Department of Sociology University of Zurich and the Centre for Empirical Cultural Studies of South-East Europe announce a call for papers for the international conference "POST-SOCIALISM: HYBRIDITY, CONTINUITY AND CHANGE"

June 25th and 26th, 2016,

Novi Sad, Serbia

The conference is organized as part of the project “Life-Strategies and Survival Strategies of Households and Individuals in South-East European Societies in the Times of Crisis”, carried out within the framework of the SCOPES program of the Swiss National Science Foundation.

CONFERENCE THEME

A quarter of a century after the downfall of the socialist regimes in Eastern Europe, we are in a better position to observe the complex mixtures that the post-socialist societies are made of. If, at a time of euphoria over the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dominant neoliberal approach to “transition” disregarded specific social, cultural and historical factors which shaped these societies, it is precisely these factors that interest us. Following David Stark (1992, 1998) we believe that in post-socialist transformations “the introduction of new elements takes place most typically in combination with adaptations, re-arrangements, permutations and reconfigurations of already existing institutional forms”, and thus that “transformative processes taking place in contemporary East-Central Europe, resemble less architectural design, than bricolage, construction by using whatever comes to hand”. It is precisely the analyses of, so to speak, “socialist” and “capitalist” elements in post-socialist societies, and especially the hybrid forms which were the result of the attempt at a “Second Great Transformation” that represent the basic theme of our conference.

The main conference topics include: 1. The hybrid nature of post-socialist societies (ranging from the hybrid nature of their social structure to the hybrid nature of the cultural practices within them); 2. The different paths of post-socialist transformation in Central, East and South-East Europe; 3. Survival strategies of households and individuals in post-socialist societies; 4. The role of informal practices (institutions, structures) in the functioning of post-socialist societies and especially the difference in relation to their role in the socialist period; 5. Culture, lifestyles and daily consumption in post-socialist societies; 6. Social inequality, classification struggles, symbolic and social conflict in post-socialist societies.

In our discussion, we would like to include the representatives from various disciplines, so sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers, historians, political scientists, economists, theoreticians who are working in the field cultural studies are all invited to take part in our conference, as are all others who deal with these topics from a scientific standpoint.

The conference keynote speakers include: Alan Warde (University of Manchester), Alena Ledeneva (UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies), Eric Gordy (UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies), Geoff Pugh (Centre for Applied Business Research, Staffordshire University) and Vesna Vuk Godina (Center for the Study of Post-Socialist Societies, University of Maribor).

The members of the Conference Scientific Committee are: Jörg Rössel (Department of Sociology, University of Zurich), Predrag Cvetičanin (Faculty of Arts, University of Niš), Inga Tomić-Koludrović (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Split Regional Office), Miran Lavrič (Department of Sociology, University of Maribor) and Ismet Kumalić (Economic Institute Sarajevo).

APPLYING AND OTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CONFERENCE

We would ask all those interested in taking part to send an abstract no longer than 300 words to the e-mail address of the organizers (cesk2010@gmail.com) with “conference” in the subject line. Abstracts should include key words, names, contact details and short biographies of all authors. The working language of the conference will be English.

The deadline for abstract submission is May 31, 2016. Authors will be notified of acceptance by June 7, 2016. Participants should prepare a 15 to 20 minute presentation, and while the submission of completed papers is welcome, it is not obligatory. The conference will be held at the premises of the Faculty of Sports and Tourism, TIMS, Educons University, Radnička 30a, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.

There is no conference fee. Conference participants will need to arrange travel and accommodation, while the organizers will provide refreshments during of the conference. Please feel free to circulate this call to anyone you think might be interested. For any additional information, please send an e-mail to the organizers. Contacts: Centre for Empirical Cultural Studies of South-East Europe (cesk2010@gmail.com)​​

For more info, see call for papers:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gf3poxy47df8u8g/CfP%20Post-socialism.pdf?dl=0