Posted: 04.12.06 14:56. Post subject: Violence in Eurasia: Historical and Contemporary Approaches

From: "Serguei Alex. Oushakine" <oushakin@Princeton.EDU>

Violence in Eurasia: Historical and Contemporary Approaches
Yale University
March 23-25, 2007

EXTENDED Application Submission Deadline: December 12, 2006

The Eurasia Program of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) invites
proposals for a dissertation development workshop, focusing on issues of
violence in Eurasia. Graduate students at any stage of their dissertation
process (from proposal to write-up) and from any disciplinary or
interdisciplinary program in the humanities or social sciences are
eligible to apply. Proposals may elaborate upon one or more of the
following issues, or applicants may propose their own topics. We
particularly encourage applicants who propose new theoretical perspectives
and methodologies and whose work speaks to a wide scholarly audience.

Violence - the use or threat of physical/psychological force - has played
a role in the exercise of power and the shaping of social relations
throughout history. The forms and meaning of violence have varied,
however, with time, location, cultural tradition, and political context.
In all eras, in any given situation, some types of violence are accepted
as legitimate, even necessary, while others are condemned as extreme. How
is violence interpreted in the Eurasian context?

One has only to mention the tsarist-era anti-Jewish pogroms, the
self-inflicted brutalities of the Stalinist regime, the present government
of Uzbekistan, the Russian Mafia, or the conduct of both parties to the
war in Chechnya to evoke stereotypes of a Eurasian propensity for
violence.

What kind of norms or values have governed the use of violence in the
territory once covered by the Russian empire and the Soviet Union, and now
by the Russian Federation and other successor states? To what extent have
attitudes and practices converged with or departed from patterns
elsewhere?
To what extent do local patterns vary within the region? What has been
the impact of political, social, and economic change on interpersonal and
social relations? How has violence been represented through literary and
cultural productions, and what impact has this had on the further
propagation of violent behavior in society? What have been the responses
from individuals, groups, and states from within and outside the region to
violence and repression? And does the region deserve its reputation in
the West as lawless and violence-prone?

For detailed information on application procedures and eligibility
requirements, please visit the Eurasia Program online at
http://www.ssrc.org/programs/eurasia or
contact program staff at eurasia@ssrc.org.

Eurasia Program
Social Science Research Council
810 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10019
Phone: (212) 377-2700
Fax: (212) 377-2727