Max Weber Fellowship
at Smolny Collegium

To strengthen and enrich the understanding of German and European studies in 
Russia Smolny Collegium and Center for German and European Studies propose 
to create German and European Studies Fellowship. The goal of German and 
European Studies Fellowship is to introduce German and European Studies in 
Russian university in a new perspective with the emphasis on the 
interdisciplinary approach and international collaboration in the field.

Needs
There are certain difficulties in the development of German and European 
studies in the Russian Universities. European studies suffer from the one 
sided approach since they are often understood as studies in reunification 
of Europe. The focus on the state structures, politics, international 
relations and organizations limits European studies to the political aspects 
of the reunification leaving aside cultural social and historical 
specificity of Europe as a whole. At the same time there is an evident lack 
of knowledge and understanding of contemporary German culture and society. 
The recent developments of German social sciences are less known in Russian 
Academy then French or American ones. In the German departments of Russian 
universities German studies are often reduced to the German language and the 
classical German literature. This leads to the lack of Russian Faculty 
familiar with the German tradition and German history that result in the 
gaps in curriculum. Broader tradition of German thought, including 
contemporary social thought, is largely ignored. The new focus of research 
will allow to challenge the existing practices and to overcome the 
difficulties.

Rationale
Contemporary German culture and society is to be understood in the complex 
societal processes that characterize contemporary Europe. The most important 
aspects of contemporary German society are to be studied in comparative 
perspective taking into consideration the broader context of the European 
development. Another important feature of German and European Studies at 
Smolny Collegium is its interdisciplinary nature where the subject is viewed 
through the broader context of social sciences and humanities. Contemporary 
European culture and society are to be investigated through the variety of 
perspectives including sociological, historical, cultural approaches to 
provide an accurate and complex representation of German culture and society 
in contemporary European context.

The creation of the German and European Studies Fellowship at Smolny 
Collegium will help to sustain the dialogue among German and Russian 
scholars and will provide a solid basis for the international cooperation on 
the subject. The proposed approach to German and European Studies aims to 
overcome disciplinary and national boundaries. The scientific results of 
these studies would be addressed to the larger audience including the Smolny 
College students and Faculty, as well as students and Faculty of St. 
Petersburg State University.

The German and European Studies Fellowship is viewed as an important 
initiative that will stimulate an interest to German and European studies in 
St Petersburg and other Russian cities and should serve as a center for 
dissemination of knowledge and networking among Russian and European 
scholars.

Regulations and procedures

Each German and European Studies Fellow would be a distinguished junior 
intellectual from a Russian university who has already an experience of 
working in the field and whose work responds to the concerns of developing 
and promoting German and European studies. The Fellowship will be awarded to 
the young scholars to enable them to continue and improve their research on 
the subject and/or to develop their courses to improve the curriculum in 
their home Universities. The important aspect of the Fellows activity will 
be to develop relations with German colleagues working in the field and with 
Russian specialists in German and European studies. Creation of the projects 
of collaboration with leading Russian and German scholars as a result of 
such a networking will be considered as an important outcome of the 
Fellowship.

Each German and European Studies Fellow will be expected to participate in 
Collegium activities including lunches with other Fellows and participation 
in Collegium’s interdisciplinary seminars and workshops. Each Fellow will be 
expected to present a final paper summarizing his/her achievements and to 
give a lecture to the Assembly of Fellows and general public. The Fellow is 
also expected to take part in seminars and workshops of the Center for 
German and European Studies at SPU. Fellows may, at their discretion, choose 
to participate in other teaching and research activities of Smolny College, 
SPU and other research centers in the city.

As all other visiting fellows, German and European Studies Fellows will be 
elected by the Academic Advisory Board of the Collegium through the open, 
competitive selection process. The German representative to the Academic 
Advisory Board will have a veto right in the vote concerning German and 
European Studies Fellows.

Each German and European Studies Fellowship will support one annual or two 
one semester long stays in the Collegium. The Fellowship will cover travel 
costs, living expenses or stipend, book and research allowances, housing and 
overheads. Each fellow will be provided with office space, access to a 
computer and telephone and secretarial assistance.


Requirements for applicants

Applicants for the German and European Studies Fellowship at Smolny 
Collegium should:

·          be not older than 35 years,
·          fluent in German and/or English (with at least basic knowledge in 
German),
·          hold at least the degree of kand. nauk,
·          stem from a Russian University outside Moscow or St. Petersburg,
·          be experienced in teaching and research,
·          have publications in German and/or English.

The application in German or English language should include a CV and a 
detailed description of a scientific project to be realized at Smolny 
Collegium. Projects which are dedicated to one of the following thematic 
fields are especially welcome:

·          Dynamics of spatial processes (of reorganization): global – 
regional – national – local.
·          Democratization, participation, and political communication 
(incl. ‘civil society’ and the ‘public sphere’)
·          Linkages between politics, culture, and identity
·          Socio-economic Transformation of Europe.

The description of the project should include the following information:

·          Problem description. Theoretical and methodological foundations,
·          a short description of the state of the art,
·          a short description of the empirical field and research methods,
·          competences and resources of the applicant and field access,
·          a bibliography (selective),
·          a timetable.