[URBANTH-L]ANN: Dissertation Development Workshop: Resources in Eurasia:Wealth, Scarcity, or Curse?

[Angela Jancius]

DISSERTATION DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

Resources in Eurasia:Wealth, Scarcity, or Curse?


April 16-18, 2009
Georgetown University's Center for Eurasian,
Russian and East European Studies (CERES)


THE EURASIA PROGRAM of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC)
invites proposals for a dissertation development workshop focusing on
resources-ranging from oil and natural gas, to water and land, to
science and industry, to human health and education and beyond-in
Eurasia. Graduate students at any stage of the dissertation process
(from proposal to write-up) and from any disciplinary or
interdisciplinary program in the humanities or social sciences are
eligible to apply. We particularly encourage applicants who propose
fresh theoretical perspectives and methodologies, and whose work speaks
to a wide scholarly audience.

Eurasia is widely considered to be rich in a variety of resources:
natural, technological, and human. Scholars across disciplines are
asking theoretically-grounded, potentially policy relevant questions
about the existence, histories, politics, impact, and future
trajectories of resource exploration, development, and exploitation
across the region. Sociologists and public health specialists, for
example, lament the degradation of human capital and the impact of
"brain drain" during the transition years. Anthropologists and
geographers study the meanings and impacts of various kinds of natural
resources for local communities who may or may not benefit from their
presence. Political scientists and scholars of international relations
examine the impact of cross-border disputes over the harvesting and
transportation of resources. Historians consider the impact of resource
consumption in the context of economic, political and social movements.
Economists debate whether Russia is afflicted with a resource "curse."

What are the historical, cultural, political, social, geographic,
technological, and economic factors that determine how and when various
kinds of resources are extracted, developed, traded, and used? How are
resources implicated in the cultural practices and social relations that
shape institutions? How are relations within and between states and
sub-national groups affected by conflicts over control of resources? How
is the future of the region as a whole, and of various groups in the
region, likely to be affected by the ways in which resources are
developed and allocated? How have scholars constructed the meanings and
impacts of resource scarcity and availability throughout the region?


INSTRUCTIONS & ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are
currently enrolled in an accredited PhD program and working at some
stage on their dissertation projects. Regions and countries currently
supported by the program include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and the applicant's work must
relate as a whole or in part to one or more of these regions in their
current or historical context. All applicants are required to submit the
following:



* A five page, double spaced summary of the dissertation project,
highlighting the dissertation's relationship to the themes and
objectives of the workshop
* A 500-word abstract of the project
* One letter of academic recommendation from the applicant's primary
advisor or other relevant individual
* Curriculum Vitae
All materials should be submitted electronically to eurasia at ssrc.org
with the exception of the letter of recommendation, where the original
should be mailed to the SSRC, attn: Eurasia Program and received by the
extended January 19, 2009 deadline.

Alisha Kirchoff
Eurasia Program Coordinator
Science Research Council
One Pierrepont Plaza | 15th  Floor |
Brooklyn, NY 11201 | www.ssrc.org <http://www.ssrc.org/>  |
Tel: (212) 377-2700 | Fax: (212) 245-4232 | kirchoff at ssrc.org
<mailto:kirchoff at ssrc.org>  | Direct line: (718) 517-3663