CFA: Slavic or Slavic/Film Studies PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Deadline: January 15, 2023

The University of Pittsburgh Slavic Department invites applications to its graduate program, which provides a full range of courses, with strengths in contemporary Russian culture and cinema. Our program has supported dissertations in such diverse areas as contemporary Russian prose, Soviet postmodern culture, Thaw cinema, Soviet civic poetry, Belomor prison culture, post-Soviet philosophy, the Soviet anekdot, and Stagnation-era television serials.  Applications should be submitted by Sunday, 15 January 2023 electronically at https://gradcas.liaisoncas.org/apply/.  For more information, see https://www.slavic.pitt.edu/graduate/graduate-requirements.

PhD students help organize the annual New East Cinema Symposium (https://neweastcinema.pitt.edu/).  Alongside primary study towards the degree, students typically are mentored in obtaining MA or PhD certificates in one or more of six interdepartmental programs:

1. Cultural Studies (http://pitt.edu/~cultural/): 35-40 course offerings a semester; the most extensive cultural studies program in the US

2. Digital Studies & Methods (https://dsam.pitt.edu): 23 faculty affiliates in digital methods (humanities & social sciences); 3 core courses; 8 pre-approved electives

3. Film and Media Studies (http://www.filmstudies.pitt.edu/): courses in both critical studies and film/video production

4. Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies (http://www.wstudies.pitt.edu/): activism, pedagogy, and scholarship

5. Jewish Studies (http://www.jewishstudies.pitt.edu/): 10-15 courses per semester

6. Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies (http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/crees/): a NRC center funded by the US Department of Education

 

By PhD conferral, students will typically have teaching experience in culture, cinema, language, and literature courses (team-taught and stand-alone formats).  PhD recipients have received academic job offers or post-doctoral fellowships in such institutions as Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Princeton, Stanford Humanities Center, University College London, University of Southern California, University of Texas Austin, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Williams, and William and Mary.  Other PhD recipients have competed successfully for senior academic administrative positions in International Studies, for work in Russian media analysis consulting in the public sector, and in private secondary education. 

 

Film/Slavic PhD.  Students with a primary interest in film may apply to Pitt’s Interdisciplinary Film & Media Studies PhD (concentration in Slavic), thus working towards a single PhD in two disciplines. For information, see http://www.filmstudies.pitt.edu/graduate/interdisciplinary-phd. Application to the Film & Media Studies PhD degree may be made either a.) as an initial application at https://gradcas.liaisoncas.org/apply/ (enter “Film Studies-PHD” then scroll down to “Doctor of Philosophy in Film and Media Studies, Slavic Languages and Literatures (Fall 2023)”; OR b.) as an application to the Slavic Department and (after preparatory coursework) for later internal transfer to the Film & Media Studies PhD.  In case of questions, please be in touch with Film and Media Studies graduate administrator (filmandmedia@pitt.edu; 412-624-6564) or the Slavic contacts below. 

 

In case of questions, please write to Prof. Nancy Condee, Slavic Director of Graduate Studies, condee@pitt.edu or Prof. Bella Grigoryan, Slavic Chair, grigoryan@pitt.edu.

CFA: Marie Curie Doctoral positions

Deadline: December 15, 2022

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network “EUTERPE: European Literatures and Gender from a Transnational Perspective” is looking for:

Eleven researchers to work on the Doctoral Training Network “EUTERPE: European Literatures and Gender from a Transnational Perspective”. We welcome applications from candidates with Master’s degrees, a demonstrable interest and experience in Gender Studies, English language skills, a willingness to undertake two months of guided internship with a EUTERPE Associate Partner that works in a field relevant to the Doctoral Candidate's expertise, as well as a willingness to spend a period of 6 months on secondment during the second year of their tenure. EUTERPE proposes to train and supervise 11 Doctoral Candidates in interdisciplinary, transnational, gender-focused literary studies.

Shared job announcement for all 11 positions: here

More about the project: here

Workshop: Eastern European Studies Dissertation Incubator

Deadline: December 15, 2022 

Eastern European Studies Dissertation Incubator

A five-part virtual workshop organized and hosted 

by the Romanian Studies Organization at Indiana University

 

Weeks of 2/20; 2/27; 3/6; 3/13; and 3/20, 2023

Two-hour weekly meeting times, TBD based on participant schedules

 

This collaborative workshop is open to doctoral students in any social science or humanities discipline studying Eastern Europe, broadly defined, at any stage of their research. Early-stage students will find this workshop useful for drafting key documents such as the dissertation prospectus as well as grant proposals for conference travel, language study, or field research. Late-stage students will benefit from revisiting the design and scope of their ongoing project  and drafting major fellowship proposals. All participants will receive peer feedback on a conference paper or dissertation chapter. Sessions will involve all participants equally to foster a supportive atmosphere for sharing resources and advice; therefore, participants will be asked to attend all meetings. 

 

Meeting 0: (optional) virtual ‘mixer’

Meeting 1: project design

·        peer review of dissertation abstracts

·        group discussion: dissertation proposals and research statements

Meeting 2: funding the dissertation

·        peer review of grant applications

·        discussion: grant writing (finding grants, resources for grant writing)

Meeting 3: decoding the dissertation chapter as genre

·        small group reverse outlining exercise: recent dissertation chapters 

·        discussion: crafting dissertation chapters

Meetings 4-5: revising the dissertation

·        five-minute presentations on dissertation chapters/conference papers 

·        comments from peer reviewers 

·        questions and discussion

 

Participants will be asked to prepare (1) a draft grant proposal (this could be for a pre-dissertation research grant, a conference travel award, a major research fellowship, a completion fellowship, a postdoctoral fellowship, or something else) and (2) a conference-style paper or working chapter draft (maximum 10,000 words, excluding notes). The conference paper/chapter should be sent to assigned peer reviewers by the third week of the workshop. We welcome rough drafts; the goal of this workshop is to generate productive feedback rather than to present finished products. During the incubator, participants will give presentations of no more than five minutes introducing their chapter or paper. 

 

Please send an abstract of your dissertation including the status of your research (pre-research, research phase, writing phase, etc. - these categories may vary by discipline) and a 150 word bio to romso@indiana.edu by December 15, 2022. 

CFA: Funded PhDs in Russian, University of Bristol

Deadlines: January 16 and January 30, 2023

Applications are now open for the PhD program in Russian at the University of Bristol for September 2023 entry.

There are two possible funding routes:

 

University scholarships / graduate teaching assistantships (deadline 30 January 2023)

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/study/postgraduate/university-of-bristol-postgraduate-research-scholarship/

 

The Southwest and Wales Doctoral Training Consortium (deadline 16 January 2023).

https://www.sww-ahdtp.ac.uk/about/about-swwdtp/

 

Potential applicants are asked to contact the Head of Subject, Dr Connor Doak, in the first instance to discuss their research proposal. Please do this well in advance of the above deadlines.

 

Both funding routes are highly competitive. Applicants are expected to have a Master's degree in Russian or another relevant discipline, an original research proposal for a thesis of 80,000 words, excellent academic writing skills in English, and (at minimum) a good reading knowledge of Russian.

 

Applicants can get a sense of the research in the department and potential supervisors here:

https://bristol.ac.uk/russian/research/

 

Successful applicants will be part of a vibrant School of Modern Languages with a growing community of postgraduate scholars.

https://bristol.ac.uk/sml/

CFA: two PhD studentships at ZZF Potsdam

Deadline: September 19, 2022

The Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF) Potsdam, Department I (Communism and Society), seeks to employ two Doctoral Students (f/m/d) for the ERC-funded project "Perestroika from Below: Participation, Subjectivities, and Emotional Communities across ‘the End of History’, 1980-2000," under the supervision of PD (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Dr. Juliane Fürst. The employment period is previewed as November 1, 2022 – October 31 , 2026; the starting date can be negotiated. The positions are part-time (65%). The salary is paid according to the collective bargaining agreement for public employees in Germany (TV-L 13).

The project “Perestroika from Below" intends to research and write a new history of a well-known, yet under-researched, moment in Soviet history, countering the dominant perception of perestroika as primarily reforms from above. It wants to redirect the scholarly gaze towards the large number of Soviet citizens who participated in and sponsored the ambitious attempt to redefine Soviet life, history and future in the 1980s and 90s. With the help of oral history interviews and other ego-documents as well as archival and published sources, the project aims to reconstruct individuals’ path into their perestroika experience and follow their trajectories into the 1990s. For more information please visit https://zzf-potsdam.de/en/forschung/projekte/perestroika-below.

Description and Tasks

The successful applicants will be an integral part of the five-year project “Perestroika from Below’, contributing to and benefitting from being part of a strong team of international researchers and a wide network of scholars worldwide. The project language is English. Applicants are expected to have knowledge of one of the languages of the post-Soviet space. Proposals dealing with non- Russian themes are actively encouraged. We are looking for dissertation ideas that take a wider and innovative perspective on Perestroika, which does not necessarily have to be political or economic. We are deeply committed to a view both from below and from the periphery. We are open to any kind of methodological approach but encourage oral history as a tool, especially since the project is also designed to interrogate authorial subjectivities. The doctoral students commit to contribute to the project through active participation in workshop and conferences, dissemination of their work through academic and non-academic channels and small organisational support.

Requirements

Applicants must have a Masters’ degree in history or cultural studies or in a related field. Fluent English language skills (min. C1 level) and competency in one or more of the languages of the post-Soviet space are prerequisite.

The ZZF is a research institute for German and European contemporary history in the 20th century and a member of the Leibniz Association. The ZZF offers an exciting research environment and a motivated and cooperative working atmosphere as well as flexible working hours. We attach great importance to optimal scientific advancement and support our staff in their personal and academic development. 

The ZZF is an equal opportunities employer and particularly welcomes applications from women and minorities. These will, in cases of equal merit, receive preferential consideration. This also applies to severely disabled applicants.

Please send the usual documentation (CV, motivational letter, academic certificates) as well as a project proposal (not more than 2000 words) using the reference number WM 06-2022 by September 19, 2022 only via email as ONE PDF to: bewerbung@zzf-potsdam.de. Interviews will be held shortly thereafter.

For further questions concerning tasks, requirements and the dissertation please contact PD Dr. Juliane Fürst: fuerst@zzf-potsdam.de. During the application process, we store and process the data you send us. You can object to the processing of your data by ZZF at any time via bewerbung@zzf-potsdam.de. In our data protection information under https://zzf-potsdam.de/de/datenschutzhinweise you will be comprehensively informed about the collection, processing and use of your personal data. There you will also find the link to a PGP public key if you would like to send your application digitally encrypted.

CFA: (PhD student position) The Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Habsburg-Ottoman diplomacy

Deadline: November 30, 2021

The Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies is offering a Ph.D. student position in the project “Digital Edition of Sources on Habsburg-Ottoman Diplomacy (1500-1918).”

The position is for a duration of 36 months (30h. per week), from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024.

The position is limited to the current duration of the project (until December 31, 2024). If the project is transferred to the long-term program of the ÖAW, an extension for another two years is possible. 

For further details, please refer to the job announcement on the ÖAW's website - which you may access here.

Questions and inquiries may be sent to the coordinator of the project, Dr. Arno Strohmeyer, at the following address: Arno.Strohmeyer@oeaw.ac.at

Funding: Central European History Society (CEHS) Travel and Research Grant

Deadline: January 15, 2021

The Central European History Society (CEHS) seeks applications from North American doctoral candidates (ABD) and recent PhDs (up to three years after completion of degree) in Central European history for travel and research grants up to $4,000. Funds are intended to support dissertation research and follow-up research and may be used for travel between 1 April and 31 December 2021.

 

Applicants should be affiliated with an accredited North American institution of higher education and a member of the Central European History Society at the time of application.  Membership in CEHS is automatic with an individual subscription to the journal Central European History ($17 annually for graduate students and $32 for others). See https://www.cambridge.org/core/membership/cehs for membership.

 

Application Procedure:

The following materials are required and should be combined into one PDF and e-mailed to CEHSGrants@gmail.com   

— Statement of Purpose (1000-word limit)

 

— Curriculum Vitae

 

— Budget Worksheet (totaling no more than $4,000)

 

The application and two letters of reference (which may be e-mailed separately) must be received by 15 January 2021.  Applicants are advised to give their referees several weeks’ notice of their need for letters.

 

For further information or inquiries (but not to submit applications), please contact the Executive Director of CEHS, Brendan Karch, at bkarch@lsu.edu.

CFA: International Summer School "Eigen-Sinn: Citizen Empowerment and “Soft” Protest in the Soviet and Post-Soviet World" (Technische Universität Dresden, Aug. 22-30. 2020)

Deadline: May 15, 2020

Aims and scope

The modern world is moving more and more towards the direction of the state control over citizens, which leaves less space for free civil actions. Looking at the processes currently taking place in Russia, Poland, and Hungary, and even in the countries of mature democracies like the USA – where under the pretext of protection against terrorism, rights and freedoms of people are infringed –, the academics are drawing on the ever-gloomier prospects of the future of modern democracy. Nevertheless, even in the countries with a harsh system of state surveillance, as in today’s Russia, there is still space for individual freedom and for a rather consistent resistance to power. This space can be found by considering not only textbook approaches to political agency of citizens, the paradigmatic examples of which would be participation in elections and protest demonstrations, but also diverse opportunities of other, more local and less spectacular ways of dealing with power.

In the disciplines focusing on Eastern Europe and especially on Russia, the issue of organisations and activities “from below” is gaining more and more importance. Equally relevant in current research seems to be the historical comparison of the 2000s and 2010s with the traditions and practices of the communism era – an epoch, which anticipated the diversity of oppositional patterns today. In order to describe multifaceted, often non-confrontative practices and patterns of resistance in this area, the summer school uses a strongly interdisciplinary approach based on the concept of “Eigen-Sinn”.

The term was coined by the German historians Alf Lüdtke and Thomas Lindenberger and draws on the polysemous meaning of the German expression, describing both stubbornness/obstinacy (that is, opposition to certain rules or demands), and one’s own/innate sense/meaning (that is, the creation of a meaningful attitude to life, especially in adverse political conditions). “Eigen-Sinn” is therefore considered as an appropriate historiographical concept for understanding individual behaviors and actions that impact the sphere of power and domination, submission and revolt, resistance and dropping out.

The main disciplinary fields upon which the summer school’s teaching sessions will be based are historical science (esp. everyday history), literary and cultural studies, sociology and political science. The program will be led by international scholars from Europe and beyond. It includes lectures, interactive seminars and group work on a wide array of themes, thereby casting light on the issue of soft resistance in the Soviet and post-Soviet world from various perspectives. Participants will have the opportunity to consolidate their theoretical and methodological skills, discuss concepts and ideas, present their own projects and network with international researchers.

Organisation and application

The summer school will take place at the Technische Universität Dresden; it is organized in cooperation with the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences.

It is open to doctoral students and postdocs from Slavic studies, East European studies, political science, (East European) history, literary and cultural studies, sociology as well as related fields and interdisciplinary contexts.

The working language will be English.

Programme

Participation, including travel to/from Dresden, accommodation and meals, will be completely funded for successful applicants subject to the condition that financial support by the Volkswagen Stiftung will be granted.

Applications are now open. Interested applicants should send a CV and a short motivational letter (up to 500 words), including research projects they are working on and why they would like to take part in the summer school, to annelie.bachmaier@tu-dresden.de. The deadline for applications is 15 May 2020. Successful applicants will be notified by 1 June 2020.

Any questions about the summer school can be addressed to annelie.bachmaier@tu-dresden.de.

Main organizer:

Professor Klavdia Smola, Chair of Slavic Literatures, Institute of Slavic Studies, Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies, University of Dresden

Wiener Str. 48, D-01062 Dresden, +49 351 463-34459, klavdia.smola@tu-dresden.de

CFA: Yad Vashem/USHMM Workshop: Everyday Life of Jews in the USSR during the Holocaust and its Early Aftermath

Deadline: April 20, 2020


Dates: Monday-Friday, August 30–September 3, 2020, Jerusalem

The Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Research on the Holocaust in the Soviet Union of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) are pleased to invite applications for a research workshop entitled, "Everyday Life of Jews in the USSR during the Holocaust and its Early Aftermath." The workshop is scheduled for August 30–September 3, 2020 at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. This is the third research workshop co-organized by Yad Vashem and USHMM with a focus on the former Soviet Union.

The workshop will focus on the Holocaust and everyday Jewish life during World War II and early years after the war in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Topics might include, but are not limited to the following themes: antisemitism, evacuation and Jewish life in the Soviet rear, ghettoization, collaboration, hiding, resistance, gender, violence, Jewish children and families during the Holocaust, survival in camps and ghettos, Jews in the Red Army, trauma, art and literature.  

Participants will be expected to submit a paper (no more than 15 pages) a month prior to the beginning of the workshop for circulation among the participants. Daily sessions will include 30-minute presentations followed by a discussion (up to 30 min), as well as an opportunity for participants to do research at Yad Vashem’s library and archives.

Applications will be accepted from doctoral candidates (aspirants) and scholars who obtained their Ph.D. (or candidate of science degree) within the last five years. Applications are welcome from scholars working in all relevant academic disciplines, including anthropology, archaeology, art history, geography, film studies, history, Jewish studies, law, literature, material culture, philosophy, political science, religion, sociology, and other fields.

All application materials must be received by 20 April 2020. Incomplete applications will not be considered after this date. Late applications will not be accepted. The selected participants will be notified by 20 May 2020. 

Please send all application materials via email to

shlomit.shulchani@yadvashem.org.il:

1. A current Curriculum Vitae outlining the applicant’s qualifications (including previous coursework, research projects, presentations, and publications).
2. An abstract of no more than 1000 words for your proposed paper (including title and discussion of methodological and theoretical issues).
3. A letter of recommendation (for students only) addressing the applicant’s scholarly potential. To preserve the confidentiality of recommendation letters, faculty recommenders must email their signed letters (on institutional letterhead) directly to shlomit.shulchani@yadvashem.org.il.

The workshop organizers are Dr. Arkadi Zeltser, Director of the Moshe Mirilashvili Center for Research on the Holocaust in the Soviet Union at Yad Vashem (arkadi.zeltser@yadvashem.org.il) and Dr. Daniel Newman, Program Manager of the Initiative for the Study of the Holocaust in the Soviet Union, USHMM (danewman@ushmm.org).

The organizers will cover the cost of economy class flights to and from the workshop, lodging for the seminar’s duration and meals. Participants must obtain their own health insurance.

The workshop will be conducted in English.

CFP: VII International Forum for Doctoral Candidates in East European Art History

Deadline: January 31, 2020


The professorship of Central and East European Art History at Humboldt-University Berlin is inviting to the 7th International Forum for Doctoral Candidates in East European Art History. The previous editions of the forum caused great resonance. This has shown us that young scholars from all over the world working in this field have a strong need for a direct, lively exchange of specific conceptual issues and methodological problems of art historical “area studies” of Eastern Europe across the different epochs. The annual meeting offers opportunity and space for a continuous exchange of ideas and experiences, for making and continuing contacts and bringing together expertise. Current research projects – and as well their progress and modifications over the years – are documented on the forum’s website. In this way and with a Facebook group, it is possible to build networks besides the annual forums.

Doctoral candidates engaged in a topic of art history (or a neighboring discipline) of Eastern Europe are cordially invited – explicitly also those who have come to the Forum in Berlin in the previous years. If you would like to participate, please send us your abstract. We ask you to outline concisely the subject and main question of your PhD project. Please discuss your methodological and analytical approach in a separate paragraph and name the problems and questions you would like to address. Dependent on the focuses resulting from the proposals submitted we will select up to eight contributions for presentations (20 min). All other participants will have the opportunity to present in brief themselves and their doctoral projects (5 min). It is important to us to have plenty of time for discussions and exchange.

Languages of the conference are German and English.

Please submit your proposal

• of ca. 4000 characters (including blanks)
• in a file format that can be edited (no pdf!)
• indicating your name, working title of the dissertation project, affiliation, e-mail

by January 31st, 2020 in German or English to:

• Vertret.-Prof. Dr. Katja Bernhardt (katja.bernhardt@culture.hu-berlin.de)
• Constance Krüger M.A. (constance.krueger@hu-berlin.de)

Please include in the abstract the following phrases and delete as appropriate:

• “I agree / do not agree that a printed copy of my abstract is available during the forum.”
• “I agree / do not agree that my abstract is published on the website of the doctoral forum http://www.kunstgeschichte.hu-berlin.de/institut/lehrstuehle/lehrstuhl-fuer-kunstgeschicht...
• “I agree / do not agree that my name, the title of my dissertation project, my affiliation and my email address will be included into the printed copy of the list of participants, which will be part of the conference material.”

The contributors (20 min paper) will be selected by the end of February 2020. They will be granted a travel allowance.

CFA: Residence Grant 2020-2021 at the Center for Urban History (Lviv, Ukraine)

Deadline: January 15, 2020

The Center for Urban History invites researchers of various fields in the humanities from different countries to apply for the 2020-2021 Residence Grant.

We welcome applications for research that offer broad interpretations of urban history as a discipline at the intersection of various approaches of humanities and social sciences. The chronological and geographical frames of the proposed research are limited to the 19th and 20th-century history of East and Central Europe. 

We especially encourage historians, culture studies scholars, and anthropologists. 

The program includes:

• five one-month residence grants for young researchers, working on their PhD thesis or preparing them for publishing,
• five two-week residence grants for advanced researchers,
• three residencies on digital urban history in cooperation with the Lviv Interactive project, an online encyclopedia representing the history of Lviv through places and spaces
• one residency in digital urban history, jointly with the Urban Media Archive

The Center offers

• accommodation in the guest rooms of the Centre
• a place for research at the office
• shares access to its library resources, urban media arсhive, research works, scholarly contacts
• provides an opportunity to present and discuss the preliminary results of the grantee’s project at the Center’s Urban seminar or public lectures.

Applications have to include:

• Project Description (1000-2000 words)
• Curriculum vitae
• List of publications
• Letter of recommendation for non-holders of PhD or relevant degree

Please submit the application to the email grants@lvivcenter.org. For further details on the application, please click here. 

Job: Postdoctoral Fellow, American University (Washington, DC)

Deadline to Apply: open until position is filled, but applications will be reviewed from January 15, 2020


Description
The Jewish Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow faculty position for Academic Year 2020-2021 and is pending funding. This fellowship is offered in conjunction with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. The appointment is a 12-month term position and will commence on August 1, 2020.

Applicants should hold a PhD or other terminal degree by August 1st, 2020. The position will require the incumbent to teach one course during the Fall 2020 semester and one course in the Spring 2021 semester at American University, in any area of Holocaust Studies. Course assignments will be made in consultation with the Director of the Jewish Studies Program. In addition, the fellow will have opportunities to conduct research and participate in the community of fellows at the Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. All faculty are expected to hold office hours and participate in School and University activities and service.

Salary and benefits are competitive.  Review of applications will begin on January 15th, 2020 and will continue until the position is filled.  Include a letter of application describing research and teaching interests, curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation, and a writing sample.  Please contact Professor Pamela Nadell, Director of the Jewish Studies Program, pnadell@american.edu if you have any questions. 

American University is a private institution within easy reach of the many centers of government, business, research, and the arts located within the nation's capital. Our more than 12,000 students are globally diverse, and the university's mission is carried out by 848 full-time faculty and nearly 1,700 full­ time staff. 94 percent of full-time faculty hold the highest degree in their field and among our adjunct faculty are policy makers, diplomats, journalists, artists, writers, scientists and business leaders. For more information about American University, visit www.american.edu .

CFA: Open Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Deadline to Apply: August 15, 2019

• Please apply online through the university's website.

OVERVIEW

REEEC is now accepting applications from regional specialists (including advanced graduate students, faculty, independent scholars, and library science or other professionals with appropriate qualifications) to conduct short-term research concerning all aspects of Russian, eastern European, and Eurasian studies in conjunction with the fall Open Research Laboratory (September 1–30). Those applicants who are US citizens and whose research holds relevance for US foreign policy may also apply for US Department of State Title VIII fellowships to support their visits. ORL Associates have access to the extensive holdings of the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Collection at the International and Area Studies Library and may receive one-on-one research assistance from the librarians of the Slavic Reference Service (SRS); these consultations ensure that Associates not only locate all sources pertinent to their topic at Illinois, but those housed elsewhere, as well.

Qualified ORL applicants are also encouraged to consider studying an area language through Indiana University’s Summer Language Workshop, located in nearby Bloomington, IN, after their participation in the ORL. Please check the program’s website during the coming months for further information regarding deadlines, application materials, and funding, which may include Title VIII Portable Fellowships for overseas language study as well as other opportunities available to eligible applicants.

ELIGIBILITY

We invite applications from advanced graduate students (MA candidates engaged in thesis writing and research, doctoral students, and doctoral candidates working on a dissertation), postdoctoral scholars, faculty, independent scholars, and library science or other professionals with appropriate language and area studies training whose research pertains to some aspect of Russian, eastern European, and Eurasian studies. Applicants must propose a viable research project, demonstrate a clear commitment to the field, and indicate how they will benefit from ORL participation and the resources of the SRS and Illinois library collections. Applicants conducting policy-relevant research will be prioritized and are strongly encouraged to apply for a Title VIII fellowship (below), to underwrite the costs associated with their visit.

WHAT THE LAB OFFERS:

• Full access to the physical and electronic collections of the University of Illinois Library.
• Use of the Library’s technological resources, including advanced scanning equipment and other resources.
• Consultations with the Slavic Reference Service.
• Opportunities to participate in REEEC programming (lectures, workshops, conferences, etc.).
• The help of REEEC staff in answering logistical questions related to your stay.
• Informal meetings with local scholars as desired.

FINANCIAL AID: US DEPARTMENT OF STATE TITLE VIII FELLOWSHIPS

Applicants who are U.S. citizens and who are conducting policy-relevant research may apply for a Title VIII fellowship to support their visits. These fellowships provide:   

• A housing award furnishing accommodation on campus for up to 5 days,
• A travel award of up to $500 to offset transportation costs to and from Urbana-Champaign,
• A stipend of $500 to cover food, incidentals, and other costs associated with the research visit.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

All applicants are required to submit an online application, a short-form CV, a research proposal and, if applying for funding, a clearly formulated statement of policy relevance. Failure to provide this statement will compromise applicants’ eligibility for Title VIII funding.

Fall 2019 ORL Application

STATEMENT OF POLICY RELEVANCE

US citizens applying for Title VIII financial support must also upload a Statement of Policy Relevance. This statement should comprise a brief project abstract (up to 500 words) that draws a connection between your research topic and any aspect of US foreign policy issues, strategies, emphases, or concerns. The extent to which a project is policy-relevant will vary with the field of study, but most research pertaining to the region informs our understanding of, helps contextualize, or otherwise holds implications for the history, nature, or legacy of policy considerations. A partial list of contemporary policy-related topics might include security issues of all sorts (e.g., border, military, energy, food, and water security); conflict, extremism, terrorism, trafficking, violence, and international criminal syndicates; government, politics, sociopolitical movements, state building, elections, populism, and the cult of political personalities; Cold War studies and the  legacies of state socialism; environmental policy, degradation, and climate change; displaced populations and demographic movement (political, economic, and climate-change refugees, migrants, and immigrants); studies of social identity and difference (gender, sexualities, ethnicity, nationalism, class, religion and belief); information access and dissemination (freedom of the press, communications, education, journalism, social media); international and supranational alliances; technological advances and artificial intelligence (e.g, aeronautical, bio-, communications, computer, information, medical, nano-, and military technology); and artistic and popular culture engagement with or commentaries on any of these topics, whether through literature, film, music, visual art, dance, or other expressive culture media. In short, applicants are asked to indicate how their research might inform, resonate with, or otherwise contribute to the understanding of regional topics of concern to policy makers as well as the scholarly community.

FACTS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT ORL

1. When can I attend?Participation in the Open Research Lab is flexible. You may attend at any time between September 1 and September 30, 2019.
2. Is it difficult to acquire funding for ORL; how constrictive is the funding process?Funding for ORL is competitive. Eligible applicants with strong proposals are more likely to receive funding for their research. ORL awards are made by a committee of scholars derived from the Research Laboratory Advisory Board and University of Illinois faculty.
3. What kind of funding is available?All ORL grant applicants must be U.S. citizens. Awards include travel support up to $500, housing grants for up to 5 days, and a stipend of $500.
4. Can I access any of the resources after I leave the lab?Yes! The Slavic Reference Service librarians are very adept at loaning circulating items through Inter-Library Loan (ILL).
5. Why should I visit, if SRS is willing to loan so much material via ILL?ORL is a great opportunity to develop good relationships with the librarians at the Slavic Reference Service. They are ready to use their specialized knowledge to help you do research on your dissertation or research project. SRS librarians will work with ORL Fellows long after they leave ORL. Additionally, an in-person visit gives scholars the opportunity to access specialized materials that carry constraints due to particular governmental and copyright restrictions. Scholars who utilize ORL also have access to the main stacks at the University Library.
6. Am I allowed to make digital copies of materials that I would like to take with me after I leave?Absolutely! You can create your own digital library of the resources acquired during ORL.
7. Is ORL only for preliminary research, or does ORL have more in-depth resources that would cater to more specialized research?ORL can assist both preliminary and advanced stages of research. ORL also facilitates access to hard-to-find materials that are not located anywhere else in the US. This can be especially helpful to scholars who have done their preliminary work using more available resources.
8. What are the library hours for the Slavic Reference Service?Slavic Reference Service hours correspond to the Main Library hours of operations. Please check the Library website for a full schedule of Library hours. When planning your trip to the ORL, please be aware that the library maintains limited hours on weekends.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC) at reeec-srl@illinois.edu