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From: Announcement list for BASEES members
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Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2009 1:06 PM
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Subject: call for papers

CALL FOR PAPERS

CONFERENCE: Cultures of Indebtedness: Displacements of Value in Eastern
Europe

January 22 - 23, 2010
New Europe College, Institute for Advanced Study
Bucharest, Romania


The transformations of the last two decades brought about multiple forms
of displacement in the former socialist societies in Eastern Europe: of
the state, of structures of everyday life, of social relations, and of
populations. Regional financial practices were unarguably part of this
encompassing process. New forms of currency displaced older means of
payment, a multitude of valuables replaced former goods that functioned as
stores of value, while diverse credit relations and forms of indebtedness
redefined the paths of monetary circulation in all postsocialist
societies.

To explore some of the above processes, we invite the submission of papers
focusing on the diverse cultures of indebtedness emerging in former
socialist societies for a two-day conference to be held at the New Europe
College in Bucharest. Papers could elaborate on a variety of issues such
as: the emergence of barter and the expansion of debt relations in rural
areas, the spread of commercial banks and the appearance of new types of
consumer credit, the proliferation of mortgage loans and the
reconfiguration of ownership, the new forms of company finance and the
solutions to postsocialist arrears, the introduction of financial
derivatives and speculative capitals in former socialist economies, the
monitoring and supervision of ever more complex credit relationships by
assemblages of public/private actions, or the external debt of
postsocialist states and the role of international financial institutions
in mediating their access to capital.

Depictions of postsocialist transformations in monetary practices usually
appear in theories of rupture and change. Attractive because of their
clarity, such theories leave unexplained both the growth of diverse
financial practices and the cohabitation of apparently antiquated
financial forms with institutional arrangements attributed to late
capitalism. How can "loan sharks" and reputed central bankers, pyramid
schemes and hedge funds, informal credit arrangements and electronic
payment systems, or extensive barter relations and financial derivatives
proliferate and coexist within a relatively confined geographical area and
over a period of time of just two decades?

While most of the financial practices and institutional forms thriving in
Eastern Europe are not altogether new, the contemporary emphasis on
financial creativity, the multiple forms of displacement (of time, space,
risk, ownership, and control) mediated by modern money, and the
restructuring of everyday life around financial arrangements are the
constitutive elements of a new socio-political regime. Such forms of
institutional creativity, incorporating some of the cultural and
organizational legacies of socialism, are responsible for the distinct
meanings and purposes taken locally by widespread financial instruments.
They constitute the specificity of contemporary East European capitalism.

Starting from such a conceptualization we intend to explore the various
cultural configurations emerging around the diverse forms of indebtedness
in the region. That is, we aim to approach ethnographically the new
cultural formations, moralities, and types of knowledge engendered by
processes of value displacement. Although sensitive to ethnographically
based research conducted in contemporary Eastern European settings, we
also encourage historical and comparative approaches based on the analysis
of diverse postsocialist contexts.

At the two-day conference keynote speeches will be given by Jane Guyer,
Professor of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University, Alya Guseva,
Associate Professor of Sociology, Boston University, and Barbara Grimpe,
Department of Sociology, University of Constance.

The organizers would appreciate an early expression of interest (by
mid-November at the latest), mentioning the topic to be discussed and when
possible, giving a provisional title. Abstracts of no more than 250 words,
as well as general inquiries about the conference, should be sent to
Narcis Tulbure ([log in to unmask]) and/or Daniel Latea
([log in to unmask]) by November 25, 2009.

The organizers will cover travel and accommodation expenses within the
limits of the budget. We would be grateful if you could also find
additional financial support for taking part in our conference.

For a copy of the call for papers and a presentation of the New Europe
College, please access:
http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/culture_of_indebtness.htm.


-- 
Dr Sarah J. Young
Lecturer in Russian
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT

020 7679 8734

http://www.sarahjyoung.com

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