Area Studies and Globalisation. X. International Summer School of the Graduate Centre Humanities and Social Sciences, Research Academy Leipzig

Area Studies and Globalisation. X. International Summer School of the Graduate Centre Humanities and Social Sciences, Research Academy Leipzig

Organizer
Graduiertenzentrum Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften der Research Academy Leipzig; Centre for Area Studies, Universität Leipzig
Venue
Seminargebäude, Raum 4.20
Location
Leipzig
Country
Germany
From - Until
17.09.2012 - 20.09.2012
Deadline
15.07.2012
By
Martina Keilbach

During the past few years, the Leipzig PhD Summer School has established itself as an important meeting place for the discussion of transnationalization, transculturalism and emerging trends in the research of globalization. The Summer School is organized in cooperation with the Centre for Area Studies by the Graduate Centre Humanities and Social Sciences of the Research Academy Leipzig.

Thematic focus of the Summer School
Area studies are a result of the increasing global entanglement and the search for academic reflection of the emerging need for orientation. Consequently, area studies in many countries have evolved into a discipline that prepares for the encounter with other cultures (through language practice and social and cultural training) and produces and stores knowledge about these cultures.
This development was in no way linear in terms of time, nor was it uniform in all countries. It was influenced by configurations of colonial power, imperial dominance and ideas of order, a more or less pronounced curiosity for specific continents and by the entanglement of political and economic exploiting interests interfused with missionary goals of religious and ideological nature.

One of the first objectives of the X. Summer School of the Graduate Centre for Social Sciences and Humanities is an in-depth analysis of the history of area studies, which should not be limited to Germany, Europe or the West, for one of the lesser studied questions asks if area studies have to be regarded as an instrument of intellectual dominance of the West or if other parts of the world show similar institutionalized interest in other world regions.

The analysis of the scientific history of the discipline is not an end in itself, but is part of a debate that has gained momentum during the past two decades: Are area studies still up to date? On the one hand, the discussion on globalization has assigned new tasks to area studies since the 1990s and, as a consequence, there were calls for the expansion of the discipline and for promotional programs. On the other hand, the rising criticism of eurocentrism, methodological nationalism and the “container model” conception in the field of area studies generated new fields of research, such as the analysis of Atlantic History and the development of the Indian Ocean and Pacific Studies. Analyses of migration and Diaspora cannot be attributed to single areas anymore. Research on new regionalisms, which seems to confirm the approach of area studies, stands side by side with efforts to develop transnational and translocal approaches that transcend to the program of traditional area studies.

This Summer School is an invitation to doctoral candidates whose projects are located in the field of area studies to formulate the exact position of their projects with regard to this debate. We would like to encourage those who are interested in identifying this position and want to align their projects with the discussion on the development of area studies to submit their proposals for the panel (with up to four contributions) or individual presentations. The papers that contribute to the topic of the Summer School in an original way will be published in the series “Transnationalization and Regionalization from the 18th Century to the Present”.

The X. Summer School of the Graduate Centre for Social Sciences and Humanities offers the opportunity to each participant to contribute to this debate with their own research and findings.

The following panels are currently in preparation:
- Higher Education Areas: The Role of International Student Admissions at Universities
- Analyzing Global Economy: Chains, Networks and Regulation
- Area Studies. Theories of Construction of Spaces and its Implications
- Territorialisierungsregime in der Frühen Neuzeit
- Vom enthusiastischen Aufbauhelden zum entidealisierten Arbeiter? Anspruch und Wirklichkeit der Arbeitswelten in den sozialistischen Ländern am Beispiel der DDR
- Globalization and Social Movements: Opportunities for Social and Political Change?
- Corporate governance in Political and Economic Space

Sequence of events of the Summer School
The Summer School combines scholarly talks and presentations with workshops/panels, in which participating PhD students will have the opportunity to present and discuss their ongoing research. The organisation of the Summer School adheres to two perspectives:
1. Scholarly talks by internationally recognized researchers, whose work influences the field of transnationalization (or a significant component thereof)
2. Workshops/Panels that will serve as a forum for German and international PhD-students to present and discuss their own ongoing research.

The assignment of individual sections and days will be undertaken by the organisers of the Summer School. The wishes of the participants will, of course, be taken into consideration. In addition, active participation in the discussions of the Summer School is expected. Talks and project presentations can be conducted in English or German. The discussions are generally held in German and/or English.

Application
All interested PhD students are cordially invited to submit a paper for application to the Summer School. The application should include: personal details, as well as academic status, including the relevant academic affiliation, and an abstract of 300 to 500 words, together with an explanation of its connection to the ongoing dissertation.

Please send it either by mail or by email to:
University of Leipzig, Graduate Centre Humanities and Social Sciences
Dr. Martina Keilbach
Emil-Fuchs-Str. 1
04105 Leipzig
E-Mail: phd@uni-leipzig.de

Registration and application deadline: 15 July 2012

The final acceptance of the submitted papers will be decided by a preparatory committee no later than 31 July 2012. A maximum of 25 papers will be selected.
In order to prepare for academic commentary, submission of the actual paper (10-pages) is expected by 1 September. The paper will be pre-circulated and should fit within a 15-20 minute presentation.

Participation fee
The participation fee is 50 Euro. Included in this fee are the conference materials (including the reader), refreshments during the breaks as well as participation in the welcoming reception and the cultural events that will be held during the Summer School.
Upon request, reasonably priced accommodations in Leipzig will be arranged by the conference office.
With successful participation in the Summer School, it will be possible to receive a certificate from the Graduate Centre Humanities and Social Sciences.

Childcare
For all events childcare will be provided. Registration until 1 September 2012 is requested: Martina Keilbach (keilbach@uni-leipzig.de).

Programm

Contact (announcement)

Martina Keilbach

Emil-Fuchs-Str. 1
04105 Leipzig

keilbach@uni-leipzig.de

http://www.uni-leipzig.de/ral/gchuman
Editors Information
Published on
02.07.2012
Classification
Temporal Classification
Regional Classification
Subject - Topic
Additional Informations
Country Event
Language(s) of event
English, German
Language of announcement