|
|
|
|
The Modernisation Process in the Barents Region |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
The Regional Identity The third conference within the network The Modernisation Process in the Barents Region will be The Regional Identity. It will be held in Petrozavodsk, in the heart of Karelia at the shore of the Lake Onega, in Russia in September 2006. The organizer is the Department of History at the State University of Petrozavodsk.
Dear colleagues, The NordForsk network “The Modernisation Process in the Barents Region” hereby invites scholars, university instructors, doctoral and postgraduate students, and other people with expertise in the Barents region to take part in the International Research Conference "Regional Northern Identity: from Past to Future". The conference will be held at Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russian Federation, on September 12 – 14, 2006. The conference will focus on such a specific phenomenon as identity with the emphasis on the Nordic and neighbouring countries. We intend to study identity(ies) both as unique mental construction (“as such”) and in its interaction with political, economic, social, religious and cultural processes. The conference sessions are: Session 1. Northern Mentality and Identity as Unique phenomena? This panel is intended to cover both theoretical and practical research issues, i.e. how to study mentality and identity, what methodology to use, inter-disciplinary studies, etc. The sub-topics might be: Basic mental concepts: space, time, the image of the Other; Border of frontier? Dividing and uniting functions of the borderland. Border studies; Northern mentality: traditional or innovative? Session 2. Identity and Challenges of Globalization and regionalization. This panel is intended to focus on political, social, religious and economic impacts on social, ethnic, personal identities in the Nordic and neighbouring regions. The sub-topics might be: Impact of industrial development on indigenous cultures; Patterns of survival of cultural or ethnic identity in front of changing socio-economic environment; Practices of revitalization; Religious studies; Political, economic, religious and social reforms and their impact on cultural and ethnic identity. Session 3. Cross-Cultural Communication and Ethnic Identities. This panel is intended to concentrate on contemporary cultural environment in respect to ethnic identities. The sub-topics might be: - Multicultural society in the Northern Europe; - Patterns of cross-cultural and inter-ethnic dialogue; - Ethnopolitics; - Demographic issues. The issues of regional identity in the Nordic countries and Northern Russia should provide a variety of topics and questions of vital interest to discuss at the conference. It is also significant to understand the course of history in the Barents region as a result of mixture of various traditions, achievements and peculiarities of national historiographical schools, as well as a result of the facilities of historical sources in different countries. The working language of the conference is English. The participants are responsible for the translation of their abstracts and texts into English. We invite all our colleagues from the Nordic countries and North-West Russia (Archangelsk, Murmansk, Syktyvkar), as well as from other regions of Russia and the world to participate in the conference. Participants from the NordForsk network “The Modernisation Process in the Barents Region” will get special grants for the participation in the conference (to cover such expenses as transportation and accommodation). As for participants from outside the network, the Conference Organizing Committee will be able to provide only limited financial support. If the amount of applications exceeds the conference capacities, the Organizing Committee reserves the select proposed papers. All proposals for fifteen-minute presentations are due by April 15, 2006. Proposals should follow the outline given below:
Please submit your proposals in a MS Word or RTF format by e-mail to Liubov Arinina, the secretary of the Organizing committee (recenter@psu.karelia.ru) by April 15, 2006. Conference deadlines:
Arrival and departure to/from Petrozavodsk Participants from the Nordic countries are recommended to arrive and depart to/from Petrozavodsk by airplane via Helsinki or by bus directly from Tromsø and Luleå. All bookings for Nordic participants are to be made through Lars Elenius, the network project coordinator from the Luleå University of Technology. Participants from the Russian universities are supposed to arrive and depart to/from Petrozavodsk by train or airplane according to recommendations from the Conference Organizing committee (Petrozavodsk State University). The recommendations will be given after submissions of budget plans by all Russian universities. Other participants should consult the Organizing committee for the best ways of transportation. Organizing committee contact information:
Welcome to Petrozavodsk in September 2006!
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Last updated by Lars Elenius |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
