Conferences, Workshops, Summer Schools, etc.

May 28-31, 2007, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University
Center For Turkic Civilization Studies

The Congress will focus on "Globalization and Turkic Civilization". It
aims at gathering scholars conducting research in this field in order
to evaluate the past studies and to determine future goals. The
Congress will be held at the main campus of the Manas University. It
is possible for the participants to present their papers in the
Kyrgyz, Turkish, English and Russian languages.

If interested request more info: turkuygar@manas.kg;guljanatke@gmail.com

The Center for Turkic Studies of Marmara University (Istanbul) is
organising a sypmosium on

"BODY IN TURKIC CULTURE"

on 04-05 April 2007.

All forms of application which aims to change or mutilate the natural
appearance or form of the body, such as, make up, tatooing, piercing,
male and female circumcision, castration, torture in history,
mumification; etymology of all related vocabulary, human and animal
rights, come under the interest of this symposium. One section of the
symposium will be allocated to the castration of animals.

If you would like to participate in this symposium, please send us the
title and a very brief summary of your paper by 02 February 2007.

Travel, board and lodging expenses must be met by the participants.

Prof. Dr. Emine Gursoy-Naskali
Director of the Center for Turkic Studies
E-mail: eminenaskali@gmail.com

Aylin Koc
Secretary to the symposium

Marmara University
Faculty of Science and Arts
Goztepe Kampusu 34722 Kuyubasi,
Istanbul, Turkey

Tel: (216) 347 96 41/ 1166
Fax: (0216) 347 87 83
E-mail: kocayl@gmail.com

8th Biennial Conference of the Australasian Association for Communist and
Post-Communist Studies will be held at the University of Melbourne
29-30 January 2007.

For further information contact: Millicent.Vladivglover@arts.monash.edu.au

CALL FOR PAPERS
Third CEU Graduate Conference in Social Sciences
May 25-27, 2007

“Challenges for CEE States in an Enlarging EU and a Globalizing World”

The aims of the conference are to provide an interdisciplinary academic debate and to contribute to developing knowledge networks among peers in the field. At the same time, we hope to connect different perspectives and approaches in order to produce high standard academic works by providing an appropriate academic environment.
In three days, a number of regional and global issues will be comprehensively discussed in workshops and panels. Although the topic of the Conference focuses on the CEE region, valuable contributions on different topics and areas are welcome. Both case studies, comparative and statistical approaches are welcomed.

We encourage graduate students and young faculty to contribute with papers and participate in the proposed workshops and panels. Each panel includes approximately 5 papers by young scholars. Another young scholar participates as discussant. Each panel is led by a senior scholar or expert in the relevant field of study who will moderate the discussions. A large amount of time is dedicated to discussion. The working language is English.

Proposed topics (we can form panels once we receive the papers):
- Political parties, electoral systems and voting behavior
- Civil society, politics and states
- Post-Communist discourses
- Democratic challenges
- Regimes in post-Communist states
- VOTC and CEE
- The prospects of reform and development in post-Communist states
- The changes in nature and practice of power in the CEE region
- New security issues in the light of the EU extension
- The Europeanization of CEE
- EU and the USA through Eastern Eyes
- International Relations Theories
- New Political Economy of Transition/Development
- Migration and minorities in CEE
- Combating non-conventional challenges: terrorism and trafficking
- Third Party Interventions, civil conflict resolution and/or changing alliance structures

Call for Workshop proposals: All the topics stated above do not necessarily limit the scope of the conference. Therefore, proposals are invited on any aspect of the (relevant) subject. The deadline for Panel Proposals is March 25, 2007.

Fee: There is no registration fee for qualified participants. Food and accommodation are also provided by the organizers. Applicants can apply for a partial travel grant for the cheapest means of transportation (-). Those intending to apply for a travel grant should write a short letter of justification (up to 300 words).

Deadlines: The registration period starts on February 9, 2007. The early deadline is April 10. Early applicants will have better chances of being selected. The final deadline is April 25. The decision will be communicated by April 30. Applicants who require visa to visit Hungary are encouraged to apply early.

Results: The most valuable contributions on will be published in a special issue of the CEU Political Science Journal.

The application consists of:
- Completed application form (Includes the abstract too. Abstracts should be between 300–500 words) – it can be downloaded from the conference website: www.gradconf.ceu.hu;
- Short CV;
- (Optional) Applicants for travel grant: Short letter for justification (up to 300 words).

All these documents should be sent to gradconf2007@yahoo.com by April 25, the latest. Applications after the dead-line will not be considered.
For more information, check the conference website: www.gradconf.ceu.hu

A new philosophy seminar is launching on the 2nd of March in Sofia. The seminar would present in English a broad spectrum of topics in philosophy, ranging from epistemology, philosophy of science, metaphysics, ontology and history of philosophy to logic, philosophy of math, ethics and aesthetics. The main goal of the organizers is to help to form a philosophical community in Sofia and Bulgaria that is united by the common framework of doing philosophy in English. Somewhat more detailed information is available through the official web site of the seminar http://philosophy.sofiafilm.com
and all updates would be posted there as well. Posters for the events would make announcements in Sofia Uni, NBU, The Institute for Philosophical Research of the Bulgarian Academy of Science. The selection of the topics is made by the organizers (Marina Bakalova, Vasko Vidinski and Boris Grozdanov) lecturers are expected to come from various countries throughout the year to deliver talks. The format of the seminar is the following

1. up to 45 min talk
2. up to 10 min response by an opponent (optional but highly desirable)
3. 10 min break
4. up to 30 min discussion

For the latest updates and inevitable changes in the program, please visit the website.
Poster of the first talk:

http://philosophy.sofiafilm.com/poster%20Friedman.pdf

THE IDEA OF SOLIDARITY IN PHILOSOPHICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS

Poznań, Poland
8-9 June, 2007

Critics of the concept of solidarity usually raise a number of basic objections with regard to this idea, which – for reasons of clarity – can be summarized in the following general points.

Firstly, regardless of whether solidarity is understood as a virtue of character represented by the Samaritan attitude, as a feeling – an attribute of human nature – or, finally, as an axiologically rational principle of cooperation which goes beyond selfish short-term cooperation, solidarity is – critics of solidarity would claim – by its very nature inevitably particular. This means that the precise form and content of the idea is defined on an individual basis by a particular local type of community which it co-creates. Consequently, any claims to the universality of the concept may not be effective. The argument is sometimes additionally supported by another claim stating that the particularism assumed by solidarity inescapably leads to the exclusion of other communities which are perceived as antagonistic.

Secondly, solidarity is criticized predominantly from the viewpoint of those contemporary approaches which are related to liberal culture, usually incorporating such concepts as universality and belief in the fundamental moral value of a free and responsible individual. In this context, the collectivism postulated by solidarity, attaching primary importance to community interests and values, is regarded as merely an anachronistic legacy of pre–modern forms of collective identity, the essence of which lies in the absence of the individual. The individualism and nominalism of contemporary times is thus placed in opposition to so-called “anachronistic” solidarity-based duties and obligations.

Thirdly, disapproval is often expressed of those proposed structures of contemporary social order which recognize solidarity as the overriding social principle. Claims are made that the proposal that solidarity regulate the organisation of legal and procedural structures, e.g. of the state potentially jeopardizes modern community institutions, such as the free market. It is emphasized that solidarity, similar to charity, assumes voluntariness, which is why it cannot be recognized as a common law standard.

The main aim of the Conference, organized by the Department of Philosophy of the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington D.C., is to thoroughly discuss the criticisms and objections voiced against the idea of solidarity. Also, conference participants will attempt to reflect on the problem of validity of the idea in the globalizing world of today, analyzing it from the three contexts in which it is markedly present: a/ ethical and moral; b/ social, and c/ political and legal.



Contact:

Prof. dr hab. Tadeusz Buksiński tabu@amu.edu.pl

dr Dariusz Dobrzański dobrzan@amu.edu.pl

The Department of Philosophy

The Adam Mickiewicz University

Poznań, Poland

Exploratory Workshops proposals

Institution: European Science Foundation (ESF)

Message: The 2007 Call for Exploratory Workshops proposals - aimed at events to be held in 2008 - is now available on the ESF website. ESF Exploratory Workshops are discussion meetings with an aim to develop new strategic directions for research. They are intended to be small, interactive and output-oriented gatherings, lasting 1-3 days, with around 30 participants. The focus of the scheme is on projects aiming to open up new directions in research or to explore emerging research fields with potential impact on new developments in science. Proposals should demonstrate the potential for initiating follow-up research activities and/or developing future collaborative actions. Interdisciplinary topics are encouraged.

Deadline: April 27, 2007

Message: The European Science Foundation (ESF) is inviting well developed proposals for new EUROCORES Programmes (EUROCORES themes). Full information can be found on the ESF website, including frequently asked questions (FAQ) and guidelines for online submission. The aim of the ESF European Collaborative Research (EUROCORES) Scheme is to help researchers in different European countries to develop collaboration and scientific synergy in topics of European and global importance, with an emphasis is on leading-edge science in a global context. The scheme provides a flexible framework, which allows national basic research funding organisations to join forces to support top class European research in and across all scientific areas.

Deadline: June 1, 2007

Founders: The Central European Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (CEJSH) was launched on 27 October 2004 by the Presidents of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), the Slovak Academy of Sciences and by the Secretary General of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Message: The journal offers English abstracts of articles and reviews that appear in the national languages in Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak research journals devoted to social sciences and humanities. The aim of the project is to boost the international visibility of scientific publications, which are frequently insufficiently well-known in view of the language barrier and the limited circulation of most national journals. The current number of abstracts in the database exceeds 4700. More than 180 scientific journals participate in the project. The editors of CEHSH are planning to extent the network of collaborating journals and also consider the participation of journals from outside the Visegrad Group countries.

Contact: Dr. Jacek Kornacki, Editor-in-Chief

E-mail: Jacek.Kornacki@pan.pl

Site: Budapest, Hungary

Organiser: The Department of Political Science, The department of Public policy, The Department of International Relations, Central European University Budapest.

Topics: Aimed to provide an interdisciplinary academic debate and to contribute to developing knowledge networks among peers in the field, the conference tackles. a number of regional and global issues within workshops and panels. Although the topic of the Conference focuses on the CEE region, valuable contributions on different topics and areas are welcome. Case studies, comparative and statistical approaches are welcomed. General topics are: Political parties, electoral systems and voting behaviour; Civil society, politics and states; Post-Communist discourses; Democratic challenges; Regimes in post-Communist states; VOTC and CEE; Prospects of reform and development in post-Communist states; Changes in nature and practice of power in the CEE region; New security issues in the light of the EU extension; The Europeanization of CEE; EU and the USA through Eastern Eyes; International Relations Theories; New Political Economy of Transition/Development; Migration and minorities in CEE; Combating non-conventional challenges; terrorism and trafficking.

Language: English

Fee: There is no participation fee, accommodation and boarding are provided by organizers, partial travel grants are available.

Deadline: April 25, 2007. The application consists of a completed application form (includes the abstract too. Abstracts should be between 300 - 500 words) und a short CV.
Contact: Central European University, Nador Ut. 11, Budapest, Hungary
E-mail: gradconf2007@yahoo.com