Call for proposals

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

  National Taras Shevchenko University of Kiev, Sociology Faculty  (Kyiv, Ukraine) and

Higher Education Support Program of Open Society Institute (Budapest, Hungary)

are pleased to announce

Regional Seminars for Excellence in Teaching

European Visions and Divisions:

Comparative Studies for Advances

in Teaching Sociology

The core goal of seminars is to invite scholars to sociological rethinking of a concept of the wide Europe (from Gibraltar to Ural) via debates of visions and divisions of contemporary European society(-ies). The recent processes of EU enlargement challenged and modified the concept of Europe by including East-European post-communist space. The concept of Europe is also debated by the attitudes towards the possibilities of the EU integration for borderland post-communist countries like Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, etc. This development challenges the basic concepts of sociology as a science studying complexity of society traditionally understood in terms of a nation-state. Understanding post-communist countries of Europe as somewhat different but nevertheless European’ still has not become a common vision for “the mature” member states of the EU and social sciences reflecting that context. The project is aimed at developing such a vision via introducing comparative sociological study and debates between senior and junior scholars involved in research and teaching Sociology in Universities of wide’ Europe. This process will also require revising the basic undergraduate university Curriculum in Sociology and complementing it with the abovementioned approaches, research findings, relevant publications, reflective analytics, etc., that is an anticipated outcome of the proposed project.

 This project is planned as a coherent three-year program incorporating intensive contact sessions (three summer sessions of 2 weeks each, and inter-session activities, which are to engage the participants and resource faculty in joint activities aimed at revisions of syllabi on basic sociological courses within the framework of European visions and divisions as well as development of a handbook on Sociology of New Eastern Europe based on the lectures and discussion materials elaborated by the senior and junior scholars with compliance with Europe-wide degree programs in sociology through the Bologna process.

Within the project framework, contact summer sessions will focus on the following topics accompanied by relevant teaching issues to be discussed and improved as collaborative activities of the project participants:

I year. (2009-2010) Comparison as a Research Method in Sociology and Approach to Teaching European Societies

II year. (2010-2011) Testing Sociological Theories in the European Context   

III year.  (2011-2012) Wide European Integration: Comparing Visions and Divisions

Participants of the project from the target region are provided with full coverage of travel expenses, accommodation and meal, learning & teaching resources during three years of project activities. The first summer contact session was conducted on 6 - 20 September, 2009 in the Crimea (a resort township Beregove), information is available at www.evd-reset.org

The next event - Spring Session will be held on April 1-4, 2010 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Eligibility for participation:

• * To be a permanent resident in one of the following country: Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Russia.
• * To occupy a teaching position in a higher education institution/university and to teach subjects relevant to the project themes. In exceptional cases post-graduate students (aspirants) completing their research could be accepted to the program if they will obtain a letter of support from their departments, confirming that applicant will get his/her teaching position from the next academic year.
• * Commitment to work on widening visions of European societies through the intensive work on integrating comparative research (process and findings) and teaching in their academic practice, to share experience with their students and colleagues.
• * Willingness to cross disciplinary borders and incorporate some methods or approaches from new fields of study – such as social history, cultural, post-colonial and other studies.
• * Possibility and willingness to devote themselves to activities within the project that are scheduled for the entire three-year duration of the project.
• * Fluent knowledge of English and Russian. 

 Project applicants should submit the following documents:

• * Application form (see below)
• * Brief description of the syllabus proposed by the applicant for revisions/development (3-4 pages)
• * At least one recommendation letter (from the home Department of the applicant, preferably from the Head of the Department) that should be sent by referee directly to project email evd_reset@ukr.net
• * CV (teaching affiliation, main research topic, publications list (up to 5 most important), teaching courses, other information relevant to the application).

All documents should be applied in English.

Deadline for application is February 20, 2010

Electronic versions of applications should be submitted to the following email address: evd_reset@ukr.net  with Subject: application to ReSET

The results will be announced to applicants up to March 1, 2010.

APPLICATION FORM

for participation in ReSET

European Visions and Divisions:

Comparative Studies for Advances in Teaching Sociology

1. First name and surname
2. Contact information (email, tel., mailing address)
3. Position (University affiliation) 
4. Recommendation letter (name, position, contact email)

Recommendation Letter 1:

Recommendation Letter 2:

5. Proficiency in languages (please, fill in the table by marking the adequate in each line):

6. Motivation Letter. Please, briefly describe the expectations of yours from the program and from your own participation in it (up to one page).