Social Science Research Council

Russia/Eurasia in World Context: A Dialogue with Middle East Studies

On April 2-4, 2004, the Eurasia Program held its second Dissertation Development Workshop in 2004, funded in part by the U.S. Department of State under Title VIII, and held at Princeton University. Princeton University's Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) and its Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies contributed significant resources (both in funds and facilities) in order to make this second annual workshop possible. Ten graduate students, chosen on a nationally competitive basis, were selected to participate along with six faculty members representing various social science disciplines for the three-day workshop.

As always, the workshop was organized to enhance interdisciplinary interaction and discussion. Unlike other dissertation workshops, this event brought together scholars both of Eurasia and the Middle East and included two international scholars, who added novel research perspectives. The workshop also built upon past work from the workshops on Central Asia and the Caucasus by addressing the issue of regional boundaries-this time questioning larger area boundaries.

Student papers focused on a variety of issues. Some papers continued to focus on Central Asia and the Caucasus, the geographic cross-over between Eurasia and the Middle-East; some examined the legacies of competing empires in contemporary nation-states; and others looked at connections and related phenomena across the regions, from Islamic movements to oil economies. Other participants examined thematic questions that challenge accepted understandings within and across these two important world regions. Although the cross-regional grouping of scholars made interactions slightly more complex, a number of participants (both faculty and students alike) learned of comparative research about which they were previously unaware and gained new ideas on how to approach their own work.

The SSRC is grateful for the opportunity to expand the number of workshops in 2004 and to address such important and under-studied topics such as those that traverse traditional area studies boundaries illustrating the importance of area studies work, while simultaneously transcending many of the weaknesses of such work. This is especially significant at a time when geo-strategic formulations of "Greater Central Asia" and the "Greater Middle East" are emphasizing overlaps between the two regions. The SSRC and Princeton University envision the workshop as the first in a series of three that continue to question current understandings of Eurasia through comparisons with neighboring area studies regions. Please refer to this site periodically for information on future workshops and other related opportunities.

Faculty Participants:

Student Participants: