Author: Alisa Virtanen

Call for Applications

Summer School:  Reorienting research projects and area studies after 24 February 2022

The International Network in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) welcomes PhD students working in the field of social sciences and humanities to the five-day intensive course in Vähäjärvi, Hämeenlinna on 22 – 26 August 2022

Course description

24 February 2022 has dramatically changed the lives of millions of people and the global political order. Within the scholars of the Russian, Eastern Europe and Eurasia Studies (REEES) it has also raised many question that will be discussed in this summer school:

• How to reconfigure research projects and publications that may seem to have quickly turned outdated amidst the rapid political changes?
• Did the REEES scholars become surprised by the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and why?
• What is the future of the Russian, Eastern Europe and Eurasia area studies?
• How is conducting research possible in the emerging situation but also, are there some new horizons and need for new kind of collaboration?

The summer school provides a platform for constructive discussions to reconfigure personal research plans and to reflect on the situation and the futures prospects for the Russian, Eastern Europe and Eurasia area studies.

The speakers of the summer school are:

• Luca Anceschi (University of Glasgow)
• Sari Autio-Sarasmo (University of Helsinki)
• Vladimir Gel’man (University of Helsinki)
• Yulia Gradskova (Södertörn University)
• Andrey Makarychev (University of Tartu)
• Heiko Pleines (University of Bremen)
• Margarita Zavadskaya (University of Helsinki)

The intensive course consists of lectures, thematic panels and workshops in which doctoral students have the opportunity to get comments on their papers. The papers can be research plans, chapters from dissertations or article drafts. The PhD students will have a chance to improve their pedagogical skills by commenting on Russian Studies MA students’ research plans.

Please note:

The summer school will take care of the costs for accommodation, meals and transportation from Helsinki to Vähäjärvi, Hämeenlinna: http://www.vahajarvi.fi/

The course requirements for 5 ECTS (evaluation accepted/rejected):

• Presenting a paper in the summer school
• Active participation at lectures and workshops

Please send your applications with an abstract (max 300 words) of your paper, your affiliation and contact information by 27 May 2022 through the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/dHpW3V3iHZ

For more information, you can contact project planner Alisa Virtanen or the coordinator of the INREES Kaarina Aitamurto (Email to name.surname@helsinki.fi)

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The International Network of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (INREES) invites doctoral students affiliated with the European University at St.Petersburg (EUSP) and with St.Petersburg campus of the Higher School of Economics (HSE SPB) to apply for 1-2 months visiting fellowship at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki for the year 2022.

The Aleksanteri Institute is one of the largest multidisciplinary centers in the field of Russian and Eastern European studies. The Institute’s research is embedded within international scholarly networks and it functions as a hub and a catalyst of networks of people and ideas across the globe. For doctoral students the Aleksanteri Institute offers international academic environment and active research community. The multidisciplinary INREES program provides the visiting fellows a unique opportunity to writing-up of their on-going research projects and produce new scholarly outputs. These fellowships may also to launch new scholarly ventures and research projects in collaboration with partners and colleagues from Finland.

Funding period: from May to December 2022 (except for the period of 20 June – 5 August 2022)

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2022

Notification of acceptance: by 15 February 2022

Application documents:

1.  Motivation letter: Statement on how visiting period in Helsinki would benefit applicant’s doctoral research (one page)
2. Recommendation from the supervisor: short description (one page), signed by dissertation supervisor on applicant’s studies and the status of the dissertation project regarding its writing-up stage
3. Brief description of the content of the research (up to 600 words)
4. Table of content for the dissertation (including the statement about the current state of affairs with regard to degree of preparedness of different parts of the dissertation at the moment of application)
5. Publications on the basis of the dissertation project (including manuscripts officially accepted for publication)
6. Preferred dates of visit to Helsinki

Applications should be send to Alisa Virtanen (alisa.virtanen@helsinki.fi) with the reference to INREES in the subject line of email letter.

 

For more information on the INREES and the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, please see the websites:
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/inrees-research/news-and-events/ https://www.helsinki.fi/en/aleksanteri-institute

You can also contact with one of the following persons:

• Kaarina Aitamurto, research coordinator, Aleksanteri Institute (kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi)
• Vladimir Gel’man, professor, University of Helsinki and EUSP (vladimir.gelman@helsinki.fi)
• Anna Tarasenko, docent, HSE SPB; visiting researcher, Aleksanteri Institute (anna.tarasenko@helsinki.fi)

Finnish-Russian Network on Area studies and Methodologies (FRAME)

Call for Applications

Intensive course in St. Petersburg, Russia

Area Studies and Different Disciplinary Approaches (5 ECTS)

Time: Sunday 24 April – Friday 29 April 2021.

We invite applications to the intensive course Area Studies and Different Disciplinary Approaches, organized at the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, 24-29 April 2021. The course addresses different ways to analyze and use area studies* in different disciplinary backgrounds and scholarly traditions.

During the intensive course you will learn about different approaches to area studies with a specific emphasis on theoretical and methodological aspects. You will widen your expertise in area studies and learn tools to recognize area studies approaches in inter- and multidisciplinary analyses and thus strengthen your professional skills beyond disciplinary boundaries. In addition, you will improve your generic skills such as argumentation, presentation and teamwork skills.

The course is meant for MA students, Ph. D. candidates and advanced BA students from the organising universities. It consists of lectures, workshops, and study visits to relevant organisations in St. Petersburg. Lecturers come from the organising universities in Finland and Russia and represent different fields of study.

As part of the intensive course you are expected to present a research paper (approx. 5, 000 – 8, 000 words for Ph. D. candidates) in a workshop. In addition, the Ph. D. candidates will be able to acquire pedagogical experience in commenting the MA students’ papers in the workshops.

Travel and accommodation costs of the selected students will be covered by the organisers.

How to apply?

Send following information as an email attachment to Kaarina Aitamurto (kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi) by 31 January

• Application letter with your contact information
• Abstract of the proposed research paper (max. 300 words)
• Motivation letter (max. 700 words)

Students are informed about the selection by 15 February 2022.

The organizers of the course reserve the right to postpone/cancel the course if the pandemic situation so requires.

Information about the international FRAME project

FRAME is a joint project of two Finnish universities; the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki (the Coordinator of the project) and the University of Jyväskylä, and four Russian universities: the National Research University Higher School of Economics (St Petersburg campus); European University at St. Petersburg; Perm State University and Tomsk State University. The project is funded by the Team Knowledge Finland.

*Area studies refers to multidisciplinary studies (e.g. politics, history, culture, economics) which focus on a given geographical, political and/or cultural area, such as Russian, European or Eurasian studies