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Source: GOSECA University of Pittsburgh <gosecaconference@yahoo.com>
University of Pittsburgh
Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia and Center for Russian and East European Studies present: Environment, Identities, and Space in Europe and Central Asia Seventh Annual Graduate Student Conference February 26-28, 2010
On the eve of the September 2009 meeting of the G20 in Pittsburgh, Josй Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, spoke of the "new challenges of the 21st century" as "challenges that have no respect for borders." Foremost among these Mr. Barroso listed climate change. He prevailed upon the citizens of all prosperous countries to cease gambling over the reality of environmental change and confront this threat with resolve. As he put it: "The time for playing high-stakes poker is over." From the city which welcomed the G20 summit, first heard Mr. Barroso's call for action, and will host the 2010 UN World Environment Day, we raise a call of our own. The Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia (GOSECA) at the University of Pittsburgh has committed its seventh annual conference to scholarship which seeks to better understand the complex bonds between human beings and their environments. How have societies imagined the "natural" world and their relationship to it? What role did the environment play in shaping identities and spaces - political, cultural, and social? How have images and conceptualizations of environment shifted and how did such changes affect societies, their economies, politics, cultures, and identities? As sites of dramatic cultural, social and political transformations, Europe and Central Asia offer a vast potential in addressing these questions
We strongly encourage submissions from the widest range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities (and particularly those which cross disciplines) that address the issues of environment, identities, and space, their interplay and the way in which they affect processes in the region. Topics include but are not limited to:
* representations and interpretations in art, literature,
geography/cartography, and history
* migration and demography
* policy and controversy
* "alternative voices": environmentalism and dissident politics
* the shaping of social and cultural identities
* historical legacies of land and resource use
* political violence, war, and ecoterrorism
* energy security, resource management, and cultures of consumption
Students currently enrolled in graduate programs are welcome to submit abstracts, which should be no more than 250 words long. Please submit abstracts, along with an academic CV (limited to two pages) to gosecaconference@yahoo.com no later than December 15, 2009. We will contact the authors of accepted abstracts by January 1, 2010.
Abstract Requirements
Abstracts must be no longer than 250 words. All submissions should be in PDF (preferred) or Microsoft Word format in a standard 12-point font and be double spaced. In order to ensure anonymity during the blind selection process, the body of the abstract should not contain the author's or authors' name(s) or other personal identifying information other than the title of the paper. The cover page must include: title of submission, author's or authors' name(s), institutional and departmental affiliation(s), e-mail address(es), geographic address(es), and a primary phone number. Although we require all of this information, correspondence will occur mainly via e-mail. An academic CV must also be submitted, but please limit these to two pages.
Paper Requirements
In order to facilitate presentation time limits, and to ensure time for active discussions, paper length will be limited to 8 typed pages, double-spaced, with 12-point font. All accepted participants will be required to submit a copy of the final paper one month prior to the conference.
Registration Requirements
To better promote a meaningful interdisciplinary exchange, participants are expected to attend all panels for the duration of the conference. Although we cannot provide travel support, we will be happy to arrange housing for the duration of the conference with graduate students. The registration fee is $25.00, which includes meals. Registration fee must be paid by cash or check at registration on February 26, 2010.
