Latest news and events
CRCEES Roundtable Discussion: National Minority Rights and Non-Territorial Cultural Autonomy in Central and Eastern Europe
6 December 2006
Part of the AHRC-sponsored research project ‘Ending Nationalism? The Quest for Cultural Autonomy in Inter-war Europe’ and the CRCEES Briefing Days Programme.
30 January 2007 11.00-13.00
Randolph Hall, Main Building, University of Glasgow
Convenors:
Prof. John Hiden and Dr David Smith, Department of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow
Keynote Discussants:
Mr Christopher Decker, Chief, Security Issues Section, OSCE
Ms Irina Donciu, Director for Western and Central Europe, Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dr Károly Gruber, University of Gyõr, Hungary
Mr Shavarsh Khachatryan, Department of National Minorities and Religious Affairs, Republic of Armenia
Mrs Raduta Matache, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of Romania, London
Mrs Jelka Travnik, Minister Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Slovenia, London
Themes for Discussion
Issues of multiculturalism and national minority rights have elicited considerable discussion across Europe over the past decade and a half, with the Central and Eastern European countries in particular being required to demonstrate ‘respect for and protection of minorities’ within the context of the EU enlargement process. One model of minority rights that appears especially salient in today’s Central and Eastern Europe is non-territorial cultural autonomy (NTCA), which forms the focus of Hiden and Smith’s current AHRC-funded research project (2004-2007) based at the Department of Central and East European Studies of the University of Glasgow. NTCA has either been adopted or is under consideration in a number of states in the region, including Estonia, Hungary, Romania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and is increasingly on the agenda of organisations such as the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The origins of the NTCA concept can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century and the writings of the ‘Austro Marxists’ Karl Renner and Otto Bauer. The latter argued that a territorially-based approach could not in itself lead to a durable regulation of the “national question”, and thus advocated the creation of minority cultural self-governments whose jurisdiction extended not to particular territories, but to groups of persons, voluntarily enrolling as part of a public legal corporation.
The roundtable discussion forms part of the dissemination agenda of this project, and will bring together diplomatic representatives from the region with academic specialists from CEES Glasgow, the wider Central for Russian and Central and East European Studies and their partner institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Participants will be invited to reflect upon some of the key findings of the AHRC project and their possible relevance to the region today. More broadly, the roundtable will discuss: the main factors shaping the relationship between states, national minorities, external national homelands and international organisations in today’s Europe; and the question of how to reconcile classic liberal principles with collective demands for recognition of particular cultures, within a normative agenda of forging stable and democratic political communities.
Participation in the roundtable discussion is free, but places are limited. Anyone wishing to attend should contact Ann Mulholland, CRCEES Adminstrator (a.mulholland@lbss.gla.ac.uk) as soon as possible, and no later than 15 January 2007. Some funding is available to support attendance by CRCEES staff and postgraduate students from partner institutions outside Glasgow, and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. A buffet lunch will be provided for participants at the end of the discussion.
A pdf version can be found here.
Postgraduate Research Methodology Summer School in Kraków, Poland (Theme: Processes of Europeanisation) 7-21 July 2007
4 December 2006
The Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES) has decided that the first CRCEES Summer School will take place in Kraków, Poland from Saturday 7 July to Saturday 21 July 2007. The summer school programme will incorporate a comparative, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach to addressing the theme: PROCESSES OF EUROPEANISATION . It will consist of mainly seminars and workshops which will aim to bring together students with similar research interests but whose research is conducted across a range of geographical locations and from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. Cultural activities and visits from guest speakers have also been built into the summer school programme. The preliminary summer school programme will be circulated shortly.
The Kraków Summer School is open to all research and taught postgraduate students in all CRCEES partner institutions. Postgraduate students from other UK and Central and East European universities are also welcome to apply to attend the Summer School but will have to find their own sources of funding. All postgraduate students wishing to participate in the Kraków Summer School should send their CV and a 500-word outline of their research interests to Clare McManus-Czubińska before Friday 2 February 2007. Also, do not hesitate to contact Dr McManus-Czubińska for further details of the Kraków Summer School.
Please note that while CRCEES has endeavoured to pay the travel expenses (at least up to £100) and accommodation expenses of all CRCEES students, funding is limited and students should apply for a place on the summer school as early as possible in order to guarantee funding. CRCEES has established an Organising Committee chaired by Clare McManus-Czubińska and comprised of John Bates, Elwira Grossman, Geoff Swain, Margaret Tejerizo (Glasgow) and Alison Stenning (Newcastle).
Dr Clare McManus-Czubińska
Department of Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow
A pdf version is available here.
NIREES Visiting Speaker Seminar Series 2007
27 November 2006
NIREES is seeking nominations of visiting speakers for possible inclusion in the NIREES Visiting Speaker Seminar Series which will run throughout the calender year 2007.
The Series will include researchers from the US, Europe (incl. Russian) and UK speakers that reflect NIREE's research themes:
1. Literary, performance and visual culture
2. Migration, Diaspora and Exile
3. Regions, centre-periphery relations
4. Social, cultural and national identities
5. Economy, Environment and Society
When nominating speakers please consider that the seminar series is designed to stimulate further collaborative research
activities. Please send nominations to Adam Swain (Geography).
NIREES-Russian and Slavonic Studies (RSS) Seminar on 27 November 2006
25 November 2006
Prof. Mark Lipovetsky (Colorado University, Boulder)
‘New Russian Drama: Representing Violence’
5pm Monday 27th November 2006 in Trent B4
All welcome.
For more information contact Dr Dejan Djokic.
The Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES) will be holding the first of its annual Research Days at the Kelvin Conference Centre, University of Glasgow, on 11-12 May 2007.
25 November 2006
The Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES), of which the University of Nottingham is a consortium member, will be holding the first of its annual Research Days at the Kelvin Conference Centre, University of Glasgow, on 11-12 May 2007.
The plan is to have a combination of research panels, plenary sessions and informal workshops in order to explore the five research themes within CRCEES. These are:
1. Aspects of identity and culture and their social, political and economic implications;
2. Economic and social transformation;
3. Political transformation and international relations;
4. Literary, cinematic and cultural developments in the area;
5. The politics of language.
CRCEES has established an Organising Committee to arrange this event, chaired by Geoff Swain (Glasgow) and comprising Moya Flynn and Jon Oldfield (Glasgow), Cynthia Marsh (Nottingham) and Lara Ryazanova-Clarke (Edinburgh)
The Organising Committee is calling for proposals for individual papers or panels, plenary sessions, and workshops. It is particularly keen to involve contributions from post-graduate students; these may either take the form of papers integrated within panels or discreet post-graduate events. Participants from outside the CRCEES network are welcome, but their funding can not be guaranteed.
The members of the Organising Committee are happy to give advice, and all proposals should be with Geoff Swain by the deadline of 31 January 2007.
A pdf version of the call for papers is here.
Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies Seminar Programme 2006-7
17 November 2006
Convenor: Dr Dejan Djokić
Venue: Trent B4
Time: Monday, 5.00pm
23 October Dr Naoko Shimazu (Birkbeck, University of London)
‘Japanese Images of “Russia” and the “Russians” in the 1904-1905 War’
27 November Prof. Mark Lipovetsky (Colorado University, Boulder)
‘New Russian Drama: Representing Violence’
5 February Dr Dušan Borić (Cambridge University)
‘Balkanized Memories: An Archaeology of Contested Histories and Identities’
19 February Prof. Neven Budak (University of Zagreb)
‘(Mis)use of Medieval Myths in Modern Croatia’
5 March Dr Alexandra Smith (University of Edinburgh)
‘The Legacy of Peter the Great and the Petersburg Myth in Post-Soviet Cinema’
12 March Mr Goran Stefanovski (Canterbury Christ Church University)
‘Tales from the Wild East: Balkan Theatre and Exile’
A pdf version of the full programme is available here.
The University of Nottingham's Humanities and Social Sciences Strategy Group (HSSSG) has awarded NIREES funding to organise a visiting speaker seminar series in 2007
15 October 2006
The University's HSSSG has awarded NIREES funding to organise a visiting speaker seminar series in 2007. The seminars will promote NIREES as an interdisciplinary focus for academics and postgraduates conducting research in Russian and East European languages and area studies across the university. The seminars will also provide the impetus for and facilitate the preparation of collaborative bids for externally-funded interdisciplinary research, building both on expertise within Nottingham and on co-operation with leading external academics.
More information will be available here shortly.
For more information contact Adam Swain.
Forthcoming seminars in the School of Geography
15 October 2006
New Economic Geographies Research Group Workshops 2006-7
Convenor: Adam Swain
Venue: Sir Clive Granger Building Room A33
Time: Wednesdays at 4.30pm
The following workshops in the School of Geography may be of interest to NIREES members. The workshops discuss pre-circulated papers which are available from Adam Swain.
25 October 2006 Vlad Mykhnenko, University of Glasgow, and Adam Swain, University of Nottingham
‘Corruption and the making of post-soviet economies: Ukraine and the Donbas’
21 February 2007 Andy Cook, University of Nottingham
'Post-socialist Prague' (title to be confirmed)
21 March 2007 Colin Williams, University of Sheffield
‘Rethinking the economic in economic geography: some lessons from Ukraine’
A pdf version of the full programme is available here.
Forthcoming seminar in the School of History
15 October 2006
The School of History Research Seminar & "Gender Histories" Research Network
Dr Josie McLellan, University of Bristol, `Visual pleasures and perils: sex, race and gender in East German nude photography'
Monday 16 October 2006, 5.15 p.m. in A18/19
NIREES submits a proposal to the University's Humanities and Social Sciences Strategy Group (HSSSG) for funding for a visiting speaker seminar series in 2007
4 October 2006
NIREES has submitted a proposal to the HSSSG for funding for a visiting speaker seminar series. The research seminar series, which would run throughout 2007, is designed to promote NIREES as an interdisciplinary focus for colleagues and postgraduates conducting research in Russian and East European languages and area studies across ten Schools and Institutes in the Faculty of Social Science, Law and Education and the Faculty of Arts.
It is intended that the seminars would provide the impetus for and facilitate the preparation of collaborative bids for externally-funded interdisciplinary research, building both on expertise within Nottingham and on co-operation with leading external academics. The seminars would also raise Nottingham’s national and international profile as a centre of research excellence in Russian and East European languages and area studies and ensure that Nottingham fully exploits the opportunities offered by our participation in the RCUK-funded Centres of Excellence in Russian and East European Languages and Area Studies.
For more information contact Adam Swain.
Dr Benedikt Herrmann, Research Fellow in the Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics (CeDEx), School of Economics joins NIREES
14 September 2006
Dr Benedikt Herrmann, a Research Fellow in the Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics (CeDEx) in the School of Economics has joined NIREES. Dr Herrmann joined the university in April 2005 after previously holding a research fellowship at the Kennedy School of Government. His research is in the fields of neuroeconomics and experimental economics. He has conducted research on trust and cooperation in the Russian Federation. Dr Herrmann has also worked on technical assistance projects in Russia. For more information on his research please visit his website.
The School of Geography has appointed a researcher on the economic geography of post-socialism to a temporary lectureship
1 September 2006
Andrew Cook has been appointed to a temporary lectureship in the School of Geography. Andrew is currently completing his Ph.D on 'Transnational migrants and socio-spatial exclusion in post-socialist Prague'. For more information on Andrew's research please see his current website.
The Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES) launches a website
27 July 2006
CRCEES, a consortium of the Universities of Glasgow, Nottingham, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Paisley and Strathclyde, has launched a website.
PhD studentship, commencing 1 October 2006
18 July 2006
Applications are invited from high-quality candidates who have completed an MA for this three-year studentship ( £13,500 per annum maintenance, plus fees at the HEU rate), available in the Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. The Department can offer expert supervision in the following areas: Russian literature (20th century prose; Russian and Soviet poetry); Russian drama and theatre; Soviet cultural studies (including film); South East and Central European Studies, especially Serbian and Croatian literature, culture and history. Further information on staff and research specialisms is available from the Departmental website:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/slavonic/postgraduate/
The University of Nottingham offers excellent facilities for doctoral study, with very good library resources and access, and attractive study facilities available within the School of Modern Languages and Cultures. The Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies is a small, welcoming and vibrant community with a regular research seminar programme, which is integrated with those of the other Departments of the School. Depending on your specialism, there are opportunities to gain experience in teaching and other related activities on the undergraduate programmes of the Department.
Proposals may be discussed with Dr Cynthia Marsh, Head of Department, Russian and Slavonic Studies.
Initial contact: cynthia.marsh@nottingham.ac.uk.
The closing date for applications is Friday 18 August and should be made to Dr Marsh on forms available on-line from the University of Nottingham, Graduate School website. Follow the links from:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/prospectuses/postgrad
PhD, Masters/PgDip Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships
6 July 2006
The Centre for Russian, Central and East Europe Studies (CRCEES), a consortium of the Universities of Glasgow, Nottingham, St Andrews, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Paisley and Strathclyde, has advertised 11 fully-funded PhD strudentships and two one-year postdoctoral fellowships in any of the following key research themes related to current and past developments in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and the former USSR:
- Aspects of identity and culture and their social, political and economic implcations
- Economic and social transformation
- Political transformation and international relations
- Literay, cinematic and cultural development
- The politics of language.
The closing date for applications is the 4 August 2006.
The announcement in full
The newspaper advert
Not one but two successes in Centre of Excellence bid!!
22 May 2006
Nottingham has been doubly successful in the national bidding for Centres of Excellence in Languages and Area Studies, funded by AHRC, ESRC, HEFCE and SFC.
On behalf of colleagues located in Geography, History, Politics and Russian and Slavonic Studies and united in the Nottingham Institute for Russian and East European Studies (NIREES), we are delighted to announce Nottingham’s double success in gaining external funding for research in Russian and East European Languages and Area Studies. Firstly, Nottingham is a major partner in the bid spearheaded by the University of Glasgow. The other major partner is the University of St Andrews, and included in the network are the Universities of Edinburgh, Newcastle, Paisley and Strathclyde.
Secondly, Nottingham is also a member of the successful bid centred on London (School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College) and the Universities of Oxford and Birmingham.
Final details of the funding remain to be worked out over the summer and the Centres of Excellence will begin to function in the autumn. The Glasgow bid (approx £4 million) brings language training and postgraduate studentships to Nottingham for the next 5 years (potentially renewable up to 10) as well as participation in conferences, workshops and summer schools. Nottingham will be part of the conference and workshop circuit for the London Centre.
The award of two Centres of Excellence nationally is prestigious and welcome support for the discipline of Russian and East European Languages and Area Studies. As the only UK HEI to be successful in both bids, Nottingham’s strength in this field has been recognised. Nottingham is now strategically placed to develop further collaborative research opportunities as well as its own postgraduate teaching activities in the discipline.
Cynthia Marsh (Head of Department, Russian & Slavonic Studies)
Nick Baron (School of History)
Adam Swain (Chair of NIREES, School of Geography)
International Colloquium on 'Happiness and post-conflict cultures', University of Nottingham, 5-7 May 2006
5 April 2006
This three-day colloquium has been organised by the School of Modern Languages and the Centre for the Study of Post-Conflict Cultures. For more information contact
Prof Evgeny Dobrenko. Conference Programme.
