Call for Applications

The Critical Sociology Network, supported by the OSI HESP Regional Seminar for Excellence in Teaching, is joining forces with the Center for Social Sciences and the Sociology Department at Tbilisi State University to present a new seasonal school for junior lecturers from Belarus, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia and Ukraine. Five schools of around two weeks in length and a range of extra-curricular activities will offer participants the opportunity to explore new discourses around the disciplines of social theory and media, gender and cultural studies. Participants will attend classes covering leading figures from these fields, for example Benedict Anderson, Ulrich Beck, Homi Bhabha, Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, Anthony Giddens, Antonio Gramsci, J?rgen Habermas, Stuart Hall, bell hooks, Luce Irigary, Fredric Jameson, Annette Kuhn, Niklas Luhmann, Jean- Francois Lyotard, Edward Sa?d and Immanuel Wallerstein. These classes will be complemented by master classes in teaching and learning, academic research and course design, as well as close personal mentoring. Alongside the schools themselves we expect to coordinate a variety of follow-up activities (from research projects and exchange visits to guest lectures) tailored to individual needs. The aim of the programme is to foster the development of academic professionals who are not only familiar with contemporary debates and procedures across diverse fields but who can use their knowledge and competence to help shape the future direction of their home departments.

Notes for Applicants

You will have an MA and preferably will have completed or be close to completing a PhD. You will hold a part-time or preferably a full- time junior teaching post within a relevant humanities or social-science discipline. You will also be fluent in English and committed to playing an active role in this initiative throughout its duration. The attendance costs of up to 30 successful applicants will be covered as part of this project. Unfortunately we cannot provide support for life partners or dependents. Selection of participants is by a CV of three to five pages in length, and a personal statement of up to 600 words, each following the guidelines specified below.

Please send your application to Adrian Brisku at abrisku@ucss.ge as soon as possible, and no later than Sunday 20 March 2005. If you have not been notified within six weeks of this deadline, you should assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.

Your curriculum vitae should include the following information:

• surname and forename(s)
• birth date
• correspondence address
• phone/fax/e-mail details
• full passport details and a clear statement of your visa requirements for travel to Georgia
• qualifications with dates and institutions
• languages: please indicate your level of fluency in speaking, reading and writing English
• scholarships and prizes
• present and previous appointments with dates
• professional activities
• academic publications with full bibliographies or your most recent conference papers

In your personal statement please briefly describe:

• your goals in participating in this project and your interest in developing your teaching
• your experience in course design
• your current teaching and research agenda
• your most recent publications or conference papers
• your interest in working in a multidisciplinary and collaborative setting
• your critical approach to your own teaching and your openness to feedback from peers

Please note that incomplete applications may not be considered. Your personal data will be kept private and used only for gauging your suitability for this initiative.

Important Dates:

Session / Dates / Status

First School / Saturday 25 June to Saturday 9 July 2005 / Fixed

Second School / Saturday 20 August to Saturday 3 September 2005 or

Saturday 26 November to Saturday 10 December 2005 / Provisional

Third School / Saturday 4 February to Saturday 18 February 2006 / Provisional

Fourth School / Saturday 24 June to Saturday 8 July 2006 / Provisional

Fifth School / Saturday 13 January to Saturday 27 January 2007 / Provisional

Please note when applying to this initiative that due to the limited availability of our faculty members it may not be possible to alter the timing of these schools.

List of Faculty:

• Salome Asatiani, OSI Fellow in Gender and Cultural Studies at Tbilisi State University
• Judit Bodnar, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Central European University
• Dave Carter, Freelance Education Trainer and Consultant
• Robert Ferguson, Senior Lecturer in Media Studies at London University
• Iago Kachachkishvili, Professor of Sociology at Tbilisi State University
• Attila Melegh, Senior Fellow at the Demographic Research Institute in Budapest
• Daniel Moses, Lecturer in Social Studies at Harvard University
• Ayman Salem, OSI Fellow in Social and Cultural Theory at Tbilisi State University
• George Welton, OSI Fellow in Social and Political Theory at Tbilisi State University

About the Partners

The Critical Sociology Network:

CSN, founded by Civic Education Project in 2002, is an international and collaborative group of sociologists who agree that sociology is not merely a matter of describing society but can also play a role in guiding it. Its members critically explore not only contemporary culture and society but also their own practice as academics, forming a tendency that avoids both the positivist confidence in scientific and epistemological certainties found in much of the former Soviet Union and the deep scepticism about the effects and ethics of sociology common in Western postmodern circles, and providing the chance for collaboration, participation and development among members and non- members alike. For further information about CSN events and publications please visit www.civiceducationproject.org/projects/csn.

The Center for Social Sciences at Tbilisi State University:

CSS is dedicated to assisting the process of democratic reform in the higher education system of Georgia. Through major initiatives such as its MA programme at Tbilisi State University, CSS aims to assist in developing a new curriculum in the social sciences, to introduce innovative teaching methodologies, and to bridge the present gap between old and new degree structures, forming a fresh generation of professional academics and policymakers for the newly independent Georgian state. For more on CSS and its academic programmes please contact George Khelashvili on gkhelashvili@ucss.ge.

The Sociology Department at Tbilisi State University:

Tbilisi State University, founded in 1918, is the oldest and largest multi-faculty higher-education institution in Georgia, and the first in the country to offer the systematic teaching of sociology. The Sociology Department's productive partnerships with research and teaching institutions around the world help to maintain the University's reputation for access and innovation. For more about Tbilisi State University please visit www.tsu.edu.ge.

Note that the personnel and progamme outlined in this call for applications are provisional and subject to change without further notice.