonable boundaries will be covered by the European Union.

Although the conference language will mainly be English, we also invite proposals in French, Spanish, Dutch, German and Polish, if a short summary (2 pages) in English is provided.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: August 15, 2008 (abstracts no longer than 500 words)

SELECTIONS WILL BE MADE BY: October 1, 2008

PLEASE USE ONLINE APPLICATION AT: www.protest-research.eu

FURTHER QUESTIONS: mail@protest-research.eu

Posted by sjearlds at 08:35 AM

Reconsidering Conflict, Terror and Resolution, 09/11-12/2008, Strathclyde

Reconsidering Conflict, Terror and Resolution

United Kingdom

Conference Date: 2008-09-11

Strathclyde Conflict and Resolution (SCAR) is hosting an interdisciplinary conference which will analyse conflict, terror and resolution at various levels: past-present; private-public; local-global. In doing so it aims to reach across disciplinary barriers by bringing together more than forty speakers from the whole of the social sciences spectrum, including politics, history, law, sociology and psychology. Such a holistic analysis will provoke, stimulate and question contemporary thought, while advocating the need for joint efforts to address common challenges. Panels include: Narratives of Conflict, Cultural Reconciliation, Reporting Conflict, Divided Cities and Sectarianism, Just War, and the ‘War on Terror’, among others.

Where: University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K. When: September 11 & 12, 2008

Conference programme and registration form are available on the website: http://intelevents.athollsweb.co.uk/scar/index.php

Posted by sjearlds at 08:33 AM

Western Association of Women Historians, 04/30-05/01/2009, University of Santa Clara

Call for papers for the annual conference of the Western Association of Women Historians (WAWH).

The Western Association of Women Historians (WAWH) will meet for its
40th anniversary conference, at the University of Santa Clara in Santa Clara, California, from April 30-May 3, 2009. Special events will recognize the forty year history of WAWH.

The WAWH program committee welcomes proposals for panels or single
papers on any historical subject, time period, or region. Papers do not need to emphasize women's or gender history. All periods of history are welcome as well as non-U.S. subjects. Panels, workshops, or roundtables on issues in the historical profession are also encouraged.

Paper and panel submissions must be postmarked by October 15, 2008.

Please see the WAWH website for submission details and prize information at http://www.wawh.org

Danielle J. Swiontek, Ph.D.
Lecturer, College of Engineering
Mail Code 5130
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106
swiontek@cox.net
swiontek@engineering.ucsb.edu

Posted by sjearlds at 08:31 AM

Political Science - International Relations, University of Chicago

The Department of Political Science invites applications for TENURED or TENURE-TRACK positions in International Relations, to begin in the academic year 2009-10. The search is open with respect to specialty and approach. Applications should include a c.v., letters of recommendation (for tenure track candidates only), publications and other writing samples in the applicant’s central area of research, a brief description of future research plans, and evidence of teaching performance such as course evaluations (if available). The deadline for applications is September 15, 2008, but we will consider applications received after that date. No applications will be considered if received after December 1, 2008. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Address to: International Relations Search Committee, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago, 5828 S. University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637. An AA/EO Employer

Contact Info:

International Relations Search Committee,

The University of Chicago

Department of Political Science

5828 S. University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637

Website: http://political-science.uchicago.edu/

Posted by sjearlds at 08:30 AM

World Conference of Humanitarian Studies, 02/4-8/2009, Groningen

World Conference of Humanitarian Studies
4-8 February 2009
Groningen, The Netherlands

15 June - 1 October submission of paper abstracts

Theme

Humanitarian crises caused by conflict or natural disaster have
increasingly become the subject of study of a range of disciplines,
including international relations, international law, development
studies, anthropology, conflict studies, and forced migration studies.
In addition, new research groups are being formed that focus especially on humanitarian action. In particular, the present growth of these fields in countries regularly struck by crises is significant. Yet, there is no venue where these scholarly communities can debate their different insights and understanding of humanitarian crises, in dialogue with policy actors and implementing agencies. The Universities of Bochum, Groningen and Wageningen therefore organise the first world conference of humanitarian studies.

Since the early 1990s, the manifestations and understandings of
humanitarian crises have changed constantly: From post-Cold War optimism to caution when numerous intra-state conflicts started and/or ended, to become dominated by the Global War on Terror and its grand conflicts. Recurring droughts and climate change have altered our perception of disasters from sudden and exceptional events to repeating or chronic forms of crises. Response mechanisms to humanitarian crises have likewise undergone rapid developments, ranging from new forms of integrated response combining diplomatic, military and development approaches; new judicial instruments including the International Criminal Court and UN-Resolution 1325 that advances women?s leadership in the resolution of crises, and in the domain of natural disasters mounting attention for disaster preparedness. Humanitarian action has become highly professionalised, yet continues to be beset by challenges including the positioning of principled humanitarian aid in relation to other interventions, flaws in the infra-structures of aid, and the coordination of the numerous old and new actors that have entered the scene. Media attention has become more critical, and populations receiving aid have frequently become sceptical about its results.

Although humanitarian studies are part of many different academic
domains, we propose to define the nascent field as mono- or
multi-disciplinary studies that analyse

the causes, dynamics and effects of humanitarian crises (conflict and/
or natural disaster); the politics and discourses of humanitarian crises; the responses to crises, including local coping practices as well as political, military and humanitarian interventions;the dynamics of humanitarian response policies, programmes and organisations; the processes of rehabilitation, and the linkages with development, peacebuilding, and security; the legal issues pertaining to humanitarian affairs; the experiences and lifeworlds of refugees and internally displaced people, and the refugee regimes employed towards them. There are fortunately no uniform methodological or theoretical approaches to the study of humanitarian crises. Yet, calls for more reflection about humanitarian action abound and criticism is common. There remains a dire need for independent, in-depth research into the realities of humanitarian crises. Much research takes place at the policy level; implementation processes and local aspects urgently require more attention. Most of the humanitarian scholars are based in the North, outside of the main crisis areas, thus replicating some of the shortcomings of humanitarian policy.

The World Conference of Humanitarian Studies provides a meeting ground
of these different scholars and practitioners. It aims to reflect one of the key characteristics of humanitarian studies: the close collaboration and dialogue with policy makers and practitioners. Hence, it is open to participation by all these groups, provided that participants present papers. As a World Conference, it aims to establish a global representation of humanitarian studies and foster interdisciplinary debate on a grand scale. Its central aims are

*to provide a meeting ground for academic communities and practitioners concerned with in-depth research on humanitarian issues;
*to take stock of the current theory, debates, and issues of humanitarian studies;
*to reflect on current practice and identify opportunities for improving humanitarian practice; and
*to involve Southern scholars and practitioners more strongly into
humanitarian politics, responses, debates, and studies.

http://www.humanitarianstudies2009.org/

Posted by sjearlds at 08:26 AM

Modern Austrian Literature and Culture Association, 04/23-26/2009, Emory University

2009 Modern Austrian Literature and Culture Association Conference
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, April 23-26, 2009

"Verfreundete Nachbarn":
The German-Austrian Encounter in Literature, Film and Cultural Discourse

Call for Papers

Austrians and Germans have always shared a special relationship due to their "common history". Although their lengthy process of political separation began two hundred years ago, that separation is not clear in cultural terms and has frequently been called into question. By exploring the changing portrayal of Germans in Austrian cultural discourse and of Austrians in German cultural discourse over the past two hundred years, we hope to cast a critical light on particulars of the often stereotype-laden relationship between the two countries and its impact on the (continuing) development of their respective identities. This theme lends itself to interdisciplinary approaches, including fields such as history, sociology, linguistics, political science, film studies and literary studies. What follows is just a small sample of topics that might be explored in individual papers, in no way intended to restrict or exclude.

*Goethe's Shadow on Austrian Literature

*The Reception of German Romanticism by Austrian Authors

*Topics surrounding the ambiguous relationships of the major Austrian
political parties to Germany and German culture during the First Republic

*The (changing?) role of the Burgtheater as a locus of German drama, (e.g. the "era Peymann")

*The Portrayal of German characters in works by Austrian Authors (such as Robert Musil, Karl Kraus, Heimito von Doderer, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Robert Schindel, Felix Mitterer, Marlene Streeruwitz, et al.)

*The implications of the development of an Austrian variety of German

*Austrian journals and anthologies as vehicles of cultural
self-understanding (e.g. the journal Literatur und Kritik and the
anthologies Aufforderung zum Mißtrauen [1967], Österreich zum Beispiel [1982] and Landvermessung [2005])

*Austria's musical imperialism: Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms

*Germans and Austrians in each others' jokes, newspaper caricatures or cabarets.

*The role of National Socialism in the formation of Austrian identity

*Austrians in German films

Proposal deadline October 17, 2008

Please send 250 word abstracts (e-mail attachments) and a short paragraph on yourself to Maximilian Aue maue@emory.edu , entering "MALCA 2009 proposal" in your subject line. Conference languages are English and German.

Please Note: All conference participants have to be members of MALCA.
Subscription information available at the MALCA Website
(http://www.malca.org)

Posted by sjearlds at 08:23 AM

Fellowship: Woodrow Wilson Center

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is announcing the opening of its 2009 2010 Fellowship competition. The Center awards approximately 20 - 25 academic year residential fellowships to individuals from any country with outstanding project proposals on national and/or international issues. Topics and scholarship should relate to key public policy challenges or provide the historical and/or cultural framework to illuminate policy issues of contemporary importance. Applicants must hold a doctorate or have equivalent professional experience. Fellows are provided stipends (which include round trip travel), private offices, access to the Library of Congress, Windows based personal computers, and research assistants. You can apply online or download the application from the Center’s website.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Scholar Administration Office

One Woodrow Wilson Plaza

1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20004-3027

Tel: 202 691 4170; Fax: 202 691 4001; E mail: fellowships@wilsoncenter.org

Email: kim.conner@wilsoncenter.org

Visit the website at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/fellowships

Posted by sjearlds at 08:22 AM

July 08, 2008

Law,Religion and Democracy, March 25-28, 2009,European University Institute

Workshop: 'Law, Religion and Democracy' at the 10th Mediterranean
Research Meeting of the European University Institute next year, March
25-28, 2009.

The EUI is currently accepting paper proposals for the meeting through September 1, 2008, at:
http://www.eui.eu/RSCAS/Research/Mediterranean/mrm2009/pdf/MRM2009-Paperscall.pdf.

Posted by sjearlds at 09:05 AM

UNESCO Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship

The U.S. Department of State is pleased to announce the call for applications for the Fall/Winter 2008 cycle of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship. This fellowship will help fund a proposal designed by the applicant--a U.S. undergraduate or graduate student between the ages of 18-25--to conduct brief work in a foreign country related to the mandate of UNESCO – using education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and/or communication and information to build strong ties among nations.

For applicants who will conduct their work from the period between September 2008 and December 2008, the application schedule is as follows:

June 26 -- U.S. National Commission for UNESCO opens call for applications

August 5, 5 p.m. EST -- Deadline for proposals to be received by U.S. National Commission for UNESCO

Week of August 19 -- Subcommittee meeting to produce initial top candidates and conduct phone interviews, as needed

Week of August 25 -- Closed Federal Advisory Committee Act call to determine recommendations of final top candidate and alternates.

By August 31 -- Announcement of recipient(s) by Executive Director of U.S. National Commission for UNESCO

Early 2009 – Recipient(s) provides summary report of experiences

Please visit http://www.state.gov/p/io/unesco/103476.htm for more information.

Posted by sjearlds at 09:02 AM

Opportunities for Funding from The Clinton Global Initiative University

On behalf of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U), I'm pleased to provide information about the CGI U Outstanding Commitments Awards, a potential source of funding for student service and activism projects. Applications will be accepted through July 28, 2008. Later this year, we will distribute 35 awards totaling $150,000. Students can apply for a grant of up to $10,000 for each project.

As you may know, CGI U is a new project of the Clinton Global Initiative seeking to create a community of university students taking action to address the world's most pressing issues. The CGI U Outstanding Commitments Awards will provide recognition and financial support for a select number of CGI U commitments.

Commitments to Action will be judged on the following criteria:

*Sustainability: How well does the commitment integrate principles of sustainability? CGI U assumes a broad approach to sustainability that incorporates economic, social, and environmental components.

*Innovation: Does the commitment approach social issues in novel and interesting ways?

*Replication: Can the project be replicated in different locations by new groups?

*Impact: Does this commitment demonstrate a real and lasting impact in addressing global and/or local challenges? During the selection process both depth and scale of impact will be considered.

*Leveraging Available Resources: Can this project effectively capitalize on the specific resources available to students?

For additional information, please visit our website at www.cgiu.org.

Posted by sjearlds at 08:59 AM

The Division of Public Programs at the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities

The Division of Public Programs at the U.S. National Endowment for the
Humanities funds radio, television, and digital projects in the humanities that are intended for public audiences.

The division is currently accepting applications for development and
production grants under the category of America's Media Makers. Upcoming deadlines are August 27, 2008, and January 21, 2009. New application guidelines are now posted on the NEH Web site (www.neh.gov) for the August deadline.

Grants will support radio, television, and digital projects that offer
multiple formats and use new technology to deliver humanities content.
Program officers in the Division of Public Programs are available to
assist you, whether it is to discuss projects that need development or
production funds for television, radio or digital projects, or to read a draft proposal.

You may wish to call the NEH Division of Public Programs (202-606-8269) or contact a program officer directly.

Below are the names and contact information for the Division's program
officers:

Bonnie Gould, 202-606-8307, bgould@neh.gov
Clay Lewis, 202-606-8288, clewis@neh.gov
David Martz, 202-606-8297, dmartz@neh.gov
John Meredith, 202-606-8218, jmeredith@neh.gov
Karen Miles, 202-606-8308, kmiles@neh.gov
Karen Mittelman, 202-606-8631, kmittelman@neh.gov
Kathleen Mulvaney, 202-606-8270, kmulvaney@neh.gov
Michael Shirley, 202-606-8293, mshirley@neh.gov
David Weinstein, 202-606-8308, dweinstein@neh.gov

Posted by sjearlds at 08:55 AM

Abe Fellowship

Deadline: September 1 annually
http://fellowships.ssrc.org/abe

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP), and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) announce the annual Abe Fellowship competition. The Abe Fellowship is designed to encourage international
multidisciplinary research on topics of pressing global concern. The Abe Fellowship Program seeks to foster the development of a new generation of researchers who are interested in policy-relevant topics of long-range importance and who are willing to become key members of a bilateral and global research network built around such topics.

The Abe Fellowship Research Agenda
Applicants are invited to submit proposals for research in the social
sciences and related fields relevant to any one or combination of the
following three themes:
1) Traditional and Non-Traditional Approaches to Security and Diplomacy Topic areas include transnational terrorism, internal ethnic and religious strife, infectious diseases, food safety, climate change, and non-proliferation, as well as the role of cultural initiatives in peace building.
2) Global and Regional Economic Issues
Topic areas include regional and bilateral trade arrangements,
globalization and the mitigation of its adverse consequences, sustainable urbanization, and environmental degradation.
3) Role of Civil Society
Topic areas include demographic change, immigration, the role of NPOs and NGOs as champions of the public interest, social enterprise, and
corporate social responsibility.

Research projects should be policy relevant, contemporary, and comparative or transnational.

Fellowship Terms
Terms of the fellowship are flexible and are designed to meet the needs of Japanese and American researchers at different stages in their careers. The program provides Abe Fellows with a minimum of 3 and maximum of 12 months of full-time support over a 24 month period. Part-time residence abroad in the United States or Japan is required.

Eligibility
This competition is open to citizens of the United States and Japan as
well as to nationals of other countries who can demonstrate strong and
serious long-term affiliations with research communities in Japan or the United States. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. or the terminal degree in their field, or equivalent professional experience. Applications from researchers in professions other than academia are encouraged.

Ian Rinehart
Program Assistant Abe Fellowship Program Social Science Research
Council
810 Seventh Ave.
31st Floor
New York, NY 10019
P:212-377-2700 ext. 423
F:212-377-2727
Email: abe@ssrc.org
Visit the website at
http://fellowships.ssrc.org/abe/detailed_app_criteria/

Posted by sjearlds at 08:50 AM

Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society, June 23-26, 2009, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Call for Papers / Travel Grants:

Shaping Europe in a Globalized World?
-
Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society?

Conference at the University of Zurich, Department of German
with the support of the European Commission

Conveners:
Roland Axtmann (Centre for the Study of Culture and Politics, University of Swansea), Kathrin Fahlenbrach (University of
Halle), Martin Klimke (University of Heidelberg), Joachim Scharloth
(University of Zurich)

Location:Department of German, University of Zurich
Date:June 23-26, 2009

Recent research into the development and implications of transnational
modes of political organization has tended to concentrate on the growth of institutions involved with international political and economic governance. This has been counter-balanced by growing research into international protest movements that appears to paint a picture of an emerging transnational civil society; one that includes formalized Non-Governmental Organisations such as OXFAM, Amnesty International and international labour movements as well as the seemingly more spontaneous movements associated with anti-globalization and anti-capitalist activism. The study of transnational social movements is, then, central to the development of our understanding of the internationalization of politics as such and in particular to attempts to conceptualize a global
civil society.

However, such research is problematic and in need of expansion and
realignment in both the conceptual and empirical dimensions. There are
three central issues that need to be addressed:

Secondly, research into social movements tends overwhelmingly to
concentrate on movements of the left. This leads not only to the
minimizing of the attention paid to social movements of the right. It
also simply generalizes a particular dimension of political
differentiation while suppressing others. This may have been sufficient for the study of the first wave of post-war transnational movements in 1960s Europe. It is not sufficient for today. For instance, an increasingly significant political phenomenon consists of transnational nationalisms: movements organized for national 'liberation' that operate across borders, connected to and sustained by networks of migrant co-nationals and other sympathizers. Movements organized to oppose trade liberalization may be motivated by nationalist and particularist sentiments as well as social democratic nostalgia. Religious movements cannot easily be contained within a left-right spectrum. Research into transnational social movements must undertake empirical examination of the multiple dimensions along which groups are dispersed and also to conceptualise this distribution.

Thirdly, to date research has concentrated on European-style social
movements and has identified similar variants in other regions. But this might mean that religious movements such as Falun Gong in China are not properly attended to.

The goal of this conference is to address these issues; to consolidate
present research and to begin developing new empirical findings and new conceptual frameworks.

We especially encourage applications referring to the following topics:

*Globalization of Politics - Globalization of Protest?

*Transnationalism within Right Wing Protest Movements

*Filling the Gap: European Protest Movements as a Result of a Lack of
Democracy within the EU

*EU Polity and Europeanization of Protest

*Applying the Concepts of "Civil Society" and "Social Movements" in
Eastern Europe and non-European Countries - Potential and Limits

*Even Newer Social Movements - Creating new Public Spheres?

*Building Transnational Protest Identities - Languages, Images and Actions

*European Anti-Corporate Campaigns in a Globalized Economy

*Migration and Ethnicity as a Source of Protest

*Professionalizing Protest

*The Future of Political Participation: Social Movements, Lobbying or
Party Politics

*Taming Protest: The Rituals of Violence

Applications from postgraduate students, early stage researchers
(PhD-students), postdocs and young scholars from all disciplinary and
national backgrounds are strongly encouraged and form the main target
group for this event.

All travel and accommodation costs within reasonable boundaries will be covered by the European Union.

Although the conference language will mainly be English, we also invite proposals in French, Spanish, Dutch, German and Polish, if a short summary (2 pages) in English is provided.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: August 15, 2008 (abstracts no longer than 500 words)

SELECTIONS WILL BE MADE BY: October 1, 2008

PLEASE USE ONLINE APPLICATION AT: www.protest-research.eu

FURTHER QUESTIONS: mail@protest-research.eu

Posted by sjearlds at 08:39 AM

Popular Culture and Socialism(s)

Call for proposals for contributions to an edited collection

Since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and the socialist regimes of
Eastern Europe passed into history, at least two major developments
have taken place in the realm of Cold War studies, and more broadly in our understanding of 20th century history. One was spurred by the
opening archives in the former Eastern block, which greatly increased
the opportunities for international and comparative research on the
Cold War, and gave rise to important reinterpretations of key
historical events and processes in this period. The other major
development involves a growing acknowledgment of the role of culture
in the clash between communism and capitalism. Its proponents argue
that mainstream approaches have perceived the Cold War primarily, and
often exclusively, as a military, political and economic conflict, and missed the importance of factors such as religion, sports, education, literature, film, radio, television and consumerism.

Over the past two decades, historians, sociologists, art critics,
anthropologists and media scholars have contributed to a veritable
outpouring of publications exploring the complex relationships between political agendas, economic policies and cultural practices.
Initially, most studies of Cold War culture have focused on the United States (e.g. Whitfield 1991; Wagnleitner 1994; Saunders 1999; Schwartz 2000), and to a smaller extent on Western Europe (e.g. Duggan and Wagstaff 1995; Nelson 1997; Scott-Smith and Krabbendam 2003). More recently, some scholars have began capitalizing on the increased accessibility of primary sources from former socialist states (e.g. Reid and Crowley 2000; Crewe 2003), and developed thought-provoking accounts of the cultural Cold War spanning both the West and the East (e.g. Buck-Morss 2000; Poiger 2000; Caute 2003; Mitter and Major 2004).

This growing body of work has not only broadened the geographical
scope of the debate about the cultural Cold War, but also raised a
number of wider conceptual and methodological issues. To start with,
it questioned the value of understanding the socialist period as a
'deviation' from the supposedly normal course of historical
development, as well as challenged the usefulness of treating the Cold War as a distinct historical period. Instead, it highlighted the
continuities between post-1945 cultural histories and long-term
historical trends, including the rise of modernity, popular
sovereignty and mass production. Furthermore, this body of literature
also highlighted some of the structural similarities between the
developments in the East and the West, and thereby questioned the
rigid and often highly value-laden East-West distinction. Last but not least, this literature also opened the venue for a more nuanced
understanding of post-socialist transformation, and for a critical
engagement with the 'transitological' accounts of the collapse of
socialist regimes. It is becoming increasingly clear that the
processes of transformation in post-socialist Eastern Europe are far
from uniform, and instead differ depending on the particularities of
both pre- and post-World War II trajectories of individual countries
(Pickels and Smith 1998; Stark and Bruszt 1998). Depending on these
trajectories, the post-socialist societies are equipped with specific
forms of economic, social as well as cultural capital which all
influence their reaction to, or appropriation of, the liberal
capitalist modus operandi (Blokker 2005).

The proposed edited collection seeks to further the debate on these
issues by focussing on the history of popular culture in socialist
Eastern Europe, as well as its legacies in the post-socialist period.
We would welcome contributions addressing one or more of the following
issues:

1. Politics, Ideology and Popular Culture: What were the key
ideological attitudes of the political establishment and the socialist intelligentsia towards 'popular' or 'mass' culture? How have they changed over time, and how did they differ from country to country? To what extent did these attitudes differ from those held by the political and cultural elites in the West? How have they shaped the cultural and media policies in socialist countries?

2. Popular Culture and Legitimacy: To what extent did the socialist
regimes accommodate the increasing demand for popular culture and
consumer products among the population, and to what extent can this be seen as a (successful) attempt at addressing the lack of popular
legitimacy? Or, in other words: were popular culture and consumerism
always inherently subversive, or were they also used as a tool of
internal legitimation and consolidation of socialist regimes?

3. Negotiation, Appropriation, and Resistance: How did either the
producers or the consumers of popular culture adapt to the limits
imposed by socialist cultural policies? How 'popular' were the popular culture products sanctioned and promoted by the socialist regimes? What practices of adaptation, negotiation or resistance can be discerned (e.g. cynicism/kynism, irony, dialogic farce etc.), and how influential were they in undermining the of legitimacy socialist
regimes?

4. Cross-border Exchange: What were the major routes of cross-border
exchange of popular culture, both among the socialist states
themselves and across the Cold War divide (e.g. transnational film and music distribution, co-operation between national broadcasting
organizations, adaptation of foreign genres, formats and practices of
cultural production etc.)? How did these exchanges contribute to the
diversity and similarity of cultural production across different
socialist states as well as across the Cold War divide?

5. Western Theories and Socialist Popular Culture: How useful are the
concepts and theories of popular culture developed in the West -
particularly those coming from the field of cultural studies - in
understanding socialist popular culture? What alternative theories and concepts can we think of that can better elucidate the role of popular culture in socialist states?

6. Socialist Popular Culture, Historical Continuities and
Post-socialist Developments: To what extent were the different
attitudes and responses to popular culture in socialist Eastern Europe rooted in pre-World War II cultural preferences and practices? What is the legacy of socialist popular culture today, and how does it figure in various nostalgic recollections of the period (Ostalgie,
Yugonostalgia etc.)? To what extent did the post-communist societies
inherit the 'structures of feeling' (Williams 1961) established
through the socialist popular culture?

Ideally, we would like all contributions to be both empirically
grounded and theoretically informed. Please send your proposals
(800-1000 words) with a brief Curriculum Vitae (1 x A4) to Reana
Senjković (Reana@ief.hr) and Sabina Mihelj (S.Mihelj@lboro.ac.uk) by October 31, 2008. We will inform you about our decision by December 15, and if your proposal is accepted, we will expect a first draft by the end of May 2009, and a final manuscript by the end of September 2009.

We are currently in the process of securing funding for a small
workshop that will allow us to discuss the first drafts and the
possible ways of weaving them together into a coherent book. The
workshop will be organized in Budapest, Hungary, in June 2009. Further details will follow after the submission of abstracts.

Reana Senjković
Institut of Ethnology and Folklore Research
Šubićeva 42
10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Reana@ief.hr
http://www.ief.hr/page.php?id=285&lang=en

Sabina Mihelj
Department of Social Sciences
Loughborough University
Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK
S.Mihelj@lboro.ac.uk
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ss/staff/mihelj.html

References:
Blokker, Paul. 2005. "Post-Communist Modernization, Transition
Studies, and Diversity in Europe", European Journal of Social Theory
8(4): 503-525.
Buck Morss, Susan. 2000. Dreamworld and Catastrophe. the Passing of
Mass Utopia in the East and West. Cambridge and London: MIT Press.
Burawoy, Michel and Katherine Verdery (eds). 1999. Uncertain
Transition. Ethnographies of Change in the Postsocialist World,
Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield.
Caute, David. 2003. The Dancer Defects: The Struggle for Cultural
Supremacy during the Cold War. Oxford and New York: Oxford University
Press.
Crewe, David (ed.). 2003. Consuming Germany in the Cold War, Oxford: Berg.
Duggan, Christopher and Christopher Wagstaff (eds.). 1995. Italy in
the Cold War: Politics, Culture and Society, 1948-58. Oxford: Berg.
Mitter, Rana and Patrick Major (eds.). 2004. Across the Blocs: Cold
War Cultural and Social History. London: Frank Cass.
Nelson, Michael. 1997. War of the Black Heavens: The Battles of
Western Broadcasting in the Cold War. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse
University Press.
Pickles, John and Adrian Smith. 1998. Theorising Transition: The
political Economy of Post-Communist Transformations. London: Routledge.
Poiger, Uta G.. 2000. Jazz, Rock, and Rebels: Cold War Politics and
American Culture in a Divided Germany. Berkeley, Los Angeles and
London: University of California Press.
Reid, Susan E. and David Crowley (eds.). 2000. Style and Socialism:
Modernity and Material Culture in Post-War Eastern Europe. Oxford and
New York: Berg.
Saunders, Frances Stonor. 1999. Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the
Cultural Cold War. London: Granta.
Schwartz, Rixhard A.. 2000. Cold War Culture: Media dn the Arts,
1945-1990. New York: Checkmark Books.
Scott-Smith, Giles and Hans Krabbendam (eds.). 2003. The Cultural Cold
War in Western Europe, 1945-1960. London: Frank Cass.
Stark, David and Laszlo Bruszt. 1998. Postsocialist Pathways:
Transforming Politics and Property in East Central Europe. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Wagnleitner, Reinhold. 1994. Coca-Colonization and the Cold War: The
Cultural Mission of the United States in Austria after the Second
World War. London: University of North Carolina Press.
Whitfield, Stephen J.. 1991. The Culture of the Cold War. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press.
Williams Raymond. 1961. The Long Revolution ("Analysis of Culture"),
London: Chatto & Windus.

Posted by sjearlds at 08:33 AM

July 01, 2008

Research fellow, Germany

The Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB) seeks to hire one fulltime

RESEARCH FELLOW

in the research unit Migration, Integration, Transnationalization
(directed by Prof. Dr. Ruud Koopmans), within the research area Civil
Society, Conflict and Democracy (see http://www.wzb.eu/zkd/mit/),
preferably beginning on 1 December 2008. The duration of employment will be three years (with the possibility of contract extension). The
research unit focuses on cross-nationally comparative studies on
migration and integration problems, mainly in European immigration
societies.

Tasks: The research fellow will work independently, including the
conceptualization and implementation of research projects, with special emphasis on quantitative empirical analyses and publications on topics related to the unit's research programme.

Requirements: Applicants should have outstanding credentials in social
science, a PhD degree, and research interest in migration and
integration questions. Candidates should provide evidence of very good
knowledge of advanced quantitative research methods (e.g. longitudinal
or multilevel data analyses). Excellent command of English and at least one additional language of a European immigration country (e.g. German, French, Dutch) or one of the main immigrant languages (e.g., Turkish, Arabic) is required. Expertise in the field of migration and integration and experience with cross-nationally comparative research designs and in obtaining research grants would be advantageous.

The salary will be in accordance with German civil service standards (up to level E 14 / E 15), depending on qualifications and experience.

Disabled candidates with equal qualifications will be given preference; the WZB expressly invites women and persons of migrant background to apply.

Candidates are kindly requested to submit their applications and the
usual accompanying documentation by no later than 1 August 2008 to:

Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin
für Sozialforschung gGmbH
Professor Dr. Ruud Koopmans
Reichpietschufer 50, 10785 Berlin

For further information, contact the research unit's secretary Mrs.
Jutta Hoehne at:
hoehne@wzb.eu

Posted by sjearlds at 08:56 AM

Postdocs Helsinki Collegium, Finland

HELSINKI COLLEGIUM POSTDOCTORAL/UNIVERISTY RESEARCHER POSITIONS

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE APPLICANTS!
Below you will find the call specifications for our 2009 application
procedure which will be completely electronic. The link to the
electronic application form is at the bottom of this page. The
application from will be available starting on August 4, 9:00 a.m. local Helsinki time. Before filling in the electronic application form, please read the instructions carefully.

The term of office for successful applicants will begin on 1 August
2009. The monthly salary will depend on the assessed job demand level
and personal work performance. The Board of the Helsinki Collegium for
Advanced Studies will determine the length of the appointments for a
fixed term of 1 - 5 years based on the research plan of each applicant.

Applicants best able to meet the requirements of the post will have a
doctoral degree, previous research experience in the humanities and/or
social sciences, and demonstrated ability for scientific work at a high international level. The applicant must also demonstrate how she or he would participate in the multi- and cross-disciplinary cooperation practiced at the Collegium. The working language of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies is English.

The Collegium will appoint applicants who are at different stages of
their academic careers. The Collegium encourages applications also from professor-level applicants. Such applicants may be recruited to the Collegium under the title Research Director.

The application deadline is Wednesday, 10 September 2008, at 3.45 p.m.
(local Helsinki time). At this hour the electronic application system
will be closed. Should you encounter any difficulties with the
submission of your electronic application, you are requested to inform
the Collegium (collegium-office@helsinki.fi) of this before the
deadline. Late applications cannot be submitted. Decisions will be
announced in the afternoon of 2 February 2009. NB! No letters of
reference or recommendations are to be enclosed, only the attachments
mentioned in the application form.

Applicant's information package:

http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/english/application_procedure/application_procedure2007.htm

Posted by sjearlds at 08:54 AM

The Presence of Absence: Coming to Terms with the Holocaust in Contemporary European Literature , Boston (15.09.2008)

The Presence of Absence: Coming to Terms with the Holocaust in
Contemporary European Literature

40th Anniversary Convention, Northeast Modern Language Association
(NeMLA) Feb. 26-March 1, 2009 Hyatt Regency - Boston, Massachusetts

"To keep silent is forbidden, to speak is impossible." This quote by
Elie Wiesel contains the paradox that the survivors face after an
atrocity such as the Holocaust. It is necessary and impossible to talk
or write about the event. Impossible, because language eludes the
reality that was experienced and at the same time necessary, as it seems to be the only possibility to remember, witness and survive. The
witness, the writer, must talk and write even though he knows it will be disappointing. Language cannot encapsulate and retrace the reality of the event but language has to convey the memory, the witnessing. The necessity prevails and one must speak and write knowing that language is not adequate, knowing that it is impossible.

Maurice Blanchot also reflects on the possibility of writing after the
Holocaust. A quote from The writing of the disaster, clearly articulates this impossibility which carries a necessity: "And how, in fact, can one accept not to know? We read books on Auschwitz. The wish of all, in the camps, the last wish: know what has happened, do not forget, and at the same time never will you know." It is necessary to know and it is impossible to know. Writing seems to contain the impossible memory; fiction indeed allows this impossible retranscription. Fiction, by the way it functions, gives presence to absence. Fiction thus seems the most adequate of inadequate mediums to convey the necessary impossibility

This panel seeks to explore the different ways in which writers in
contemporary Europe address, directly or indirectly the paradox, the
impossible necessity, the necessary impossibility to witness, to talk
and write about the Holocaust.

Deadline: September 15, 2008

Please include with your abstract:

Name and Affiliation
Email address
Postal address
Telephone number
A/V requirements (if any; $10 handling fee)

Please send your abstract to both panel chairs.

Emmanuelle Vanborre, Ph.D. and Gregor Thuswaldner, Ph.D.
Department of Foreign Languages & Linguistics
Gordon College
255 Grapevine Road
Wenham, MA 01984
Fax (978) 867 3300
Emmanuelle.Vanborre@gordon.edu
Gregor.Thuswaldner@gordon.edu

Posted by sjearlds at 08:53 AM

EU Project Coordination: Network in the area of research cooperation with South East Europe

Job description:
Coordination of two intertwined EU projects: a network of ministries and agencies from 14 countries on the topic of research cooperation with South Eastern Europe, see http://www.see-era.net and its follow-up project SEE-ERA.NET PLUS.

Full-time employment (40 hours/week), starting September or October 1,
2008 in Vienna, Austria.

Qualifications and experience required:
- university degree, experience in science and research cooperation
- experience in management and leadership, intercultural sensibility
- experience with ministries and funding agencies
- practical knowledge of the EU Framework Programme on RTD (including
project controlling)
- experience in administrative and financial project management of
national and international projects,
- team spirit, responsibility, ability to work under pressure,
flexibility, accuracy, willingness to travel (at times the job requires
intensive travel load)
- excellent knowledge of English and German (written and spoken)

Additional qualifications of advantage:
- knowledge of a further European (especially south-east European) language
- experience with ERA-NET projects

location: Vienna, Austria

applications till July 15. 2008 per e-mail to:
Dr. Klaus Schuch, Centre for Social Innovation, Linke Wienzeile 246,
A-1150 Wien, schuch@zsi.at and see-era.net@zsi.at

Job interviews: July 28-31, 2008

Posted by sjearlds at 08:50 AM

2008 SLRF Conference in Hawaii - pre-register by August 15

The Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is pleased to host the . . .

31st annual Second Language Research Forum (SLRF)
October 17-19, 2008
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii
http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/slrf08/

Theme: EXPLORING SLA: PERSPECTIVES, POSITIONS, AND PRACTICES

Plenary speakers:
- Dr. Harald Clahsen (University of Essex)
- Dr. Alan Firth (Newcastle University)
- Dr. Carmen Munoz (Universitat de Barcelona)
- Dr. Richard Schmidt (University of Hawai'i at Manoa)

Invited colloquia:
- "Comparing child L2 and SLI: Crosslinguistic perspectives" (Theres
Gruter - organizer)
- "Language learning in and out of the classroom: Connecting contexts of language use with learning and teaching practices" (Christina Higgins - organizer)

To see an overview of the entire conference program (with over 200
presentations), see the SCHEDULE GRID at

http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu/slrf08/program.htm

PRE-REGISTER for the conference by AUGUST 15 to enjoy special discount
rates. For more information, visit:

http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu/slrf08/registration.htm

Posted by sjearlds at 08:48 AM

University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Department of Second Language Studies

Assistant Professor

The Department of Second Language Studies, University of Hawaii at
Manoa, seeks to fill a vacancy at the assistant professor level. The
Department offers a Master of Arts in Second Language Studies, a PhD
program in Second Language Acquisition and an Advanced Graduate
Certificate in Second Language Studies. A BA with an ESL
specialization is available through the University's Interdisciplinary
Studies Program. Faculty have interests in a wide range of domains in
second and foreign language research. For more information, visit our
website: http://www.hawaii.edu/sls

Assistant Professor Position #82454. tenure track, full time 9-month,
pending position availability and funding, to begin August 1, 2009.

Minimum qualifications: Applicants should have major research
interests & instructional competence in technology and language
learning & teaching (e.g., computer-assisted language learning;
computer-mediated communication; electronic and multimodal literacies;
distance learning; emerging technologies; language courseware design
and evaluation); doctorate in second language acquisition, applied
linguistics or closely related field by August 2009; demonstrated
ability to conduct relevant research; second or foreign language
teaching experience; and evidence of excellent teaching ability at the
university level.

Desirable qualifications: Publication in journals and books; teaching
experience in a second language studies or equivalent graduate
program; ability to win competitive research funding; interest in the
Asia-Pacific region, including Asian and Pacific languages; and
teacher education experience.

Duties: Teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the area of
specialization in the Department of Second Language Studies; conduct
and publish research; participate in departmental, college,
university, and community service.

Annual 9-month Salary Range: commensurate with qualifications and
experience.

E-mail inquiries:

Dr. Lourdes Ortega <lortega@hawaii.edu>

To apply: Applicants should submit letter of application in which you
address how you meet the qualifications for the position, a research
statement, your curriculum vitae, a list of courses taught, and sample
publications. In addition, letters of reference should be submitted
directly by three recommenders. Hard copies of all application
materials should be sent by October 15, 2008 to:

Dr. Lourdes Ortega

Search Committee Chair

Department of Second Language Studies
570 Moore Hall
1890 East-West Road
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
USA

Closing date: October 15, 2008.

Posted by sjearlds at 08:46 AM

Liaison and Networking Manager – Centre for European Studies, Carleton University

The Centre for European Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa invites applications for the position of Liaison and Networking Manager. This position offers a unique opportunity to develop a Canada-Europe network of research excellence based on a consortium of expertise from across Canada. The position will commence in summer 2008 for a one year period, but may be subject to renewal for up to seven years. The person filling the position will be responsible for working with the Director of the Centre and with other professors from across Canada in developing vehicles for linking research outputs in the field of European and EU Studies with relevant constituencies in Canada and Europe, including government agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil society structures, academic institutions, and the business community. The successful applicant will be employed within the context of a Strategic Knowledge Cluster (funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada), housed at Carleton University, and entitled Canada-Europe Transatlantic Dialogue: Seeking Transnational Solutions to 21st Century Problems and may also work do work related to other activities related to network coordination of EU studies programs. Ideally, the position will be filled at the half-time or three-quarter time level (18-28 hours per week), but for the appropriate candidate full-time appointment may also be considered.

Required qualifications include excellent skills of interpersonal communication and networking, strong English-language writing skills, oral and written competence in French, familiarity with or previous work in policy studies, ability to work in a team, and a proactive approach to problem-solving and to project development. Demonstrated experience in utilizing these skills is desirable. Expertise in the areas of European integration, EU/European policy studies, and/or EU external relations is an asset for the position. Familiarity with Canada and Canadian government are also desirable. In addition experience in utilizing a variety of communication vehicles (e.g., websites, policy publications and briefings, innovative electronic media, workshops, and working groups ) will be considered an asset. The successful candidate may be expected to supervise student assistants and to oversee an on-line graduate student journal. Applicants would normally be expected, at a minimum, to have completed a Masters degree in an appropriate field; individuals with a PhD degree or working toward a PhD degree in an appropriate field are encouraged to apply.

Applicants should provide a curriculum vita, academic transcripts, a writing sample in English, evidence of knowledge of French, and two confidential letters of reference relevant to the position advertised. Also required is a letter of application explaining the applicant’s interest in the position, as well as the applicant’s relevant background and experience, and availability. Consideration of applications will commence on July 8, 2008 and will continue until the position is filled. Please deliver application materials to Prof. Joan DeBardeleben, Director, Centre for European Studies, 1312 Dunton Tower, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6 (hard copy; please notify if you must submit any material be email). For further information, you may contact. Joan DeBardeleben at joan_debardeleben@carleton.ca

Carleton University is committed to equality of employment for women, aboriginal peoples, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities. Persons from these groups are encouraged to apply. In accordance with Canadian immigration requirements, priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

Posted by sjearlds at 08:45 AM

Discovering the Human. Life Sciences and the Arts in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, Berlin (01.12.2008)

Discovering the Human.
Life Sciences and the Arts in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth
Centuries

(International Conference at the Department of English and American
Studies, Humboldt-Universität Berlin, 10-12 September 2009)

According to common scholarly opinion, the eighteenth century is not
an era particularly famous for its groundbreaking scientific
discoveries. Considering the innovations in the so-called life
sciences, e.g. the emergence of modern neuroscience or the
experiments of Galvani, this belief may be disputed. Although the
eighteenth century undoubtedly also has to be characterized, as the
late Roy Porter has pointed out, by the terms “acceptance”,
“consolidation”, and “assimilation”, the scientific landscape of the
era, as latest research has emphasized, is much more complex and has
a lot more to offer. In this context, the conference will focus on
the life sciences, i.e. medicine, natural philosophy, physiology,
psychology, and, at the close of the century, the emerging discipline
of biology, in order to highlight how the discovery of the human is
both the result of transformative processes as well as new
discoveries and insights.

For the contemporary concept of the human, these transformations were
indeed groundbreaking since they brought about a shift from the
previous worldview dominated by religion to the modern scientific
one. Science, hence, became an accepted cultural reality in the age
of reason and in romanticism and was, as such, reflected, commented
on, and criticized in literature and other cultural discourses. At
the same time, traditional religious viewpoints remained of major
importance in all major scientific disciplines. The conference aims
to reflect the parallel and often contradictory discourses
contributing to the construction and/or discovery of the human.

As the concept of the human was altered due to the gradual spreading
of scientific knowledge, so did the depiction of the human change in
literature and the arts. Since the two cultures, art and science,
were not yet distinguished categories but rather closely intertwined,
the modern concept of the human is a result of scientific-aesthetic
negotiations.

The complex debates revolving around mechanism, vitalism, and
materialism in order to define the nature of life in general are a
case in point. The mechanistic physiology in the tradition of René
Descartes that had replaced classical medical models such as the
theory of the four humours gradually, as the century proceeded, made
way for more holistic notions such as vitalism and a materialism
based on the conception of the human and animal body as a self-
sufficient organism, which is the prerequisite for the discovery of
the human. And at times it is hard to say whether central texts, such
as the works of Erasmus Darwin, are to be called science or poetry.

Possible topics for papers are:

· The body as a scientific organism in the arts
· Imagination and scientific theories of the mind
· Gendering the sciences
· Neuroscience in literature and art
· The scientist as a literary topos
· Creating the human as a monster in science and art

Please send an abstract of 200-300 words and a short CV by e-mail to
Dr. Ralf Haekel (ralf.haekel@staff.hu-berlin.de) or Sabine Blackmore
(sabine.blackmore@staff.hu-berlin.de) by 1 December 2008.

For more information, please visit our website:
www.discoveringthehuman.com

Conveners:

·Dr. Ralf Haekel, Department of English and American Studies,
Humboldt-University Berlin
·Sabine Blackmore, M.A., Department of English and American
Studies, Humboldt-University Berlin

Posted by sjearlds at 08:43 AM

The Historical Review / La Revue Historique

The Historical Review / La Revue Historique is an annual peer-reviewed
journal dedicated to historical research in the human sciences. Now in
the fourth year of publication, the journal has been established by
the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) of the National Hellenic
Research Foundation (NHRF) with the objective of fostering research
and dialogue among scholars working in Greece and abroad.
In the interest of pluralism, The Historical Review / La Revue
Historique accepts contributions in both English and French.
Contributions must be original and should not be under consideration
by any other publication at the time of their submission.
There is no standard length for articles but 8000 words (including
notes and references) is a useful target. The article should begin
with an abstract of 100-150 words. Details of the author's contact
information should be included on a separate sheet. Submissions should
be in electronic form and should be sent to the editor, Prof.
Paschalis Kitromilides in the following address:
historical_review@eie.gr.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts conform to
the style of journal. A guide of style, presentation and
transliteration can be found inside the back cover of past issues of
The Historical Review / La Revue Historique but can also be viewed on
the journal website

http://www.eie.gr/nhrf/institutes/inr/news/historicalreview/instructions.pdf
Contents and abstracts of volumes I – IV may be found at the IHR/ NHRF
website

http://www.eie.gr/nhrf/institutes/inr/news/historicalreview/historicalrev-en.html

Posted by sjearlds at 08:40 AM

CES-EUC

European and EU-related opportunities for students and faculty. http://www.ii.umich.edu/ces-euc

July 29, 2008

Journal: Biological Constraints on the Literary Imagination

DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship Program

European History, 11/05-08/2008, Louisville

Goethe, Literature, Science, 09/18/2008, Johns Hopkins

Mediating the Message: The Poetics of Communication in German Literature, Language, Film and Culture, Cincinnati (01.09.2008)

The Changing Face of History, 10/17-19/2008, Maine

Europe before the European Community, 1918-1957 Images and Ideas, 12/11-12/2008, London

Fellowship: Germany, Europe, and/or transatlantic relations, Washington DC

World History Encyclopedia

LIMINA: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies

The Victorian Everyday

Akademie Schloss Solitude

The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships

Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowships in Women's Studies

Funding

Theorizing Narrative Genres and Gender, 05/15-16/2009, Germany

Theorizing Narrative Genres and Gender, 05/15-16/2009, Germany

July 15, 2008

Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society, 06/23-26/2008, Zurich

Reconsidering Conflict, Terror and Resolution, 09/11-12/2008, Strathclyde

Western Association of Women Historians, 04/30-05/01/2009, University of Santa Clara

Political Science - International Relations, University of Chicago

World Conference of Humanitarian Studies, 02/4-8/2009, Groningen

Modern Austrian Literature and Culture Association, 04/23-26/2009, Emory University

Fellowship: Woodrow Wilson Center

July 08, 2008

Law,Religion and Democracy, March 25-28, 2009,European University Institute

UNESCO Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship

Opportunities for Funding from The Clinton Global Initiative University

The Division of Public Programs at the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities

Abe Fellowship

Shaping Europe in a Globalized World? Protest Movements and the Rise of a Transnational Civil Society, June 23-26, 2009, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Popular Culture and Socialism(s)

July 01, 2008

Research fellow, Germany

Postdocs Helsinki Collegium, Finland

The Presence of Absence: Coming to Terms with the Holocaust in Contemporary European Literature , Boston (15.09.2008)

EU Project Coordination: Network in the area of research cooperation with South East Europe

2008 SLRF Conference in Hawaii - pre-register by August 15

University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Department of Second Language Studies

Liaison and Networking Manager – Centre for European Studies, Carleton University

Discovering the Human. Life Sciences and the Arts in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, Berlin (01.12.2008)

The Historical Review / La Revue Historique