[Bilimsel Haber] CONF./CFP- REMINDER: ESCAS 2007 10th Conference on Central Asia at METU, Ankara

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

CONF./CFP- REMINDER: ESCAS 2007 10th Conference on Central Asia

Posted by: ESCAS 2007 <escas at metu.edu.tr>

European Society for Central Asian Studies Tenth Conference on

Central Asia: Sharing Experiences and Prospects

13-15 September 2007
The Middle East Technical University
Ankara, Turkey

The European Society for Central Asian Studies invites panel and paper
proposals for its Tenth Conference, to be held in Ankara, Turkey. The
event will be organized by the Center for Black Sea and Central Asia,
the Middle East Technical University.

The ESCAS 10th Conference provides Central Asian and European
researchers with a golden opportunity to study and to exchange views
on Central Asia; its past, present and future. Ever since it was
founded in 1985, ESCAS has always striven to promote Central Asian
studies among Western scholars as well as colleagues from the region.
The creation of the newly independent Central Asian Republics after
1991 accompanied by the opening of this region to the world, marked
the new era for Central Asian studies. Current developments in Central
Asia are reflected in all academic disciplines, dealing with
geopolitics, energy and economics, urbanism, society and communities
and religious beliefs, ethnography, history, archaeology and
linguistics.

Conflicts can be triggered off between neighbours and great powers
over the issues of water or oil, since Central Asia, rich in natural
resources, is closely connected with the neighbouring great powers in
competition for hydrocarbon, water and other resources. Nowadays
Central Asia attracts lots of attention from the states of other
regions and continents and serves as a new field for numerous NGOs,
Muslim, Christian and other missionaries.

The geographic domain of Central Asia, according to the ESCAS
definition, covers contemporary Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Northern Iran, Northern
Afghanistan, North-Western China, Trans-Caspian and South Siberia.

What are the different concepts used by scholars today, when dealing
with such a wide range of topics? Central Asia, being a special area
due to its unique history, societies and religions, cannot be studied
solely through the prism of such concepts as "developed and
developing countries" or "modern and traditional societies".

For the first time the conference will be held in Turkey at the Middle
East Technical University, who has been a pioneer in the Eurasian
Studies by establishing a research centre on the region for the first
time in Turkey.

Panels and paper topics relating to all aspects of humanities and
social sciences on Central Asia are welcome, including:

1. Geopolitics of Central Asia: Interdisciplinary Approach
2. Central Asian History at Crossroads
3. Forms of Cultural Expression, Language, Linguistic, Arts, Music
4. Confronting Experiences: Spaces and Society
5. Cross-Regional Issues
6. Peoples and Their Identities
7. Aspect of Sustainability: Market, Natural Resources and Energy
8. Re-thinking Central Asian Research: New Concepts, New Approaches

1. Modalities:

Venue: Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences of the Middle
East Technical University

Language: English. No translation facilities will be provided.

2. Submission of Proposals

Program limitations: Each participant may present only one paper at
the conference. Each paper presentation should not exceed 20 minutes.
The presenters are encouraged to prepare and bring with them handouts
or any other materials for distribution, as the organizers will not be
able to provide photocopying or computer services.

To ensure a broad and active participation, any individual should
appear at maximum at two panels as a chair or a discussant.

Commitment to participate: When receiving a proposal, the organizers
assume a serious intention to participate from the applicant. Once the
proposal has been accepted, the participation must be confirmed. If
needed, the organizing committee will provide invitation/acceptance
letters for visa purposes.

Submission format:

  * An abstract and a brief CV for individual papers, including
    contact details, in particular e-mail address/fax number.

Guideline on Abstract Format

An abstract is a very brief summary of your paper (200 to 500 words).
Your abstract should include the following information:
  * The topic of your paper.
  * Your research method and/or sources.
  * Your specific argument and/or central findings so that anyone who
    reads the abstract will know what the results of your research are.
  * The relevance of your argument or findings to a larger body of
    scholarly literature.

Please note that abstracts longer than 500 words may be rejected by
the selection committee with no further consideration.

  * A panel programme includes abstracts and brief CVs of
    contributors.

Only English language electronic submissions in the MS Word format
will be accepted.

Further information on how to prepare an abstract could be obtained
from the following web-sites:

http://www.escas.pz.nl or http://cess.fas.harvard.edu/

Ensuring quality proposals: Since the selection process may be
competitive, the presenters and panel organizers are expected to
ensure the proper quality of papers, including submission formats for
abstracts and final papers according to academic standards and
publishable quality. The organizers plan to produce a book of
abstracts and subsequently a publication of conference proceedings

Equipment: Together with the proposals, the author is asked to
indicate the need for audio-visual equipment and the technical
specifications/requirements. This is an important notification as the
organizers may not be able to accommodate all requests. Should the
equipment request be changed or abandoned, please inform immediately
the organizers.

Panels:

Pre-organized panels should be thematically coherent and should
include:
  * a title
  * a programme/abstracts
  * details of panel chair and discussant(s) as well as participants.

Pre-organized panels should include not more than five presentations,
should identify a chair and discussants. Panel organizers are also
very much encouraged to ensure funding for participants from the
region.

Roundtables:

Organized as open discussions, the proposals can refer to
presentations made by/on organizations, research initiatives, network
groups, curricula etc.

Publication of conference papers:

The organizers plan to publish conference proceedings/papers, pending
availability of funds. The presenters are requested to indicate
preliminarily if they wish their papers to be included into the
conference proceedings.

NOTE: Proposals must be submitted online to this e-mail address:
escas at metu.edu.tr

For further information, see to the following web-sites:
www.escas.pz.nl
www.kora.metu.edu.tr


3. Schedule of Key Dates:

Deadline for Panel Proposal:  31 December 2006

Individual Papers-Deadline for Abstract:  15 February 2007

Notification of Acceptance:  15 March 2007

Pre-registration:  1 May 2007

Submission of Papers to the Panel Chair and Discussants:  15 August 2007

4. Registration

Pre-registration is necessary for accommodation needs at the
conference facilities for participants on campus. Conference fee is
Euro 50 for regular participants, Euro 25 for students. It is payable
to this bank account:  KORA, Account Number: 4229 3392807.

Alternatively conference fee is payable upon your arrival.

5. Travel and Accommodation

Travel

Ankara can be reached by air directly from various cities across the
world. With the development of low-cost airlines it is worthwhile to
explore those airline, which provide such services. The Ankara
Esenboga airport is about 15 km outside the city center. You can take
the shuttle service (HAVAS buses, costing approximately US$ 7) to
various locations in Ankara, the closest to METU being the "ASTI
Bus Station." You can also get a cab ("taksi," costing
approximately US$ 50 from the airport to the METU campus). You can
also reach Ankara by bus from Istanbul in about 6 or 7 hours (costs
ranging usually between US$ 20 to US$ 50). If you would like take a
bus, you can search through these web-sites:

http://www.niluferturizm.com.tr
http://www.kamilkoc.com.tr/
http://www.varan.com.tr
https://secure.ulusoy.com.tr/main.asp
http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/tcdding/index.htm

For air travellers, here is the web site of Turkish Airlines:

http://www.thy.com/tr-TR/

Accommodation

These are the alternative accommodation facilities on METU Campus:

1. METU Guest House

Very limited availability. Prices as of September 2006, without
including breakfast, are as follows:

Single Room - Euro 12
Double Room - Euro 14

2. METU Student Guest House

Prices as of September 2006, without including breakfast, are as
follows:

Single Room - Euro 17
Double Room - Euro 14
Rooms for 4 people - Euro 9

For more information: http://www.metu.edu.tr/clife/accomodate.php

Hotels

Ankara has several hotels in different price categories and standards
(ranging from Euro 53 to Euro 200 including breakfast for single
room). Reservations in those hotels can be made individually by
visiting the following web-page address:

http://www.bilkentotel.com.tr/
http://www.midihotel.com/
http://www.hotelmidas.com/index1.php
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/stay/index.html
www.gtahotels.com.

These reservations, however, should be made on an individual basis and
the organizers will not be responsible for any inconveniences or
financial issues.

NOTE: The organizers do not have sufficient funds to cover all costs
of the conference. Participants are strongly advised to seek their own
funding. As a special incentive for participants from the region,
however, the organizers will try to seek funds to cover the
accommodation costs and registration fee, depending on availability of
their financial sources.

Special facilities for handicapped are unfortunately not available in
any of the conference venues.

Should you have more questions, please, do not hesitate to contact us
at:

The Center for Black Sea and Central Asia
Iktisadi Idari Bilimler Fakultesi B Binası
Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi
Kat: 2, Oda no: I204
Assoc. Prof. Pinar Akcali (Chair of Organizing Committee):
akcali at metu.edu.tr

Research Assistant Aslihan Anlar doganlar at metu.edu.tr

ESCAS 2007 Organizing Committee: escas at metu.edu.tr

www.kora.metu.edu.tr
www.escas.pz.nl


Organizing Committee Members:

Assoc. Prof. Pinar Akcali
Assist. Prof. Oktay F. Tanrisever
Assist. Prof. Ayca Ergun Ozbolat
Dr. Erdogan Yildirim




Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian
Studies