[spectre] Fwd: CfP: Southeastern Europe is dead? Long live Southeastern Europe! (13-15 Oct 2021)

[Andreas Broeckmann]

Betreff: 	CfP: Südosteuropa ist tot? Lang lebe Südosteuropa! 
Positionierungen in einem interdisziplinären Forschungsfeld, X. Dr. 
Fritz-Exner-Kolloquium zur Südosteuropaforschung, 13.-15. Oktober 2021, 
Frankfurt/Oder
Datum: 	Fri, 21 May 2021 15:34:27 +0200
Von: 	Elisa Satjukow <elisa.satjukow at uni-leipzig.de>


X. Dr. Fritz Exner Colloquium on Southeast European Studies

Southeastern Europe is dead? Long live Southeastern Europe! 
Positionalities in an Interdisciplinary Research Area

Date: October 13-15, 2021

Venue: European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

It has been more than 20 years since the publication of Maria Todorova's 
book Imagining the Balkans (1997, 2009) has stirred up Southeast 
European Studies. The ensuing debate about 'the Balkans' as a category 
of analysis and/or mental map (Sundhaussen, 1999, 2003; Todorova, 2002, 
Troebst, 2003, 2010) had far-reaching impact on the German-speaking 
academic community. As a consequence, the traditional perception of 
space and self-conception within the discipline have been questioned 
(see, for example, Kaser 2002, Rutar 2014, Calic 2016, Buchenau & 
Brunnbauer 2018, Troebst 2018, Clewing/Schmitt/Brunnbauer 2019, 
Brunnbauer/Lampe 2021, and others). While comparative and global 
research approaches are nowadays largely established (with reference to 
Eastern Europe as well as South-Eastern Europe among others most 
recently Mishkova/Trencsényi 2017, Middell 2019, Calic 2019, Todorova 
2019), many questions regarding the existence and positioning of a 
genuine Southeastern European studies in the German-speaking academia 
have remained unanswered. This includes, in particular, the discussion 
of post-colonial debates (for Eastern and Southeastern Europe, see e.g. 
Chary/Verdery 2009, Ruthner/Scheer 2018, Baker 2018, Bjelić 2018, 
Manolova/Kušić/Lottholz 2019, Tlostanova 2020, Parvulescu/Boatcã 2021) 
and a difficult history of political instrumentalization that has still 
only been rudimentarily dealt with (most recently Höpken 2020).

This year’s Dr.-Fritz-Exner-Colloquium on Southeast European Studies 
aims to start a discussion on self-positioning, knowledge production and 
knowledge transfer within our ‘small discipline’. We are by no means 
declaring Southeast European Studies as dead, but we do think it is time 
to reflect again and together on authorship, methods, points of 
reference and contents of German Area Studies on Southeastern Europe 
within a scholarly landscape in transition.

For many years, the colloquium has provided a platform for 
interdisciplinary exchange among early career academics. We would like 
to take the 10th edition of the Dr.-Fritz-Exner-Colloquium as an 
opportunity to continue this tradition and, based on our own research 
projects, to initiate a theoretical and methodological discussion about 
the future of Southeast European Studies in the German-speaking academic 
field.

The following questions guide our interest:
• How and why do scholars study Southeastern Europe today?
• What practical research challenges arise in the study of Southeastern 
Europe? What are the commonalities and differences between various 
disciplines (e.g. sociology, history, linguistics, literature and 
cultural studies, anthropology, political science and others)? How do 
Southeast European Studies position themselves within Eastern European 
Studies in particular and within Area Studies in general?
• What requirements must a contemporary curriculum of Southeast European 
Studies meet?
• What research ethics arise for German / German-speaking / scholars 
based in German-speaking institutions for research on Southeastern Europe?
• How and in which languages do we write about Southeastern Europe?
• How do we ensure that the production of knowledge about Southeastern 
Europe is also exchanged with scholars from Southeastern Europe and that 
research results produced in German-speaking institutions are available 
and accessible in the region?
• How can we meet the challenge of making the field more inclusive and 
diverse?
• How do we communicate knowledge about Southeastern Europe to the 
(non-academic) public?

The colloquium is primarily aimed at advanced students, doctoral 
candidates, and post-doctoral fellows from various disciplines who are 
engaged in research and lecturing on Southeastern Europe. The 
contributions of the colloquium will subsequently be published as a 
special issue of a journal. Since our workshop will focus on research on 
Southeastern Europe in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the language of 
the event will be predominantly German. At least a passive knowledge of 
German is therefore desirable, but papers may also be submitted in 
English. If language barriers prevent participation, please do not 
hesitate to contact us and we try to make translation available.
Due to the Corona situation, the number of participants is limited to a 
maximum of 12 people in Frankfurt/Oder. Additional digital presentations 
for a broader audience are planned. For those participating in the 
workshop, accommodation and travel grants will be covered by the 
organizers. Childcare can also be provided if needed.

We kindly ask you to send us an abstract (300 words) and a short 
biography by June 21, 2021 via the online form: Apply here:

https://www.sogde.org/de/formulare/x-dr-fritz-exner-kolloquium/

We will ask all colloquium participants to submit a 10-page paper by 
mid-September.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Claudia Weber Contemporary European History, European 
University Viadrina, cweber at europa-uni.de
Dr. Elisa Satjukow, East and Southeast European History, Leipzig 
University, elisa.satjukow at uni-leipzig.de
Dr. Jacqueline Nießer, Graduate School for East and Southeast European 
Studies, University of Regensburg, jacqueline1.niesser at ur.de

Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft e.V.
Widenmayerstr. 49 80538 München Tel. +49 89 2121 540 Fax +49 89 2121 
5499 E-Mail: info at sogde.org www.sodge.org