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International Summer School "The Topography of Imperial Power", 5–26 September 2017, HSE National Research University, Russia

Publish Date: Feb 22, 2017

Deadline: May 20, 2017

International Summer School 'The Topography of Imperial Power: The Political and Cultural Space of Saint Petersburg'

Russia’s Imperial history is full of contradictions. It’s one of forced expansions and peaceful colonisation, of ferocious conquests and non-violent territorial gains, tolerant coexistence and merciless repressions. As the empire expanded, a huge variety of people of different faiths and races found themselves in Russian territory and had to find ways to live together. The history of the empire begins in 1721, when Tsar Peter I was proclaimed Russian Emperor, and ends with the overthrow of the monarchy and the October revolution in 1917. Both before and after it, the Russian Empire was a military and ambitious power which played more often than not a significant role on the world stage. Strict centralism has, since the beginning of the 17th century, been the latest unswerving tendency in Russian history. All the threads of power without exception were concentrated at the centre - the metropolis - in the hands of the leaders. Centralised government, clearly, was considered essential to oppose both the centrifugal tendencies of a polyethnic society and threats from the outside world. This form of government seemed to be the only way forward. Any decentralisation, even federalism was understood to be a weakening and in itself a threat to the integrity of the state.

In these circumstances the capital took on a huge significance. All roads lead here, and all decisions were issued from here. All institutions and establishments of the law and executive branches of power were here, politically and physically. Between 1712 and 1918 Saint Petersburg was a city of tsarist palaces, ministries, government bodies, the higher organs of the Russian Orthodox Church, army barracks, and the residences of the most powerful aristocratic families.

Their lives were closely entangled. Political actors met and discussed things with one another. Couriers rushed to deliver despatches, decisions were taken in political salons and from the second half of the 19th century officials and politicians in government institutions were connected by telegraph and telephone lines. All possible communication threads created a fraught political space in which events in the empire were reflected as in a prism. The topography of that political space is the subject of study at the summer school.

HSE is one of Russia’s elite academic institutions. Its head office is in Moscow and it has campuses in Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Perm. Founded in 1992 by academic economists from among colleagues of the then minister of economics Yegor Gaidar, it rapidly became one of the leading universities in social sciences and humanities in Russia. It is known for its liberal character, openness and emphasis on research.

HSE has a strategy of internationalisation which involves cooperation with leading specialists from abroad.

The summer school is held on the Saint Petersburg campus which was set up in 1998, at the Department of History which emerged in 2012.

The Summer School is organized by the Department of History (HSE in St.Petersburg) and is generously supported by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

Directors of the Summer School/Contacts

Dr Dietmar Wulff - Long-term Associate Professor of the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD, in the School of History at HSE Saint Petersburg. Email: dwulff@hse.ru

Prof. Dr. Alexander Semyonov - Chair of the Department of History, HSE Saint Petersburg.

Dr. Nathan Marcus, Associate Professor, Department of History, HSE Saint Petersburg

Managers of the Summer School

Ms Irina Sodnomova  –Department of History, HSE, Campus St. Petersburg, isodnomova@hse.ru

Ms Maria Ukhvatova –Center for Historical Research, mukhvatova@hse.ru

Programme Fee

Programme Fee is EUR 1100, which includes:

  • study programme;
  • accommodation (breakfast included)
  • coffee breaks
  • cultural programme (city tour, a variety of excursions)
  • official invitation for a Russian visa

Application

Students who wish to attend the summer school should send a motivation letter and a scan of passport to Dr Dietmar Wulff dwulff@hse.ru.

Once the summer school has approved your participation, you will be sent an official invitation from the university which you should take to a Russian Consulate to apply for a visa. In exceptional cases, you can arrange to enter Russia on a tourist visa.

Please make sure that your medical insurance is valid for the entire period of your stay in the Russian Federation. 

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will provide up to 20 scholarships for participants from German universities. Students from German universities are eligible to apply for DAAD scholarship that will cover a relevant part of the participation in the summer school.

For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.


This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

https://spb.hse.ru/impower/

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Disciplines

Governance

History

Political Sciences

Opportunity Types

Scholarships

Eligible Countries

Germany

Russia

Host Countries

Russia