College of Liberal Arts & SciencesUniversity of Florida

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The CCenter for European Studies logoS Weekly Update

Vol. 7, Issue 13 - April 23, 2012


Contents

CES News & Events

Campus Announcements

Academic Opportunities


CES News & Events

Brown Bag Talk: "Florida's Canid Curiosities:
 Exploring the Roles of Wolves through European Imaginings
 into American Wolfdog Breeding Practices"

April 24, 2012 at 11:45am - 3312 Turlington Hall
Speaker: Sarah Lewis Mitchem

In The Beast and the Sovereign, Derrida traces the paradoxical position of wolves in literature and the popular imagination. Prompted by the phrase pas de loup, he illustrates how wolves embody the position of an absent referent while simultaneously being directly referred to: "the syntagm pas de loup, is precisely that the absence of the wolf is also expressed in it in the silent operation of pas, the word pas which implies, but without any noise, the savage intrusion of the adverb of negation." The phrase roughly translates to "the wolf is not here," yet actually implies that a subject is acting "stealthily." The animals are simultaneously erased (negated), referenced (named), and used to indicate intention (to act stealthily).

By examining a selection of European stories featuring wolves, we will explore how these animals were perceived, often in contradictory ways, and then re-conceptualized in the United States through wolfdog breeding. With the US wolfdog population estimated to be between 300,000 - 500,000, our modern culture has escalated a species that must now fully inhabit the treacherous position of both absence and erasure: wolfdogs became polarizing icons whose numbers increase due to the public's demand, yet they are condemned by most state and county animal control regulations. While teaching English courses at the University of Florida allows me to discuss these animals in a scholastic framework, my personal affiliation with wolfdogs makes me acutely aware that the materials I provide to my students only offer pas de loup, the animal as it is not there. Lastly, my discussion moves into pedagogical questions concerning the intersections of literature, animal studies, and rescue activism.

Join us and bring your lunch. The CES will provide drinks. [flyer]

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Talk: "Metals are the Marrow of this Land:
 An Underground Perspective on Bosnia and Herzegovina"

April 24, 2012 at 4:00pm - 215 Dauer Hall
Speaker: Sabrina Peric, Harvard University

Sabrina Peric is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University, where her current research project "Silver Bosnia: Precious Metals and Society in the Western Balkans," examines the relationship between violence and the endurance of industrial, financial and genealogical structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the early modern period to the present. Her wider interests include global processes of militarization, human-environment relations and the role of financial structures in the production of scientific knowledge between Europe and North America. Her research has been funded by the Mellon Foundation, Amartya Sen's Project on Justice, Welfare and Economics, and Harvard University, among others. In the fall, she will be taking up the position of Assistant Professor of Anthropology and the CDFAI Chair in Civil-Military Relations at the University of Calgary. [flyer]

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Campus Announcements

Digital Humanities Day: "Open Resources, Open Possibilities"

April 26, 2012 from 9:00am-4:15pm in Smathers Library East, Rm. 1A

For ten years, MIT has made all of its educational content available for anyone wanting to use it. During the same time period, Stanford has championed Creative Commons, which has defined and made available a form of open intellectual property attribution. Many other institutions and organizations are moving in the direction of open content and resources, including scholarly disciplines and societies, federal granting agencies, and library archives. These movements have created new opportunities for the use and dissemination of scholarly work, resources, and learning materials in the humanities, among other fields.

At the University of Florida, we are exploring the implications of "Open Resources, Open Possibilities" and the impact on teaching, learning, research, and public engagement with scholarship in higher education by joining the 2012 Interface Faculty Seminar and the first annual UF Digital Humanities Day to focus on the production and use of open resources on our own campus. The event will include 10-minute lightning talks, roundtables, posters, and refreshments, including lunch. These presentations will examine a range of projects from Classics, Philosophy, Musicology, English, Art, Women's Studies, History, and Educational Technology.

Spring Interface 2012: Faculty Seminar + Digital Humanities Day is co-organized by Academic Technology, the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere, and the George A. Smathers Libraries, with support from the CLAS Dean's Office and the UF Office of Research.

Because lunch will be served, registration is required. There is no cost to attend this event. [schedule | registration]

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Academic Opportunities

For previously announced External Funding Opportunities, please click here.

Opportunities for Scholars and Ph.D. Students Working
 on the EU, Russia, or Eastern Europe at the Centre
 for EU-Russia Studies, University of Tartu (Estonia)

Please find below information about vacant positions, grants for visiting scholars and Ph.D. students, summer schools and publishing opportunities at the Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS), University of Tartu (Estonia). [more]

Vacant Positions

  • Associate Professor - The Institute of Government and Politics/CEURUS at the University of Tartu seek to recruit an Associate Professor in International Political Economy with a focus on the EU, Russia, or Eastern Europe. The deadline for applications is May 11, 2012. [more]
  • Visiting Scholar Scheme - The Centre for EU-Russia Studies maintains a visiting scholar scheme and welcomes applications from individual researchers based outside of Estonia who wish to visit the University of Tartu for purposes of research, teaching, or institutional collaboration. The application deadline for visits scheduled for autumn 2012 is May 15, 2012. [more]

Marie Curie Fellows

  • CEURUS seeks to host scholars funded by the European Commission under the Marie Curie Actions (schemes IEF, IIF, CIG). CEURUS assists qualified applicants in preparing applications (which will be submitted to the European Commission by August 16th, 2012). Individuals interested in applying for a MC fellowship hosted by CEURUS/University of Tartu are encouraged to send a CV together with a brief outline of proposed research project/activities to Varje Kuut by May 30, 2012. [more]

Scholarships and Grants for Ph.D. Students

  • The Institute of Government and Politics/CEURUS invite applications from qualified individuals seeking to enroll in the Political Science Ph.D. programme at the University of Tartu. CEURUS offers scholarships to Ph.D. students whose dissertation project focuses on EU-Russia relations, selected aspects of EU external relations or the domestic or foreign policy of the Russian Federation. The deadline for applications is June 1, 2012. [more]
  • CEURUS also invites expressions of interest from Ph.D. students enrolled in doctoral programmes outside of Estonia who wish to conduct research at CEURUS/University of Tartu (duration of visits: 1-10 months). Following an internal pre-selection, CEURUS will request funding for selected research visits from the DoRa programme. The grants cover travel and residence costs and a monthly stipend. Individuals interested in applying are encouraged to send their CV, a brief summary of their research project (max 2 pages) and a brief cover letter explaining their interest in visiting Tartu to Dr. Eva-Clarita Pettai by May 30, 2012.

Summer Schools for Graduate Students, Advanced Undergrads and Young Professionals

  • A Summer School "EU and Russia Transforming: Implications for the Relationship" from July 23-28, 2012 in Tartu, Estonia. Deadline for applications: June 4, 2012. [more]
  • 1st Martens Summer School on International Law "Russia and International Human Rights Law" from 29 July - 03 August 2012 in the coastal town of Pärnu, Estonia. Deadline for applications: June 4, 2012. [more]

Call for Contributions: Publication Series

  • The quarterly law journal, Review of Central and East European Law (1973-), and the monograph series, Law in Eastern Europe (1957-) , critically examine issues of legal doctrine and practice in the CIS and CEE regions. Authors whose research is comparative - and also, where possible, multidisciplinary - are especially encouraged to submit their works to these refereed publications. It is hoped that this will facilitate transmission of additional insights in legal developments to those interested in questions not only of law but, also, of economics, history, sociology and political science in the region. [more]
  • EU-Russia Papers, an online paper series disseminating research, analysis and commentary on topics and issues relevant to the contemporary agenda of EU-Russia relations welcomes contributions. [more]

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