Interdisciplinary online conference «Black Sea Region in the Times of Crises: New Theoretical Approaches and Research Methodologies» (Online, October 2021)

The conference aims to explore the present and historical dynamics shaping the Black Sea region through the lens of transculturality. The region that was governed by three European empires and then dominated by the Soviet Union, has experienced extreme violence during the XX century and continues to be the space of contemporary conflicts and geopolitical turmoil. At the same time, the region’s countries, both within and outside the EU, are often analyzed through the prism of methodological nationalism and a «container-culture approach». We propose to regard the Black Sea region as a fluid realm where various discourses and ideas interact, compete and merge. We seek to explore novel theoretical concepts and methodologies to studying the transcultural space of the Black Sea region and the challenges that it faces — both in the past and today.

The thematic scope of the conference focuses on but is not limited to the following fields:

• Theoretical concepts and approaches: applicability and limitations for studying the Black Sea region;
• New methods and methodologies of transcultural researchDigital, environmental and spatial turns in researching the Black Sea region;
• Post- and beyond: Black Sea region as a post-imperial, post-socialist, post-colonial, and post-genocidal space;
• The impact of and reactions to the crises and disasters (both natural and man-made) in the Black Sea Region;
• Migration governance and border regimes in the region;
• New geopolitical developments, conflict resolution, and security challenges in the Black Sea region;
• The impact of COVID-pandemic on the Black Sea region.

How to apply:
We invite sociologists, historians, anthropologists, economists, geographers, political scientists, and academics from related disciplines to apply for the conference. While the primary focus of the conference is the Black Sea region, the scholars focused on other regions are welcome to apply. The conference committee invites early stages, as well as advanced researchers.Conference participants will be asked to submit original academic videos presenting research findings (20 mins max). We will ask conference participants to submit professionally-made videos by September 15, 2021. The organizers provide grants of up to 500 EUR for the production of conference videos for all the participants. The working language of the conference is English.

To apply, please send the following documents:
1. A brief CV (up to 2 pages);
2. A 300 to 500-word conference abstract;
3. Video-production budget (up to 500 EUR).
Please send application materials to uaregio@gmail.com by May 15, 2021.

The conference is a part of the project «Promotion of Cooperation in the humanities and social sciences between Switzerland and the states of the Black Sea region» funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation (SERI).

The Call for Papers Interdisciplinary online conference «Black Sea Region in the Times of Crises: New Theoretical Approaches and Research Methodologies»