CALL FOR PAPERS

American University – Central Asia

& Civic Education Project Central Asia and Mongolia

invite proposals for

An international sociology conference to be held at the American University – Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 18-20 June 2003

The American University – Central Asia and Civic Education Project Central Asia & Mongolia invite applications and proposals from sociology and related social fields on topics detailed below. While various theorists have discussed the nature of transformations and interventions in advanced industrial societies, the changes that have occurred in post-socialist countries differ in nature and degree. Arguably, these countries have undergone a deeper transformation reflecting a turn to capitalist state ideology, a revival of religious groups, an emergence of political extremists, an outbreak of public corruption, a poisoning of the environment, a thriving informal and illegal economy, an unchecked growth of criminal terrorism, and a re-writing of national histories. In spite of such brutalising changes, there have been small flowerings of modernity, evident in a greater awareness of and a need to tackle gender inequalities, ethnicity minority abuses, and gay and lesbian discrimination.

In bringing together critical perspectives on economy and culture in post-socialist societies, the conference will provide an opportunity to discuss the mechanisms and structures of transformations, and the capabilities of actors and institutions to bring about effective actions to address social inequalities and inequities. The conference will not collapse into economic determinism and cultural relativism, but rather will explore feasible strategies for the construction of alternative frameworks of economy and culture to that which are usually offered by neo-liberals and post-modernists.