3rd Graduate Conference: IDEA EXCHANGE: Mediums and Methods of Communication in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia

[Alyssa DeBlasio]

Call for Papers

Third Annual Graduate Student Conference:

IDEA EXCHANGE:  Mediums and Methods of Communication in Eastern Europe,
Russia and Central Asia

Graduate Organization for the Study of Europe and Central Asia
Center for Russian and East European Studies

University of Pittsburgh, February 24-26, 2006

In the histories of Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia, countless
social and political upheavals have been articulated through, if not
facilitated by, a variety of communication mediums and methods.  The uses
of various modes of communication played a critical role in the collapse
of state socialism and in the later reconstruction of new political and
social regimes.  In the sixteen years since, the exchange of ideas and the
dissemination of knowledge through practices of communication continue to
be of vital importance to political engagement, cultural expression, arts,
sciences, and the creation of novel social orders.

This conference will explore questions related to the historical and
contemporary impact of different mediums and methods of communication in
Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia.  We find it useful to adopt an
inclusive understanding of mediums and methods that refers equally to
venues for idea exchange, channels for the transmission of information,
means through which communication is generated and even arenas for public
debates and the constitution of civic initiatives.

We invite abstracts that address questions and arguments such as:  What is
the relationship between various mediums of communication and the
reorganization of power, politics and the state in former socialist
societies?  How are they impacted by state regulations, economic factors,
or the international promotion of intellectual property rights?  Have
mediums of communication been to used stimulate democratic participation
and debate of ideas?  Do they rather facilitate the exercise of novel
forms of governance and tactics of power?  What factors limit
communication, and what elements of communication and media create new
opportunities in the region?  Who controls information, and who can
authoritatively spread ideas?

The University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate Organization for the Study of
Europe and Central Asia, in cooperation with the Center for Russian and
East European Studies, invites fellow graduate students working on related
topics from all disciplines to submit abstracts for our Third Annual
Graduate Student Conference.  We encourage a broad range of approaches,
from social science and humanities to law and public policy, as well as a
diverse set of topics to be explored in accordance with the main goal of
this conference:  to stimulate interdisciplinary debates and the exchange
of ideas.

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