On Thursday, 14, Friday, 15, and Saturday, 16 December 2023, Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza, will host the annual conference of the Association for the Study in Italy of Central Asia and the Caucasus (ASIAC).
The Conference aims to foster scientific dialogue between scholars working on these geographical areas from Italy and abroad. The Conference welcomes contributions from a wide array of disciplines, including (but not limited to) history, linguistics, philology, literature, politics, sociology, archeology, and geography.
This edition will include a Special Session entitled “Humans and the Environment in Eurasia”.
Extreme weather conditions due to adverse climate and human-made degradation caused by poor environmental policies during Soviet times made protecting the environment a central focus of social policy in the Eurasian landmass. The expansion of railways and highways, in particular, remains environmentally costly because these infrastructures fragment ecosystems and potentially destroy biodiversity. As for the energy sector, many investment projects are still connected to non-renewable resources (such as coal, oil, and gas), which have long been an asset for the national development of regional exporters, but risk discouraging energy transitions. Despite the prominence of the issue, the discipline of Eurasian studies did not pay enough attention to this aspect, particularly in the social sciences (Vakulchuk et al., 2022).
On the ground, however, Eurasian cultural outlets, social policy centres, NGOs, as well as artists, bloggers and communicators have been working for decades to expose the traditions, characteristics, and contradictions of human relations with the environment.
Building on this effort, we invite multi-disciplinary contributions from scholars focused on the Eurasian continent that explore the role of the environment in Eurasian societies through the lenses of history, linguistics, sociology, politics, literature, art, or area studies.
The section aims to select contributions on a monographic topic to spark academic debates and possibly lead to a thematic publication. Scholars from different disciplines and approaches whose research focuses on environmental issues in the Caucasus and Central Asia are encouraged to submit their proposals.
In addition to individual papers, we strongly encourage participants to submit proposals for organized panels, comprising participants from different universities or research institutions, one moderator, and, in some instances, a discussant.
Proposals for individual papers should include a title and an abstract (around 500 words), and the affiliation and contact information for all the speakers. Proposals for organized panels should also have a short abstract (approximately 500 words) on the general theme of the panel.
Proposals should be submitted via this link: https://forms.gle/ywhEFW9NNdkTsvsz8.
Please note that proposals received via email will not be considered.
The deadline for proposal submission is 15 June 2023 at 23:59 CEST.
In order to favour participation by a broader range of scholars, the conference will take place in hybrid format. Participants able and willing to travel to Rome will convene at the hosting University, while the rest of the participants will be able to join remotely via e-conferencing tools.
The working language of the conference will be English. Full panel proposals in languages other than English may be considered on a case-by-case basis; in such cases, language preference should be clearly expressed in the panel proposal submission.
The acceptance of papers and panels will be communicated by 25 July 2023.
Attendance is free, but all speakers must register and pay the conference fee (75 euros for professors and academics, 50 euro for students or independent researchers); follow this link for payment details.
USEFUL DATES:
- Deadline for proposal submission: 15 June 2023, 23:59 CEST.
- Notification of acceptance: 25 July 2023.
- Registration and fee payment: 6 September 2023.
The Treasurer will notify participants of payment received after the 6 September deadline. Lack of payment will result in removal from the Conference programme. In case of urgent issues, contact [email protected].
- Publication of the final programme: 30 September 2023.
- Conference: 14-15-16 December 2023.
This conference is organised by Asiac’s current and recent members of the board of directors (Aldo Ferrari, Daniele Artoni, Giorgio Comai, Carlo Frappi, Fabio Indeo, Frank Maracchione, Gabriele Natalizia, Elisabetta Ragagnin, Velizar Sadovski, Giulia Sciorati, Anna Sirinian, Vittorio Springfield Tomelleri, and Paolo Sorbello) and Andrea Carteny (Sapienza University), in cooperation with the Sapienza University Department of Political Sciences, CEMAS Sapienza and Geopolitica.info