Author: Jennifer L De Paola

Dear PhD Candidates,

You are warmly welcome to Fulbright Forum on Monday 11th of March, 2019. The Forum will take place in Athena-building (Siltavuorenpenger 3A) room 302, starting at 10.15 am. The program is on the attachment. In the Forum visiting Fulbright-scholars in Finland will be presenting their projects. You are welcome to take part in the entire program or just pop in to listen to the presentation(s) of your interest.

Next Friday,  Mervi Leppäkorpi (University of Eastern Finland / University of Helsinki) will give a presentation entitled “Between political citizenship and vulnerability. The (re)construction of migrant irregularity in migrants’ encounters with supporting civil society” in the EuroStorie research seminar.

The seminar is open to all without registration.

When: 15.3.2019, 13:00-14:00.

Where: Meeting room 229, Psychologicum (Siltavuorenpenger 1 A, 00170 Helsinki)

Helsinki Inequality Initiative workshop and public lecture day 26 March 2019

Dear member of the Helsinki University research community,

Inequality is one the constitutive questions of social sciences and humanities. Recognizing inequality, understanding its diverse mechanisms and articulations and searching for political responses pose serious challenges for developing safe, sustainable and democratic societies. Digitalization, datafication, multiculturalism, migration, urbanization and segregation, diverging life trajectories of health and well-being, sustainability of welfare systems and obstacles od political participation are all examples of intertwined research topics that unavoidably raise about how life opportunities questions of people vary, how such tendencies are tolerated and how they can be alleviated.

Such and related questions have captured the attention of many researchers at University of Helsinki. In order to support this multidisciplinary community at UH has – with the support of Academy of Finland profiling action – launched the Helsinki Inequality Initiative (INEQ) [working title]. Many of you are hopefully already preliminarily familiar with this.

We are now inviting all researchers who are inspired by and interested in these questions to a theme day and workshop in which the action plan and concept of the Initiative will be discussed and finalized.

The day begins with a public lecture in the morning and continues with the workshop in the afternoon.

Programme

Tuesday 26 March 2019 (PIII, ground floor, Porthania, Yliopistonkatu 3)

10-12                Keynote lecture

Professori Göran Therborn:

Increasing Inequality: Paradox, Puzzles, and Perspectives

13-16                Inequality Initiative (INEQ) workshop

The workshop offers an opportunity to share your comments and ideas and develop the final shape of the Initiative. We hope for a wide participation across different fields of research and faculties. All those signed up for the workshop will be sent before a short draft of the action plan and instructions on how the groups work will be organized.

Please register for the workshop by 18 March:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/96642/lomake.html

If you plan to attend only to the public lecture before the workshop, please register here:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/96644/lomake.html

Feel free to circulate the invitation!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Risto Kunelius (risto.kunelius@helsinki.fi, P353, Porthania) started as the research director of the Inequality Initiative in January 2019. Earlier, he served as a professor of journalism research at University of Tampere and the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities. His ongoing research focuses on media and politics, public debates about privacy and security and the coverage of climate change.

Meri Kulmala on (meri.kulmala@helsinki.fi, P351, Porthania) works as the research coordinator of the Initiative. She is a sociologist and has worked on issues related to Russia and social welfare. She is currently leading an international interdisciplinary research project on child welfare reform in Russia and is involved in another project exploring youth well-being in the Arctic region.

The office of the Inequality Initiative is located in Porthania, 5th floor (on the corridor of Faculty of Law). We are happy to hear all ideas, comments and questions!

Welcome to the lecture and workshop!

Risto Kunelius                                         Meri Kulmala

The event is a part of the project “Resistance – Democracy – Internationality”, a cooperation of the University of Göttingen, the Stiftung Adam von Trott, Imshausen e.V. and the Adam von Trott Committee at Mansfield College, University of Oxford.

Populists are on the march. All over the world new leaders have emerged wearing the clothes of populism. But what marks out the 21st century populists? How far do they challenge liberal values? How do they challenge the configurations of democracy? This graduate workshop will aim to explore the background to this phenomenon, to compare and contrast the rise of right-wing Fascist groups in Europe in the last century, and to explore how a new politics, based on features such as prejudice and fake-news, is undermining Enlightenment values. We will also look at the role played by ‘people’ in politics – in protest, in uprising, in disobedience, in opposing the rule of remote, rich and exploitative elites, and explore examples of the ‘new wave’ of European populism – Left and Right – in movements such as Podemos, Front National, En Marche, Fidesz, UKIP, Syriza, Movimento 5 Stelle, and AfD.

The three-day graduate workshop, which will take place at Adam von Trott’s former home in Imshausen, will explore these key questions. The event will be participatory and engaging, involving talks and lectures from expert academics and professionals, as well as younger scholars, together with working groups and debates. It is designed for 24 advanced graduates from a range of European universities. Applications are now being accepted from doctoral or advanced graduates (master students) from University of Oxford, Göttingen University, and the Europaeum network universities. All local costs will be covered, a travel allowance will be granted. Applications in form of a CV (max. 2 pages) and a short letter of motivation, which includes your special areas of interest, your study fields and proposes your possible input for the workshop, should go to avt.committee@outlook.com by our extended deadline 8th March, 2019.

More info http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/591647.html

‘The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war’ (Desiderius Erasmus). Half a millennium after Erasmus’s famous declaration, 2019 reminds us of the need for effective negotiations. Marking the 100^th anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles, one of the most contentious and consequential peace agreements of the modern world, 2019 witnesses the ongoing negotiations surrounding Britain’s exit from the European Union. This Spring School will bring together postgraduate researchers in Humanities and Social Sciences subjects to explore themes related to peace, peace-making, and negotiation in diachronic and multidisciplinary perspective. Studies of diplomacy and negotiation are increasingly emphasising the role of non-state actors in international affairs, the importance of soft, as well as hard power in inter-state and intercultural relations, and the need to understand the dynamics of peace, as well as those of war. Meanwhile the role of negotiation and peace within communities remains a vibrant area of scholarship. Confirmed speakers include Dr Maxine David, Prof Adrian Gregory, Prof Adam Roberts, and Dr Tracey Sowerby.
We invite applications from postgraduate scholars at Europaeum member universities to attend, and we also invite applications to give papers addressing the theme of the Spring School and in particular the following topics:

·          peace congresses & peace-making

·          the role of soft power in negotiations

·          the consequences of peace

·          international organizations’ role in maintaining peace

·          representations of peace & negotiation

·          theories and/or of peace and/or negotiation

·          the ethics of peace & negotiation

·          diplomatic actors/negotiators & their agency

·          negotiations within communities

·          the role of peace within societies

All students at graduate level (master’s and PhD) at Europaeum member universities can apply: please send an application form (see link below) and a CV of up to 2 pages to euroinfo@europaeum.ox.ac.uk by 11 March 2019. Please also ask your supervisor to email us a reference.
If you want to present a paper, please send an abstract of up to 200 words along with your application.

More information https://europaeum.org/opportunities/apply-for-a-europaeum-event/

The University of Helsinki is a member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU), an association of 23 leading research-intensive universities that share the values of high-quality teaching within an environment of internationally competitive research. Each year, LERU organizes a Doctoral Summer School on a specific topic. All member universities of LERU are invited to send one doctoral candidate to participate in the meeting.

The 10th LERU Doctoral Summer School will be held at the University of Edinburgh from 15 until 19 July 2019.

The theme of the 2019 LERU Doctoral Summer School is “Building Research Capacity and a Collaborative Global Community”.

The focus will be on international collaboration, giving participants the dual benefits of an enhanced understanding of the nature and importance of collaboration, whilst simultaneously creating a multi-disciplinary, global network for their future careers.

Doctoral candidates from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Candidates should be in an advanced stage of the doctoral studies and research and be highly motivated to work intensively on this project in an international and interdisciplinary team.

The participation fee (including accommodation) and travel expenses (Economy) of the selected participants from the University of Helsinki are covered by the Doctoral Schools.

For more information and to apply, please visit https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/94935/lomake.html

Deadline for applications is 6 March 2019.

”The best parts of the Summer School were the multidisciplinary team work and the opportunity to learn from the other participants. The Summer School offered great experience and skills on leadership, facilitation, project work, and science communication. The Summer School teachers and hosts were absolutely devoted to their subject, and the course was so intense that much was left to re-live and reflect for the weeks that followed. I met fantastic people and grew my network with a bunch of new, wonderful colleagues from different fields and cultures all over the world.”
– Mariella Aalto-Araneda, Doctoral Programme in Food Chain and Health, participant to the LERU Summer School 2018