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Subject: H-Net academic announcements posted to the web 2009-11-03
- 2009-11-04
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 2009 07:00:01 -0500
From: H-Net Announcements <announce@MAIL.H-NET.MSU.EDU>
*Conference Announcement: Cultures of Indebtedness: Displacements of
Value in Eastern Europe*
*Location:* Romania
<http://www.h-net.org/announce/geography.cgi?geography=Romania>
*Call for Papers Deadline:* 2009-11-25 (in 21 days)
CALL FOR PAPERS
CONFERENCE: Cultures of Indebtedness: Displacements of Value in Eastern
Europe
January 22 -- 23, 2010
New Europe College, Institute for Advanced Study
Bucharest, Romania
Keynote speakers:
Jane Guyer, Professor of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University Alya
Guseva, Associate Professor of Sociology, Boston University Barbara
Grimpe, Department of Sociology, University of Constance
http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/culture_of_indebtness.htm.
CONFERENCE: Cultures of Indebtedness: Displacements of Value in Eastern
Europe
January 22 -- 23, 2010
New Europe College, Institute for Advanced Study
Bucharest, Romania
The transformations of the last two decades brought about multiple forms
of displacement in the former socialist societies in Eastern Europe: of
the state, of structures of everyday life, of social relations, and of
populations. Regional financial practices were unarguably part of this
encompassing process. New forms of currency displaced older means of
payment, a multitude of valuables replaced former goods that functioned
as stores of value, while diverse credit relations and forms of
indebtedness redefined the paths of monetary circulation in all
postsocialist societies.
To explore some of the above processes, we invite the submission of
papers focusing on the diverse cultures of indebtedness emerging in
former socialist societies for a two-day conference to be held at the
New Europe College in Bucharest. Papers could elaborate on a variety of
issues such as: the emergence of barter and the expansion of debt
relations in rural areas, the spread of commercial banks and the
appearance of new types of consumer credit, the proliferation of
mortgage loans and the reconfiguration of ownership, the new forms of
company finance and the solutions to postsocialist arrears, the
introduction of financial derivatives and speculative capitals in former
socialist economies, the monitoring and supervision of ever more complex
credit relationships by assemblages of public/private actions, or the
external debt of postsocialist states and the role of international
financial institutions in mediating their access to capital.
Depictions of postsocialist transformations in monetary practices
usually appear in theories of rupture and change. Attractive because of
their clarity, such theories leave unexplained both the growth of
diverse financial practices and the cohabitation of apparently
antiquated financial forms with institutional arrangements attributed to
late capitalism. How can "loan sharks" and reputed central bankers,
pyramid schemes and hedge funds, informal credit arrangements and
electronic payment systems, or extensive barter relations and financial
derivatives proliferate and coexist within a relatively confined
geographical area and over a period of time of just two decades?
While most of the financial practices and institutional forms thriving
in Eastern Europe are not altogether new, the contemporary emphasis on
financial creativity, the multiple forms of displacement (of time,
space, risk, ownership, and control) mediated by modern money, and the
restructuring of everyday life around financial arrangements are the
constitutive elements of a new socio-political regime. Such forms of
institutional creativity, incorporating some of the cultural and
organizational legacies of socialism, are responsible for the distinct
meanings and purposes taken locally by widespread financial instruments.
They constitute the specificity of contemporary East European capitalism.
Starting from such a conceptualization we intend to explore the various
cultural configurations emerging around the diverse forms of
indebtedness in the region. That is, we aim to approach ethnographically
the new cultural formations, moralities, and types of knowledge
engendered by processes of value displacement. Although sensitive to
ethnographically based research conducted in contemporary Eastern
European settings, we also encourage historical and comparative
approaches based on the analysis of diverse postsocialist contexts.
At the two-day conference keynote speeches will be given by Jane Guyer,
Professor of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University, Alya Guseva,
Associate Professor of Sociology, Boston University, and Barbara Grimpe,
Department of Sociology, University of Constance.
The organizers would appreciate an early expression of interest (by
mid-November at the latest), mentioning the topic to be discussed and
when possible, giving a provisional title. Abstracts of no more than 250
words, as well as general inquiries about the conference, should be sent
to Narcis Tulbure (ntulbure@nec.ro) and/or Daniel La(t,ea
(puiu.latea@yahoo.com) by *November 25, 2009*.
The organizers will cover travel and accommodation expenses within the
limits of the budget. We would be grateful if you could also find
additional financial support for taking part in our conference.
For a copy of the call for papers and a presentation of the New Europe
College, please access:
http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/culture_of_indebtness.htm.
Narcis Tulbure
New Europe College (NEC)
Institute for Advanced Study
21 Plantelor St.
Bucharest 023971, Romania
Tel.: (+40-1)307 99 10;
Fax: (+40-1)327 07 74;
E-mail: ntulbure@nec.ro
narcistulbure@yahoo.com
Email: narcistulbure@yahoo.com <mailto:narcistulbure@yahoo.com>
Visit the website at
http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/culture_of_indebtness.htm.
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