Soviet Legacies and post-Soviet Practices: Economics, Politics, and Everyday life

Embassy of France in Ukraine (France)
Journal “Ukraina Moderna” (Ukraine)
Doctoral School of National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Ukraine)
Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa (Canada)
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales [EHESS] (France)
Ostroh Academy National University (Ukraine)
Centre franco-russe de recherche en sciences humaines et sociales de Moscou (Russia)

are pleased to announce the Third International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine

“Soviet Legacies and post-Soviet Practices: Economics, Politics, and Everyday life”
Ostroh (Ukraine), 4-10 July 2011

Program description:

Soviet Joke:
“Can a person live earning just a salary?”
“We don’t know - we’ve never tried.”

This Soviet joke illustrates how the Soviet socio-economic system really worked, but it still sounds surprisingly cogent today. In many ways it describes the everyday life not only of ordinary citizens, but also of state officials, politicians, and businessmen. Explaining the vivacity of this joke will be the challenge of our Summer School.

The International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine was initiated in 2009 by the French Embassy in Ukraine under the theme of “Studying Memories of Central and Eastern Europe” in Uman, three hours south of Kyiv. With the Second School, held in Dnipropetrovsk in 2010 on “Approaches to Post-Soviet Transformations”, academic partners now included the Mohyla Doctoral School, Ukraina Moderna, and the EHESS in Paris and the Chair in Ottawa. The local partner in 2011 will be the renowned Ostroh Academy National University in Western Ukraine.
>From the start, the Summer School in Ukraine has developed a thematic focus encompassing the former Soviet Bloc (former Soviet Union and Central Europe), and an international participation of scholars and doctoral students from the former Soviet Union, Central and Western Europe, North America and elsewhere. Our ambition, for the 2011 Third Summer School is to bring the economic dimension into political and social analyses of Soviet and post-Soviet societies (of the former Soviet Bloc). In doing so, we expect to explore the relationships and the mutual dependence between economics, politics and society, with a special focus on everyday practices.

The socio-economic peculiarities of the Soviet system – state-run economy, scarcity of goods, informal practices, dominance of the centre over peripheries – continue to shape post-Soviet realities. The drastic socio-economic changes of the late 1980s led to the appearance of fascinating rules, practices and social roles, which have often been presented as “new.” The first private enterprises, privatization campaigns, economic criminality, Komsomol-run business, everyday adaptation and survival strategies are a few examples of these phenomena. One may wonder, however, to what extent they were truly new, or more an outgrowth of the experience of the Soviet years.

Twenty years later, when market economies seem to be established throughout the region, the peculiar relationship between economics, politics and society, often analyzed as flawed and malfunctioning, remains under-studied. Political parties or positions for sale, the widespread practice of kickbacks (“?????”) in business, the unique role of interpersonal connections (simultaneously frowned upon and seen as necessary for access to everything from medical care to debt financing), the particular local conception of meritocracy, all call for fresh inquiries.

The Third International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine will provide a unique forum for the presentation and discussion of exciting research on economy, politics, and everyday life. Major themes that of particular interest to the School include:

• The Interplay Between Economy and Politics: political careers and falls from power, taxation, privileges, redistribution, corruption, citizen interactions with state institutions, the economic dimension of social and political activism, centre/periphery relations in the Soviet and post-Soviet context.
  
• Economy and Everyday Life: poverty and wealth, labor migration, market phenomena in a non-market economy, non-market practices in a market economy, blat, networking and the economy of favors, the social way of coping with the scarcity and the asymmetry of goods in the village or in the city.
  
• Configurations of Entrepreneurship: the origins and behavior of Soviet and post-Soviet entrepreneurs, the role of business in politics, the strategies of taking opportunities of dramatic economic changes, economic criminality and its transformations.

Theoretical and methodological contributions on analytical tools available to the study socio-economic practices are most welcomed.

The Summer School is designed to be interdisciplinary and international. The organizers welcome historical, sociological, anthropological, political science, and economic contributions, as well as relevant proposals from other fields. Participants are expected to present their own work and to participate in group discussions. The School’s program consists of lectures, panel discussions, and field trips within the region, followed by discussion sessions.

Location
The Summer School is hosted by Ostroh Academy National University, situated in Ostroh, Rivne oblast in Volhynia, Western Ukraine. Ostroh Academy is one of the oldest higher education institutions in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, and traces its roots to the influential Orthodox magnate Ostozhsky who, in 1576, established the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy that later bore his name. Reestablished in 1994, the new Ostroh Academy sees itself as the spiritual successor of the historic university. It has developed into a dynamic and internationally open institution, one of the top humanities schools in Ukraine. The campus, which will host the Summer School, combines beautifully renovated old buildings and well-equipped new constructions, surrounded by centenary trees.

Duration:
One week, 4-10 July 2011 (5 working days). Arrival on July 4. Sessions begin on July 5 and end on July 9. Departure on July 10.

Eligibility
The Summer School is open to PhD students (or students enrolled in a kandidat nauk program) and young researchers (up to six years removed from their PhD or kandidat nauk degree). Empirically grounded proposals are particularly welcomed.

The working language of the Summer School will be English, and it is important that prospective participants have a good knowledge of this language.

The selection committee will select candidates based on their responses to this Call for Proposals. The selected candidates will be advised before the end of May.

Program Costs
There is no program fee. Local transportation from/to Kyiv, accommodation, meals, classes, lectures, seminars and excursions are provided by the organizers and free of charge.

Travel expenses from the participant's country to Kyiv should be arranged by him/herself or his/her university.

How to apply?
To be considered for the Summer School, candidates must complete an application form (that includes a 500 word project proposal) and add a CV. They can also send an additional written sample, such as a conference paper, a dissertation chapter, or a publication (optional). The application must be sent by e-mail to ukrainesummerschool@gmail.com, by 15 April 2011.

The application form can be requested at Ukrainesummerschool@gmail.com or downloaded on the web page of the Summer School, http://www.ukrainianstudies.uottawa.ca/summer_school.html (coming soon).

For more information, please contact:
Guillaume Colin
+380 44 504 01 39
guillaume.colin@cfucus.org

Deadline for applications
15th April 2011

Application form for the Third International Summer School in Social Sciences in Ukraine «Soviet legacies and post-Soviet practices: economy, politics, everyday life» Ostroh (Ukraine), July 2011

Please fill in the blank and send it, as well as a CV and (if relevant) a copy of one of your publications, by e-mail to: Ukrainesummerschool@gmail.com.

Name, Surname :
Country :
Academic position: PhD Student / Aspirant – PhD/Kandidat Nauk – Researcher - Other
University affiliation:
E-mail : Date of Birth:
Postal address :
Mobile phone :
Another phone number (home, office…):

What are your expectations from the Summer School?

Please indicate the title of your (past or forthcoming) doctoral (kandidat) dissertation, and, if applicable, information about publications:

Describe your current research project (500 words) :

Any practical information you want us to know (accommodation or meal preferences…):

How did you hear about this summer school?