17th Annual ASN World Convention
The Wages of Nationhood: Conflicts, Compromises, and Costs
The ASN Convention, the most attended international and inter-disciplinary scholarly gathering of its kind, welcomes proposals on a wide range of topics related to nationalism, ethnicity, ethnic conflict and national identity in Central Europe, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, and Central Eurasia (including Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq).
Prospective applicants can get a sense of the large thematic scope of ASN Convention papers by looking at the 2011 Final Program, which can be accessed here.
The Convention also invites proposals devoted to comparative perspectives on nationalism- related issues in other regions of the world, as well as theoretical approaches that need not be grounded in any particular geographic region. Disciplines represented include political science, history, anthropology, sociology, international studies, security studies, geopolitics, area studies, economics, geography, sociolinguistics, literature, psychology, and related fields. Papers presented at the Convention will be made available for $10 on a CD to Convention attendees, but will neither be posted on the ASN website, nor be sold to Convention non-attendees.
The Convention is also inviting paper, panel, roundtable, or special presentation proposals related to three special thematic sidebars:
Nationalities Papers, the ASN flagship journal, will hold the first Nationalities Debate, a high profile discussion on the state of the art, as well as a new edition of the roundtable "How To Get Your Article Published", one of the most attended panels in the past two conventions. Nationalities Papers will also sponsor the opening reception.
For several years, the ASN Convention has acknowledged excellence in graduate studies research by offering Awards for Best Doctoral Student Papers. The winners at the 2011 Convention were Ljubica Spaskovska (U of Exeter, History, UK) for the Balkans, Christina Zuber (U of Köln, Political Science, Germany) for Central Europe, Kitty Lam (Michigan State U, History, US) for Russia/Ukraine/Caucasus, Leyla Amzi-Erdogdular (Columbia U, History, US) for Central Eurasia/Turkey, and Sarah Jenkins (U of Aberystwyth, International Politics, UK), for Nationalism Studies. More details can be found by visiting the Doctoral Student Awards page.
Doctoral student applicants whose proposals are accepted for the 2012 Convention, who will not have defended their dissertation by 1 November 2011, and whose papers are delivered by the deadline, will automatically be considered for the awards.
The ASN Convention inaugurated in 2010 an annual ASN Harriman Book Prize—the Joseph Rothschild Prize in Nationalism and Ethnic Studies. The winner at the 2011 Convention was Carter Vaughn Findley for his monograph "Turkey, Islam, Nationalism, and Modernity" (Yale University Press, 2011). For information on how to have a book considered for the 2012 Book Prize, please contact Dmitry Gorenburg at asnbookprize@gmail.com, or go to the Rothschild prize page.
The 2012 Convention is also inviting submissions for documentaries made within the past few years and available in DVD format (either NTSC or PAL). The documentaries selected for the Convention will be screened during regular panel slots and, in several cases, will be followed by a discussion moderated by an academic expert. Films on the 2011 Program included Aghet—Ein Völkermord (Germany, 2010), Facing Genocide: Khieu Samphan and Pol Pot (Sweden, 2010), The Green Wave (Germany, 2010), Three Stories of Galicia (US, 2010), and Vlast (US, 2010). The full 2011 film lineup can be accessed here.
The Convention will also inaugurate an ASN Audience Award for Best Documentary. More details will be available later.
Proposal Information
The 2012 Convention invites proposals for individual papers or panels. A panel includes a chair, three or four presentations based on written papers, and a discussant. The Convention is also welcoming offers to serve as discussan t on a panel to be created by the Program Committee from individual paper proposals. The application to be considered as discussant can be self-standing, or accompanied by an individual paper proposal.
There is no application form to fill out in order to send proposals to the Convention, but the three mandatory items indicated below (contact information, abstract, biographical statement) must be included in a single Word document (PDF documents will be accepted only if they are single-spaced). In addition, a Fact Sheet is required, and can be downloaded here.
A formal application email must thus include the attached Word document detailed above (contact info, abstract, bio), as well as the Fact Sheet (or multiple Fact Sheets in the case of panel proposals, i.e., one per panel member). Incomplete applications may not be processed. Applications for papers and for panels should be submitted in a single message. With the extremely high volume of correspondence, the Convention cannot process applications contained in several fragmentary messages.
Individual paper proposals must include four items:
Individual proposals featuring more than one author (joint proposal) must include the contact information and biographical statement of all authors and specify whether all co-authors intend to attend the Convention.
Panel proposals must include four items:
Proposals can also be sent for roundtables (with presentations not based on written papers) and book panels. The same four elements apply.
Proposals for documentaries must include four items:
Proposals for a roundtable following the screening of a film are most welcome. In these cases, the requirements of a panel proposal apply, in addition to the 300-to 500-word abstract of the film.
Proposals for serve as a discussant must include four items:
Proposals for applicants already included in an individual paper or panel proposal need only include the 100-word statement on areas of expertise.
IMPORTANT: As indicated above, all proposals must be sent in a single email message, with an attached proposal (contact info, abstract, bio statement) and an attached Fact Sheet (or multiple Fact Sheets, in the case of co-authors and/or panel proposals). Proposals including contact information, the abstract and the bio statement in separate attachments will not be considered. The proposals must be sent to darel[at]uottawa.ca AND darelasn2011[at]gmail.com.
The receipt of all proposals will be promptly acknowledged electronically, with some delay during deadline week, due to the high volume of proposals.
Participants are responsible for covering all travel and accommodation costs. Unfortunately, ASN has no funding available for panelists.
An international Program Committee will be entrusted with the selection of proposals. Applicants will be notified by January 2012. Information regarding registration costs and other logistical questions will be communicated afterwards.
The full list of panels from last year's convention can be accessed here
The programs from past conventions, going back to 2001, are also online here
Several dozen publishers and companies have had exhibits and/or advertised in the Convention Program in past years. Due to considerations of space, advertisers and exhibitors are encouraged to place their order early. For information, please contact Convention Executive Director Gordon N. Bardos (gnbardos[at]gmail.com).
The ASN Facebook page will post regular updates on the ASN 2012 Convention. To become a follower of ASN on Facebook, Visit the ASN facebook group and click on the "Like" option.
ASN has also inaugurated the popular ASN Nationalities Blog in 2010. The blog can be accessed at http://nationalities.wordpress.com/ and blog updates are posted on Facebook.
We very much look forward to hearing from you and receiving your proposal!
The Convention organizing committee:
Dominique Arel, ASN President
Gordon N. Bardos, Executive Director
Sherrill Stroschein, Program Chair
Florian Bieber, Zsuzsa Csergo, Dmitry Gorenburg, Vejas Liulevicius, and Harris Mylonas, ASN Executive Committee
The ASN convention's headquarters are located at the:
Harriman Institute
Columbia University
1216 IAB
420 W. 118th St.
New York, NY 10027
Contact Person: Lydia Hamilton
212 854 6239 tel
212 666 3481 fax
lch2111@columbia.edu