14th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities
Imagined Communities, Real Conflicts, and National Identities
International Affairs Building,
Columbia University, NY
Sponsored by the Harriman Institute
23-25 April 2009
100 panels on the Balkans, Central Europe and the Baltics, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Central Asia and Eurasia, the Caucasus, Turkey, Afghanistan, China and surrounding territories.
Including Special Sections on:
Thematic Panels on Islam and Politics, Genocide and Ethnic Violence, Anthropology of Identity, Citizenship and Nationality, Religion, Language Politics, Conflict Resolution, Autonomy, Gender, EU Integration, NATO Expansion, Diaspora Politics, International Law, and many more...
Awards for Best Doctoral Student Papers
And the Screening of Recent Films and documentaries
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 national identity, nationalism, ethnic conflict, state-building and the study of empires in Central/Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Bal-kans, Eurasia, and adjacent areas. Disciplines represented include political science, history, anthropology, sociology, international studies, security studies, economics, geography and geopolitics, sociolinguistics, psychology, and related fields.
The Convention also features a section devoted to theoretical approaches to nationalism, from any of the disciplines listed above. The papers in this section need not be grounded in an area of the former Communist bloc usually covered by ASN, provided that the issues examined are relevant to a truly comparative understanding of nation-alism-related issues. In this vein, we are welcoming theory-focused and comparative proposals, rather than specific case studies from outside Central/Eastern Europe and Eurasia. A dozen panels are normally featured in the Nationalism section.
Since 2005, the ASN Convention has acknowledged excellence in graduate studies research by offering Awards for Best Doctoral Student Papers in five sections: Russia/Ukraine/Caucasus, Central Asia/Eurasia, Central Europe, Balkans, and Nationalism Studies. The winners at the 2008 Convention were Jesse Driscoll (Stanford U, Political Science) for Russia/Ukraine/Caucasus, Sarah Cameron (History, Yale U) and Kristin Fabbe (Political Science, MIT, US) for Central Asia/Eurasia/Turkey, Helena Toth (Harvard U, History) for Central Europe, Valentina Burrai (UC London, UK, Po-litical Science) for the Balkans, and Lee Seymour (Northwestern U, Political Science) for Nationalism Studies. Doctoral student applicants whose proposals are accepted for the 2009 Convention, who have not defended their dissertation by 1 November 2008, and whose papers are delivered by the deadline, will automatically be considered for the awards.
The 2008 Convention has also invited submissions for documentaries or feature films made within the past few years and available in VHS or DVD format. Most films selected for the convention will be screened during regular panel slots and will be followed by a discussion moderated by an academic expert. More information about the 2008 films can be found here.
The 2009 Convention invites proposals for Individual Papers or Panels. A panel includes a chair, three presentations based on written papers, and a discussant. Proposals using an innovative format are encouraged. Examples of new formats in-clude a roundtable on a new book, in which the author is being engaged by three discussants (twelve book panels were featured in the 2008 Convention); a debate between two panelists over a critical research or policy question, following rules of public debating; or special presentations based on original papers where the number of discussants is equal to or greater than the number of presenters.
The 2009 Convention is also welcoming offers to serve as Discussant 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.
An international Program Committee will be entrusted with the selection of proposals. Applicants will be notified in December 2008 or January 2009. Information regarding registration costs and other logistical questions will be communicated afterwards.
The programs from past conventions, going back to 2001, are also online and can be accessed 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 (gnb12@columbia.edu).
We look forward to seeing you there!
The Convention organizing committee:
Dominique Arel, ASN President
Gordon N. Bardos, Executive Director
David Crowe, ASN Chair of Advisory Board
Sherrill Stroschein, Program Chair