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Date: Wednesday, 26 September 2007
From: Oleg I. Kavykin <[log in to unmask]>


RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES

CENTER FOR CIVILIZATIONAL AND REGIONAL STUDIES
30/1 Spiridonovka St., 123001 Moscow, RUSSIA
Tel.: + (7 495) 291 4119; Fax: + (7 495) 202 0786

RUSSIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOR THE HUMANITIES

SCHOOL OF HISTORY, POLITICAL SCIENCE AND LAW
6, Miusskaya Ploshad' 125267 Moscow, RUSSIA
Tel.: + (7 495) 298 5886; Fax: + (7 495) 298 0345


FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"HIERARCHY AND POWER IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS"
June 16-19 2009, Moscow, Russia

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PANEL PROPOSALS


Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies of the Institute for
African Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences in co-operation with
the School of History, Political Science and Law of the Russian State
University for the Humanities is organizing in Moscow on June 16-19, 2009
the Fifth International Conference "HIERARCHY AND POWER IN THE HISTORY OF
CIVILIZATIONS".

The aim of the Conference, like that of the four previous ones, is to
bring together the researchers doing the respective problematics in the
whole variety of its contexts, within the framework of different academic
schools and traditions from the positions of a wide range of disciplines:
social anthropology, archaeology, history, political science, sociology,
philosophy, psychology, etc.

The objective of the Conference is to discuss the following issues:
- hierarchical and net structures in the history of cultures and
civilizations;
- civilizational and evolutionary models of socio-political development;
- historical and ethno-cultural variability of the forms of
socio-political organization;
- from simple societies to the world-system: pathways and forms of
political integration;
- socio-political and cultural-mental factors of social transformations;
- cultural and socio-biological foundations of dominance in human societies;
- ideology and legitimation of power in different civilizational contexts;
- cultural models of power's perception in different civilizations;
- violence and non-violence in the history of political institutions;
- access to information as a means of political manipulation and
mobilization;
- power, society, and culture in the era of globalization;
- the study of "hierarchy and power": schools, trends, and methods.
Suggestions for discussion of any other aspects of the general
problematics of the Conference reflected in its title, are also welcomed.

The working languages of the Conference are Russian and English.

The Organizing Committee will be glad to consider any panel proposals
(within 500 words in any of the Conference working languages) which will
be received by February 1, 2008. The information to be submitted alongside
with the proposal, includes the panel convenor's full name, title,
institutional affiliation, full mail and e-mail addresses, and fax #, as
well names, institutional affiliations, and e-mail addresses of not less
than two other possible participants of the panel, at least one of which
should represent a country other than that of the convenor.

The Organizing Committee will inform the applicants about the results of
their panel proposals' consideration by February 15, 2008. Besides that,
the Organizing Committee reserves the right to establish invited and / or
free communication panels. It is suggested that each of the panels will
eventually include about a dozen papergivers, and the list of all the
participants is to become known in the beginning of the year 2006 due to
the activities of both the Organizing Committee and panel convenors. None
of the proposals may be accepted or rejected on the basis of its
submitter's previous academic credentials, ethnic or national origin, sex,
or otherwise, but only on the basis of the proposal's relevance to and
importance for, the Conference's general problematics. Proposals
emphasizing theoretical and cross-regional approaches to the "hierarchy
and power" problematics are strongly encouraged. In the case the proposal
is accepted, the Organizing Committee will send you the list of documents
necessary to support your and your panel participants' visa application
process at the Russian Consulate or Embassy in the respective countries.

The Conference participant's registration fee is 150 euros (or the
equivalent sum in US dollars or Russian rubles) which includes the visa
application support at the Russian Foreign Ministry,*1 culture program,
Conference Book of Abstracts, reception, coffee-breaks, is to be paid on
the spot upon arrival. The fee for an accompanying person is 70 euros (or
the equivalent sum in US dollars or Russian rubles) includes the visa
application support at the Russian Foreign Ministry and participation in
culture program. The Organizing Committee can assist in accommodation
booking at the hotel of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Downtown
Moscow. The prices for September 2007 are as follows: about 187 euros per
night for a SGL room and 186 euros for a DBL room. Accommodation at the
hotel "Uzkoye" of the Russian Academy of Sciences in a Moscow southern
neighbourhood of is 97 euros per night (SGL room) and 123 euros (DBL
room). Please note that the prices may well be subjected to changes in the
direction of growth. The independent reservation in any other Moscow hotel
well in advance is strongly encouraged; furthermore it can turn out to be
more reasonable. For further information you may consult the Internet
sites: http://moscow-hotels.net and http://all-hotels.ru/moscow/.
http://all-hotels.ru/moscow/. P lease do note that the figures above may
be subjected to some changes due to processes in transnational and
national economy which are obviously out of the Organizing Committee's
control. If such changes happen, the Organizing Committee will try its
best to inform the Conference participants as soon as possible.

All the correspondence should be sent for the Conference Secretaries, Dr.
Oleg I. Kavykin and Ms. Anastasia A. Banschikova, preferably by e-mail
([log in to unmask]), or either by fax (+ 7 495 202 0786), or by
ordinary mail (Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies, Institute
for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 30/1 Spiridonovka St.,
123001 Moscow, Russia). The telephone number is: + 7 495 291 4119.