American Council of Learned Societies Announces 14 Scholars to Participate in Inaugural Summer Institute for Scholars of East Central and Southeastern Europe

Awardees Will Conduct Fieldwork and Research at 2023 Summer Residency in Bulgaria Hosted by ACLS and Centre for Advanced Study Sofia

NEW YORK, April 7, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), in partnership with the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS), is pleased to announce 14 awardees of the inaugural Summer Institute for Scholars of East Central and Southeastern Europe (SISECSE). These talented scholars from Eastern Europe and North America will convene for a two-week residency June 1-15, 2023, at the American University in Bulgaria in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. In addition to undertaking local fieldwork at regional archives, museum collections, communities, and historic sites, participating scholars will join collaborative writing workshops and engage in a series of interdisciplinary discussions on "Scholarly Writing in the Digital Age."

The 2023 participants represent a diverse range of institutions across the United States and Eastern Europe, including Kennesaw State University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, University of Miami, and University of Sarajevo. Their research topics include how Eastern European philosophers address the concept of truth in the age of postmodern propaganda; the impact of forced migration on gender identities and roles of Ukrainian migrants in Bulgaria during the current Ukraine-Russia War; and an examination of the 1942 Novi Sad massacre and how the legacies of genocide and mass violence are reflected in the physical urban landscape.

Learn more about the 2023 awardees and their projects.

"This is a critical region for understanding political, cultural, and religious transformation from antiquity to the present day," said ACLS President Joy Connolly. "While pandemic-related travel restrictions delayed many scholarly projects, this Summer Institute provides a crucial opportunity for scholars to advance their research and collaborate with one another as they help build better understandings of the region, its contributions, challenges, and diverse communities."

"Formed in 2000, the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia has established itself as a beacon of freedom of research, scholarly excellence, and intellectual creativity in Bulgaria and the broader region of Southeastern Europe," said Centre Director Diana Mishkova. "By bringing together, in close partnership with ACLS, East European and American scholars, this new program expands on the Centre's expertise and networks in Eastern Europe to create more encompassing global visions in the humanities and the social sciences and stimulate dialogue across disciplines, research communities, and national academic traditions."

The Summer Institute for Scholars of East Central and Southeastern Europe is made possible by a generous donation from Carl and Betty Pforzheimer. Additional Summer Institutes are planned for 2024 and 2025. The program builds on a long history of ACLS support for humanistic scholars and scholarship in Eastern Europe including the ACLS Humanities Program in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine (1999-2010).

Formed a century ago, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 79 scholarly organizations. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, ACLS upholds the core principle that knowledge is a public good. In supporting its member organizations, ACLS utilizes its $155+ million endowment and $37 million annual operating budget to expand the forms, content, and flow of scholarly knowledge, reflecting our commitment to diversity of identity and experience. ACLS collaborates with institutions, associations, and individuals to strengthen the evolving infrastructure for scholarship. In all aspects of our work, ACLS is committed to principles and practices in support of racial and social justice.

The Centre for Advanced Study in Sofia is an independent institution with strong international and interdisciplinary orientation, promoting freedom of research and scholarly excellence in the humanities and the social sciences. Since its establishment in 2000, CAS has been attracting young talents and outstanding senior scholars by offering institutional conditions conducive to free pursuit of knowledge and dialogue in the framework of individual research fellowships or collaborative multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural enquiries. In partnership with other Institutes for Advanced Study, universities, scholarly and cultural associations, it works to re-establish the tradition of intellectual communities and to facilitate open critical debate and exchange of ideas on national and trans-national levels.

Media Contact

Anna Polovick Waggy, American Council of Learned Societies, 646-258-2470, awaggy@acls.org

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SOURCE American Council of Learned Societies