[Nettime-ro] FW: UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS - THE BALKANS AND GLOBALISATION

["Alexandru Patatics" <ap@ambient.dnttm.ro>]

Concept, Selection Committee, and Moderators: Melentie Pandilovski, Bojan
Ivanov,
Branislav Sarkanjac, Zoran Petrovski.

Supported by: Foundation Open Society Institute - Macedonia,
European Cultural Foundation, ProHelvetia Reseaux Est-Ouest

The project titled as UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS is conceived as a challenge
to examining the alteration stratum of the Balkans, concentrating strongly
on questions of society, culture, art, and history. Reflections and analysis
dedicated to these complex issues were examined during the Conference that
took place in Ohrid, October 2000.
The project UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS has in the past year grown from a list
of participants of a Conference to a Network of intellectuals from the
region, that has focused on examining the intersection of the acquired codes
in the social, historical, cultural context we have used on the Balkans in
our immediate past, as well as in considering the changes through which our
societies, and culture, have undergone over the past decades. In preparing
the publication of contributions and texts offered during the last year's
Conference, we have grown to believe that there is a real Balkanic profile
of practical thinking. It transpired that the Conference did not take course
towards an all-embracing theorizing discourse; moreover, it was oriented
towards the processes of modelling a concrete answer to those ever more
diverging streams of Balkanic memories and expectations.
As a certain follow up the organizing team for the project Understanding the
Balkans has selected this year the theme of THE BALKANS AND GLOBALISATION.
The questions to be discussed on the forthcoming Conference, in Skopje,
Republic of Macedonia, are the effects and the effectiveness of
globalisation in respect to the Balkans.
As globalisation represents an elusive term, entering the totality of
factual and virtual processes in the spheres of ideology, economy, and
socio-politics, researchers are urged to concentrate on the themes of:
-	the practical form that the globalisation demonstrates;
-	challenges posed by globalisation in the region of the Balkans - aspects
of periphery and centers;
-	the marginalization of the area of the Balkans - margins of the
globalisation;
-	the possibility of existing of rules regarding the phenomena of
globalisation - global 	market or global desire?;
-	the cultural posture of the region in respect to globalisation - between
love-hate and the cautious indifference.

Further on researchers are expected to reflect on, and possibly challenge
the definitions and especially practices of globalisation coming from the
West about the globalisation. Are ideas about it evolving? Is globalisation
an irreversible situation i.e. is globalisation just a one-way street where
the mainstreaming is expected to come from the West, or does the Balkans
vice versa also produce certain effects which significantly cross the
threshold of the globalising phenomena, thus effecting the West, as well as
the other corners of the world? What should the answers to the questions
posed by globalisation be on the Balkans? Are there any Balkanic questions
to be asked? Is the thesis that "if globalisation is a global situation then
the answer to it should also be global" correct? Is the notion of
globalisation equally understood on the Balkans as on the West, and do the
notions and practices of globalisation differ considerably in various parts
of the Balkans?
Who in reality has the leading role in the dealing with culture on the
Balkans, in the context of globalisation? Is the State, reduced to a
contributory role, and is it up to civil society, to deal with culture, or
is the situation such as to that the State still represents a leading force
in the dealing with this issue?

The format of the Conference
UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS - THE BALKANS AND GLOBALISATION is inviting 20
independent thinkers from the Balkan region as well as outside from it,
covering a wide expertise (sociologists, philosophers, historians, art
historians, culture theoreticians, and artists).

DEADLINE for submitting up-to 2 page abstracts: November 10
(Integral texts between 8 - 12 pages)
Selection Committee notification:  November 15

Internet coverage
a.	Web site.
The information about the UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS 2000 Conference as well
as a summary of the texts is available on the web site of the Conference.
http://www.scca.org.mk/utb/index.htm
b.	The information about the UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS 2001 Conference, THE
BALKANS AND GLOBALISATION, as well as a summary of the texts will be
available on the web site of the Conference.
c.  The Conference will be covered by video footage directly from the
Conference on our web page, during the entire duration.

Proceedings
The catalogue from the UNDERSTANDING THE BALKANS Conference 2000 is in
print, and will be delivered to the participants of both Conferences. The
proceedings from the Understanding the Balkans 2001 Conference THE BALKANS
AND GLOBALISATION will be published in English and Macedonian with a
possible translation to the other Balkan languages.



-------------------------------------------------------
Melentie Pandilovski
Director
Contemporary Arts Center  - Skopje
Orce Nikolov 109, 1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia
Tel/Fax: +389.2.133.541
Tel/Fax: +389.2.214.495
Mobile: +389.70.217.075
http://www.scca.org.mk
-------------------------------------------------------


_______________________________________________
Nettime-ro mailing list
Nettime-ro@nettime.org
http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-ro
-->
arhiva: http://amsterdam.nettime.org/