Budapest Workshop on Modernity in Central and Southeast Europe

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From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" <[email protected]>

Originally From: Lydia_Spataru/FS/[email protected]

The Central European University (Budapest)

announces an international workshop on

Perceptions of "Modernities:" Emergence of Political Modernity, Social Transformation and Ideologies of Modernism in Central and Southeast Europe in mid-19th-20th c. (Budapest, May 2000)

Call for Papers Application deadline, March 1, 2000

Much has been written about the multiplicity of the processes and forms of modernisation in Central and Southeast Europe. It has become obvious that projects of modernity that have been construed in Western Europe, have been differently understood and implemented in these regions. In that sense, some of the features of these cultures, that are usually labelled as signs of "backwardness", are not to be simply disregarded, just because they are mirroring other cultural configuration than the "western" one. Along these lines, it is important to use more elaborate historical and geographical perspectives than those infusing present scholarship, artificially separating countries into "Western" and "ex-Communist" ones. Western scholars have paid some attention to this disparity or difference, yet indigenous perspectives are still to be proposed. The idea of organising a workshop that would coagulate new perspectives of young scholars from these regions was formulated with respect to this need.

The invitation to attend the workshop is open to graduate students and PhD candidates, in social sciences and humanities. In addition to the title of the paper, applicants are suggested to submit a 250-words abstract, delineating the principal ideas of their presentation. Limited subsidies to cover travel expenses will be available. Accommodation and food will be entirely provided.

The problems of divergent visions of modernism in our region will be approached from three main perspectives based on three branches of disciplines: historical, political/sociological and cultural studies. Respectively, papers may correspond to the following topics and areas of studies:

I. Historical approaches: a. The protracted emergence of nation-states in the region b. Rejection, assimilation, emulation of modernity-projects in the XIX-XXth centuries II. Sociological/Political science approaches: a. Analysis of intercultural and interethnic conflicts and coexistence in the region; issues of minority protection. b. Typologies of social and political transformation in post-1989 Central and Southeast Europe III. Cultural approaches: a. Cultural representations and theories of modernism b. Transformation of identities: multiplicity of self-definition, social practices, everyday life

Applications should be submitted to the conveyors of the workshop:

Vangelis Kechriotis (University of Athens, History Department, Ph.D. student) Boyan Manchev (State University of Sofia "Kliment Ohridski", assistant lecturer) Tanja Petrovic (Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Linguistics, researcher) �gota Szentannai (ELTE Institute of Sociology, Ph.D. student) Bal�zs Trencs�nyi (CEU History Department, Ph.D. student) Marius Turda (CEU History Department, Ph.D. student, [email protected])

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