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Academic Program: Kyrgyz Summer Adventure (SRAS)

Deadline for Applications: March 15, 2017

Kyrgyz Summer Adventure

There are many reasons to experience Kyrgyzstan and learn more about its people, history, and culture. From its position as America’s strongest ally in the economically and militarily important Central Asia region to the opportunity it offers for outdoor adventure and inexpensive travel, we believe Kyrgyzstan is an oft-overlooked destination for study abroad.

Kyrgyz Summer Adventure offers intensive Russian language training and a one week trek through the gorgeous mountains of Kyrgyzstan on horseback, practicing the language. Students can choose three weeks of language training or, for a better value, a full nine weeks. Students will also learn more about local history, culture, and food through a variety of guest speakers and workshops.

Kyrgyz Summer Adventure is perfect for students of anthropology, language, area studies, history, or even international relations. It’s also perfect for anyone with an outdoorsy spirit who would like to gain Russian language skills this summer while doing something that will generate incredible stories and memories from your time riding, hiking, and engaging with locals in the mountains of Central Asia. See the sample itinerary below and prepare to get excited.

– Dates and Costs –

Summer

Four Weeks: Cost: $3,695
June 19 – July 16, 2017  (Apply by: April 15, 2017)

Ten Weeks: Cost: $7,390
May 29 – Aug 4, 2017  (Apply by: March 15, 2017)

Semester Options: See Central Asian Studies

For more information, and to apply, click here.

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Academic Program: Russian as a Second Language (SRAS)

Deadline for Applications: March 15/31, 2017

Russian as a Second Language
Study Russian in Russia, Ukraine, or Kyrgyzstan

Russian as a Second Language (RSL) program packages are designed for flexibility to suit almost any need or interest. Study for a week or a year. Choose the bustling streets of Moscow or the rugged hills of Kyrgyzstan. Take advanced courses or start with the basics. Home Stays and TORFL Testing are optionally available. Full summer programs can be combined with seminars and adventures ranging from business courses to horse trekking. With SRAS, it’s all up to you.

Options:

Full Summer (10 weeks): Cost: $6,695
May 29 – Aug 4, 2017  (Apply by: March 15, 2017)
Customizable with optional seminars! Click here.

Early Summer (8 weeks): Cost: $5,895
May 29 – July 21, 2017  (Apply by: March 15, 2017)

Late Summer (6 weeks): Cost: $4,995
June 26 – Aug 4, 2017  (Apply by: March 31, 2017)

Extended Deadlines! Full summer and early summer programs in Bishkek, Batumi, Kiev, and Odessa are still accepting applications through April 25! Batumi, Georgia and Odessa, Ukraine are additional locations open for summer RSL programs.

For more information, and to apply, click here.

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Academic Program: Coexistence and Religion (SRAS-Tbilisi, Georgia)

Deadline for Applications: March 30, 2017

Coexistence and Religion
History, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity in Georgia

Georgia has always been a land of multiple faiths: Judaism, Islam, Christian Orthodoxy, and Paganism have a long and unique history of coexistence. In the three-week course, we’ll begin in Tbilisi at the Georgian-American University where you’ll hear lectures on the role of religious traditions in the history and current life of Georgia, followed by thematic lectures on religious and secular traditions in Georgia. Topics will include: Church music, spiritual art, church and temple architecture, the unique history of Georgian Jews, Islam in Georgia, the persistence of paganistic practices, and the era of Soviet Official Atheism.

We will learn to reflect upon and better understand religious traditions, issues, questions, and values in Georgia, thereby enhancing and expanding our understanding of how religion and spirituality shape our own lives.

Lectures will be enhanced and extended through outside nonfiction and fiction readings, daily discussion sessions, and frequent visits to museums, galleries, and local sites. In the classroom, you’ll learn the history and the contemporary context; in the field, you’ll come to understand how religion and spirituality are interwoven into the landscape of Georgia.

– Dates and Costs –

Summer: $4,495*
May 28 – June 17, 2017  (Apply by March 30, 2017)

Program Add-ons:
Russian language study extension in Batumi, Georgia or Kiev, Ukraine: $395 per week
Security and Society Summer School, Course block 2 (June 18 – July 7) – $2,995

For more information, and to apply, click here.

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Academic Program: Security and Society Summer Program (SRAS-Warsaw, Poland)

Deadline for Applications: March 15, 2017

Security and Society
A Flexible Course for the Modern Age
in the Heart of Central Europe

Security and Society is a wide-ranging program designed to take full advantage of Poland’s many educational opportunities and provide students with a new perspective on global issues. This program is both an intensive and flexible experience – and one that is highly supportive of opportunities for personal and professional growth, including focussed research, internships, and independent travel in the region.

The semester offering focuses on Security and Society in the Information Age. We examine current issues such cybersecurity, information warfare, and how new and social media are changing the face of modern democracies. The Summer School session takes a broad but intensive approach looking at traditional and contemporary security issues. These range from maintaining international partnerships to developing domestic criminal justice and healthy ecological, demographic, entrepreneurial, and civic environments. Both semester and summer sessions offer a look at a case-study of one of the worst security failures of modern history: the Holocaust.

Security and Society is based in Warsaw, Poland, an excellent vantage to study all these issues. Poland was partitioned and dominated by foreign rule multiple times and suffered some of worst atrocities of WWII and the Holocaust. Taking its security issues particularly seriously, Poland has, in its post-Communist era, rapidly improved its economy and ecology, worked to build inclusive political and civic structures, and has taken active leadership roles in its region and in the wider EU.

This program is for students of a range of disciplines – from sociology/political science and journalism to history, business, and computer science – who are interested in better understanding security issues as they exist in today’s world. This program is excellent preparation for a range of graduate programs, including security  studies, homeland security, international relations, urban planning, and law enforcement. Students will gain a powerful understanding of the modern world, often through the lens of history.

This program offers a wide range of internship opportunities in areas related to all of the fields of study offered. Knowledge of Polish language is not required.

For more information, and to apply, click here.

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Academic Program: The Cuban-Russian Connection Summer Program (SRAS)

Deadline for Applications: March 01, 2017

The Cuban-Russian Connection
War and Revolution Remembered

Neither modern Cuba nor Russia can be understood without understanding the wars, revolutions, and communist forces they have experienced over the past century. The Cuban-Russian Connection explores how identity formation in each of these fascinating countries is carried out via culture, language, history, and religion. Cuba and Russia have both played important, strategic, and very often interrelated roles in US foreign policy. Understanding both countries is essential to understanding US interests in today’s changing geopolitical landscape.

The Cuban-Russian Connection will spend one week experiencing Cuba in tradition and transition and then move to three weeks of course work and excursions in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The course will cover  the Russian-American relationship from the 18th to the 20th century; the Soviet-Cuban relationship, including a comparison of the two revolutions (1917 and 1959); and the cultural impact of the Cuban Revolution on the USSR and modern Russia. Class discussions will consider the political triangle of Cuba/US/Russia that evolved from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the present. In Russia, we will also focus on selected topics in Russian culture and history: peasants and nobles, church and state, with special focus on the Revolution. Continue reading “Academic Program: The Cuban-Russian Connection Summer Program (SRAS)”

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CFP: “Privacy Outside Its ‘Comfort Zone’: Late Socialist Eastern and East-Central Europe between the Private and the Public” (U. of Passau)

Deadline for Submissions: February 28, 2017

“Privacy” is a well-researched yet highly disputed concept in Western scholarship. While most privacy research comes from and concentrates on Western liberal societies, great potential of privacy studies beyond this traditional framework still remains largely unexplored. The framework of Western liberal societies may therefore be seen not only as a “comfort zone” of privacy studies, but also as a barrier that often limits the potential of the research. This conference aims at elucidating the problems and the perspectives of privacy studies beyond the traditional liberal framework by bringing together scholars and PhD students who work on the concept of “privacy” in the context of Late Socialist Eastern and East-Central Europe.
A common challenge to privacy researchers of non-Western societies, especially if they come from such a society, is to refute the erroneous misconception of the absence of “privacy” in non-liberal societies, and to embrace the constructions of “privacy” that these local societies offer. This conference endeavors to create a dialogue between scholars and PhD students from all fields of humanities and social and political sciences to discuss the challenges of transgressing the borders of liberal frameworks, the strategies to cope with these challenges, and the perspectives for privacy research that such transgressions offer.

The use of this concept in the context of Late Socialist Eastern and East-Central Europe leads to a range of questions that challenge liberal dichotomies and pave the way for alternative visions of “privacy”. These questions are particularly resonant now, in the centennial year of the October Revolution, when its consequences are debated anew. While the liberal concept of “privacy” usually fails in the framework of authoritarian regimes of post-war Europe, the region offers a diversity of other impulses similar to the liberal idea of “privacy”. In the post-war years, Socialist Eastern and East-Central Europe witnessed the expansion of the material as well as immaterial private sphere, which did not only come as a result of the changed world order and subsequent transformations of Socialist societies, but can also be seen as a process that was meticulously planned, carried out, and controlled by the authorities of respective countries in an attempt to stabilize their regimes in the process of de-Stalinization. However, we should also consider whether the private sphere, so benevolently tolerated by Socialist states, continuously developed into an enfant terrible that nurtured not only stability, but also the disruptive forces of dissidence and civil rights movements, which ultimately undermined the Socialist bloc from within. These stabilizing and simultaneously disruptive currents of “privacy” within non-liberal societies are of particular interest, as they elucidate the multifaceted nature of this concept.

Participants are therefore asked to revisit and question the concept of “privacy” in liberal contexts as well as within the frameworks of Late Socialist Eastern and East-Central Europe by renegotiating the underlying categories within a certain society. The conference will specifically examine ways of addressing the concepts of “privacy” and “publicity” in said contexts by debating the applicable frameworks and by challenging existing approaches. It will further explore the potential of “reverse applicability” by discussing how privacy research in liberal contexts can benefit from other frameworks of privacy—the transfer that is of particular interest now, in the “post-privacy age”, when Snowden’s revelations elucidated the approximations of Western liberal states to the authoritarian models of the past and the present. In the light of such developments, the examination of Late Socialist authoritarian societies becomes advantageous for our understanding of contemporary privacy paradigms. Continue reading “CFP: “Privacy Outside Its ‘Comfort Zone’: Late Socialist Eastern and East-Central Europe between the Private and the Public” (U. of Passau)”

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Academic Program: The Ukrainian Summer Institute (Harvard U.)

Deadline for Applications: March 13, 2017

The Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute (HUSI) invites applications for its 2017 summer program.

Program Dates: June 17 – August 5, 2017
Application Deadlines:

  • March 13 for all applicants seeking financial aid
  • April 17 for applicants seeking an F-1 student visa
  • May 15 for all other applicants

HUSI offers seven weeks of intensive accredited university instruction in Ukrainian studies. The program is designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduates who are concentrating in Ukrainian studies or who wish to broaden their educational experience.

What makes HUSI different? 

  • Study at one of the most prestigious universities in the world
  • Access Harvard’s immense library system
  • Use the largest Ucrainica collection outside Eastern Europe
  • Visit Harvard’s world-renowned museums
  • Take advantage of all that the vibrant city of Cambridge has to offer
  • Socialize with peers and experts at formal and informal gatherings

Read about the HUSI experience in the words of our alumni.

For detailed information about the program, the application process and deadlines go to the HUSI website: www.huri.harvard.edu/husi.html

Additional questions may be directed to Serhiy Bilenky, HUSI Director, at 647-687-4953 or by email atserh.bilenky@utoronto.ca

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CFP: Accelerated development? Socio-political landslides, cultural ruptures and literary history in Eastern Europe (Ghent U.)

Deadline for Proposals: April 01, 2017

CALL FOR PAPERS
Accelerated development? Socio-political landslides, cultural ruptures and literary history in Eastern Europe (Ghent University, Ghent, September 29 – October 1, 2017)

In 1964 the Bulgarian-Belarusian-Russian scholar Georgii Gachev coined the term ‘uskorennoe razvitie’ or ‘accelerated development’ in his 1964 monograph Accelerated Development of Literature: On the Basis of the Bulgarian Literature of the First Half of the 19th Century.  The term describes what happened to Bulgarian literature during Ottoman rule. Being a ‘young’ and ‘peripheral’ literature, having started to develop only recently at the time, Bulgarian literature ‘had to’ go through the whole evolution of European literature at a high pace in order to catch up with the latter. One of the side effects of this accelerated development was that characteristics of different style periods could even co-occur. Gachev’s thought-provoking idea has never really received a lot of attention, except in Bulgarian studies, where the concept was elaborated, criticized and / or gave way to new theories (Petar Dinekov, Nikolai Genchev, Roumen Daskalov, Alexander Kiossev …), but mostly with regard to the development of Bulgarian culture and society.

Today Gachev’s theory seems outdated, not in the least for its centralist assumptions – i.e. taking for granted that central cultures take the lead and peripheral cultures follow suit – that form the very basis of the Eurocentric theory. Nonetheless, the potential of the very kernel of the concept is obvious – both for dealing with the literary histories of other ‘young’ and/or ‘peripheral’ literatures in different time periods and for challenging the different notions that form the basis of Gachev’s theory – ‘peripheral’, ‘young’, ‘Western’, ‘dominant’, ‘oppression’, ‘conservatism’. ‘Accelerated development’ may be a suitable term to describe how Western literary critics in the 19th century thought about the quickly evolving, ‘peripheral’ Russian literature of the time. ‘Accelerated development’ may also be applied to the evolution of (certain) Modernist movements in the ‘peripheral’ Eastern Europe. And what to say about the apparent fast-forward evolution of the East-European literatures after the collapse of Communism, quickly adapting Postmodernism, Magical Realism, and other literary trends that other, ‘central’ literatures had been going through earlier? Continue reading “CFP: Accelerated development? Socio-political landslides, cultural ruptures and literary history in Eastern Europe (Ghent U.)”

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Academic Job: Head of Slavic Division (Harvard)

Open Until Filled. Application Review Begins: Monday February 27, 2017.

The Widener Library at Harvard University is inviting applications for Head of its Slavic Division.

The Head, Slavic Division in the Harvard College Library has the primary responsibility, through the management of a team of specialists in Slavic and Eastern European languages, for collection development, technical services, reference, research and instructional services for users of Slavic information resources. Additional responsibilities include developing policies and procedures and formulating specific goals to fulfill the Library’s mission. The incumbent will also support outreach efforts which may include planning and guiding digitization projects, organizing or contributing to exhibitions, and engaging alumni, benefactors, the University community and the wider public in topics supported by the expertise of the staff and the collections. This position supports the research needs of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, scholars affiliated with the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Ukrainian Research Institute, as well as researchers throughout Harvard University, and the international scholarly community. Harvard Library’s Slavic holdings are among the largest in North America.

The Head, Slavic Division, will lead in developing strategies for collaboration with other university and research partners to increase access to information and to develop partnership which extend the Library’s capability to meet academic needs. The Library seeks a creative and innovative leader with excellent negotiation skills and a commitment to teamwork.

TYPICAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Identifies collection development needs by maintaining a close working relationship with FAS faculty as well as scholars and researchers both inside and outside of Harvard. Ensures appropriate collection development, in all formats and language areas supported by the Division, in accord with FAS priorities.
Is knowledgeable about scholarly communications and open access in libraries and in the university. Works with faculty, graduate students, and colleagues to increase awareness of DASH and the work of the Office for Scholarly Communication.
Oversees and coordinates technical services functions, including vendor relations, acquisitions, and cataloging, and ensures that workflows are optimized and work is accomplished efficiently and in a timely manner, in collaboration with Information and Technical Services and other parts of the Harvard Library.
Integrates with activities in Research, Teaching, and Learning to deliver a variety of services and partners with faculty in achieving academic mission.
Conducts independent research to support collection development, technical services and reference activities.
Provides instructional services to students to more effectively use the collection.
Manages all aspects of the Division’s work, monitors effectiveness, ensures productive and balanced operations, fosters teamwork within the division and with other units.
Manages staff performance and development and creates and sustains a goal-oriented, productive work environment.
Develops policies and procedures and formulates specific goals to fulfill the Division’s mission.
Collaborates with other university and research libraries to increase access to Slavic information resources in a cost-effective manner.
Participates in library committees, task forces, and programs. S/he is active professionally through service in relevant library organizations, research and publishing, or other means.
Contributes to fund-raising in the Harvard Library through the identification of projects or areas which would make compelling fundraising targets.

Continue reading “Academic Job: Head of Slavic Division (Harvard)”

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Funding Opportunity: DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship Program (Johns Hopkins U.)

Deadline for Applications: February 28, 2017

Title: DAAD/AICGS Research Fellowship Program
Sponsor: American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) – Johns Hopkins University
Amount: $4,725/month; 2 months

Description: 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 consecutive 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.

How to Apply: Apply directly to the sponsor by February 28. See the grant announcement for a complete list of materials to be submitted with the application. 

More Info: http://www.aicgs.org/employment/daad-aicgs-research-fellowship/

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