BRAMA, October 19, 2001, 4 pm ET

The former Communist world is made up of people of various ethnicities, linguistic groups, religions, and cultures, all of whom can point to history to justify their characterization of the region, or at least an area of the region, as their homeland. This multi-cultural aspect of the post-Communist space has important implications for contemporary state- and nation-building. Throughout the post-Soviet transition, political, social, and economic upheavals and conflicts in former Communist states have at times magnified the perceived distance between groups living in the region. As new countries attempt to construct a civic culture, democratic mechanisms, a functioning market, and a sense of national identity, they are challenged by issues such as minority rights, inter-ethnic conflict, and the interaction of various perspectives and cultural traditions.

The obstacles inherent in multi-cultural societies have been further exacerbated by phenomena associated with the process of globalization. Economic interdependence, growing trans-national cooperation, and international criminal activity can complicate attempts to build states and consolidate national identities. New cultural groups, in the form of migrant workers, immigrants, and refugees, have been introduced into regions where they did not formerly live. Changing borders and citizenship policies have also led to the creation of new minority groups.

Given the importance of this topic to the transition process in the region, the Kennan Institute is pleased to announce a new interdisciplinary junior scholar workshop series: Multicultural Legacies in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The workshop series will be directed by Dominique Arel (Brown University), Nancy Popson (Kennan Institute), and Blair A. Ruble (Kennan Institute). The program is designed to serve as a forum at which junior scholars from various disciplines can discuss and develop their research pertaining to multicultural legacies in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Participants in the series will be expected to present their research at the first workshop, to be held in Washington, D.C. on March 22-23, 2002. Further research on common themes and revision of workshop papers will be expected from each participant prior to a second workshop, which will be held in the Fall of 2002. These revised submissions will form the basis for an edited volume arising from the series. Participants will also be expected to prepare a brief for policy makers outlining the implications of their research on policy issues. Per diem costs and travel support for the workshops will be provided by the Kennan Institute.

Selection for the workshop series will be based on an open national competition. Participation in the workshop series is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents at the post-doctoral level (pre-tenure) and Ph.D. candidates who have completed field research for their dissertations. The workshop series is interdisciplinary. Sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, historians, economists, social psychologists, cultural studies specialists, and scholars from other disciplines that address the workshop themes are encouraged to apply. Themes targeted for the workshop series include (but are not limited to):

• the formation of national and regional identities, which includes territorial arrangements, elite strategies, language politics, and a fixation of categories by the state (citizenship, census, passport, propiska, and recognition of indigenous peoples)
• violence and repression
• tolerance/intolerance
• religious, ethnic, linguistic, and regional identities and institutions
• migration and refugee issues
• representation of cultural myths and symbols
• the role of international policies, norms, culture, and economic relations

Multicultural Legacies Workshop
The Kennan Institute/Woodrow Wilson Center
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004-3027.

Abstracts, resumes, and papers may be sent by email to kiars@wwic.si.edu. Applications sent by email should include "Multicultural Legacies Workshop Application" in the subject line. All recommendation letters must be sent by mail_emailed and faxed recommendations can not be accepted. All application materials must be received by November 30, 2001. Applicants will be notified of the decisions of the committee after January 15, 2002.

The Multicultural Legacies in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus Workshop Series is supported by the Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII) and the George F. Kennan Fund.

For further information please contact Nancy Popson at (202) 691-4100 or by email at popsonna@wwic.si.edu.
 
 

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