Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals

Student Conference:

Cultural and Political Developments during the Socialist Regimes of Central and Eastern Europe

Conference date: 24 April 2009

Organizing Institution: The Department of Political Science, University of Bucharest, Romania

Deadline for abstract submitting (via e-mail): the 10th of March 2009

The shape taken by the opposition against the state structures or the submission towards the socialist regime has varied across Central and Eastern Europe. The definition given to the concept of “new man” presents a series of relevant differences. In addition, the profile of the individual behavior gets further complicated due to the presence of a double identity: an official and a private dimension. Under these circumstances, various questions arise: what kind of “new man”  was born in each state? Which were the faces of the opposition? Up to which point did people adhere to the imposed social norms? And, last but not least, , how did the civil society react and act?

The revolutionary wave that Central and Eastern Europe faced in the late 80s has generated important social, political, cultural and economic changes, as diverse as the manifestation of socialism in each communist state. It is thus equally important to study and analyze the “transition” period
and its successive transformations also from the point of view of continuity with the past. Or, as Stark (1996) noticed, are the post 1989 institutions
and political norms refounded not only “on the ruins, but with the ruins” of communism?

The conference addresses the students currently enrolled in the final years of Bachelor degree, as well as the ones attending a Master program, from all fields of Social Sciences and Humanities (Political Science, Ethnology, Law, Sociology, Economics, Journalism). The conference will take place at the Institute for Political Research, 8 Spiru Haret str., 010175, Bucharest 1, Romania.

We are particularly interested in the papers that might generate starting points for an interdisciplinary dialogue regarding the following issues:

- Popular and Official Culture under Socialist Regimes;

- Projects of Social Change in the Socialist Societies;

- Practices on the Socialist Political Scene;

- The Effects of the Political and Cultural Socialism in the Contemporary World.

Scientific Committee:

Cristian PREDA, Department of Political Science, University of Bucharest

Alexandra IONESCU, Department of Political Science, University of Bucharest

Damiana OŢOIU, Department of Political Science, University of Bucharest, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Centre d’Etude de la Vie Politique (CEVIPOL)

Călin COTOI, Department of Sociology and Social Assistance, University of Bucharest

Călin GOINA, Department of Sociology and Social Assistance, Babeş-Bolyai University, Sociology Department, University of California, Los Angeles

Lorena ANTON, Department of Letters, University of Bucharest & Université Victor Segalen – Bordeaux 2

Alina BRANDA, Department of European Studies, Babeş-Bolyai University

Atalia ŞTEFĂNESCU, Department of Sociology and Psychology, West University of Timişoara

In order to attend the conference, please send an abstract of 300 up to 400 words, in addition to a short CV, until the10th of March 2009, at the following e-mail addresses:

bocse.alexandra-maria@fspub.ro,

negulescu.ralucamariana@fspub.ro,

spinu.daniela-mihaela@fspub.ro.

The abstract, as well as the final paper, can be written in Romanian, English or French.

We will contact the authors of the selected papers until the 20^th of March 2009. In addition, the participants have to send the paper (20 000- 25 000 characters) until the 15^th of April 2009. The participant papers will be later on forwarded to all the participants and will be published in the Proceedings of the Conference.

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