Spring School: The Impact of the Political on Archaeological Research

Deadline: 15 December 2019
Open to: doctoral archaeology and art-history students, recent PhDs and young faculty members
Venue: 6-11 April 2020, Centre for Advanced Study, Sofia, Bulgaria

Description

How do politics affect archaeological research? Is archaeological thinking political? Should it be? If archaeological discourse was indeed conceived as part of the nationalist project, is there a way to think and practice archaeology outside its ethnic framework? Should archaeology be part of current affairs? Can it really maintain a strictly academic façade in a world where heritage, and the past at large, are fast becoming a political commodity?

This Spring School, scheduled to run for six days, will envisage tackling these questions (and some more); bringing together senior and junior scholars, from different countries and disciplines, the School will aim to discuss archaeology in the 21st century, under the light of recent theoretical, social and political developments in Southeastern Europe.

Three days of lectures by eminent archaeologists, social historians, and cultural anthropologists on the general topic of “Politics and/within Archaeology” will be followed by a one-day specialist workshop on “The archaeology of ethnic phenomena and the pervasiveness of methodological nationalism”. A colloquium on day five will offer the junior participants the opportunity to present their own work. The School will culminate with a gallery class at Sofia’s National Archaeological Museum. A number of both formal and more informal group discussions will be scheduled throughout, to enable the interaction between participants.

This Spring School is organized in the framework of an international research Programme on archaeological theory and practice, The Construction of Knowledge in Archaeology and Art History in Southeastern Europe, funded by the Getty Foundation as part of its Connecting Art Histories Initiative and hosted by the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia. The aim is to explore the regional intellectual potential for change in archaeological theory and practice over the course of three years (2019-2022); the envisage the program as an opportunity to discuss and implement the research directions archaeologists active in the region wish to follow, and the implications such a paradigm shift might have for the ways the region’s past is understood.

Eligibility

They invite applications from doctoral archaeology and art-history students, recent PhDs and young faculty members (within eight years from obtaining their degree). Applicants (who must be fluent in English) should submit a personal statement of up to 1000 words detailing their research, as well as their reasons for wishing to attend (we expect their research to be related to the theme of the School); a recent cv; a copy of their most recent degree in archaeology, art history or a related discipline; and an abstract of up to 500 words of the specific paper they wish to present at the colloquium. Applicants must be able to demonstrate an academic and/or professional engagement with archaeology in Southeastern Europe, as well as an active interest in the archaeological theory and practice of at least some parts of the region. Successful applicants will be expected to attend all lectures, workshops, group discussions, gallery classes, and any other School meeting or event, as well as present a 20′-paper of their own at the junior scholar’s colloquium. It is hoped that these papers will eventually lead to publishable academic articles or significant portions of the participants’ PhD theses.

Benefits

The School is fully funded; successful applicants will have their airfare and accommodation covered by the Programme and will receive a per diem of 43 USD.

How to apply?

Prospective applicants should send their queries and application materials to Milena Varzonovtsevavarzonovtseva@cas.bg

For more information, please visit the official web page.