The Havighurst Center's Annual Young Researchers Conference: 1989: Then and Now

The Havighurst Center’s Annual Young Researchers Conference

Organizer: Neringa Klumbyte, Anthropology

Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

October 15-18, 2009

1989: Then and Now

The 20th anniversary of 1989 is a good occasion to re-visit some of the grand debates about the meaning of this annus mirabilis and to re-think the processes that led up to it. We invite paper proposals that seek to rekindle scholarly exchanges about the precursors of the events of 1989 through 1991 (e.g. reformist ideas launched by communist leaders in the late 1950s and the late 1960s, modes of anti-regime mobilization in both Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union); about the intertwining of processes of societal transformation and the evolution of ruling
communist parties; and about the main social and political developments that precipitated the implosion of one-party regimes. We are also interested in research projects that locate the late 1980s/early 1990s into analytical frameworks that explore both broader patterns of political turbulence in the Soviet bloc and the historical specificity of identifiable moments of crisis. Finally, we ask what is the cultural, historical, and political significance of 1989. We encourage cross-disciplinary explorations of the relative significance of various factors - cultural, social, economic, institutional, ideological, geo-political - that brought about the end of Marxist regimes in the former Second world.

We encourage proposals from young researchers who have already completed their dissertation research (ABD) or have defended their dissertation within the last three years. This will be an intensive 2 day working conference during which each of the selected papers will be critiqued by the other participants, including the authors, the keynote speaker, organizer Neringa Klumbyte, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Miami University, and a team of discussants made up of Miami University faculty. The Havighurst Center will provide accommodation in Oxford,
ground transportation to and from the airport, and partial travel funding (up to $250 for domestic travel and up to $500 for international travel).

To be considered for the conference, submit an abstract of approximately 250 words and a short CV to mailto:HavighurstCenter@ muohio.edu by May 1, 2009. Selected papers will be announced by June 1, 2009.

Please type "2009 Young Researchers Conference" as the subject of the email. Questions can be directed to:

The Havighurst Center for Russian & Post-Soviet Studies

Miami University

Harrison Hall, Room 116

Oxford, OH 45056

(513) 529-3303

havighurstcenter@muohio.edu