News

This page lists ARISC News and Events.  For other news and events about the South Caucasus, please click here.

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Georgia

USA

ARISC is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant by the Leon Levy Foundation.  This grant will help ARISC plan for the next five years of its organization.  We thank the Leon Levy Foundation for its support!

Armenia:

 

Norsavank.  Photo courtesy of Pamela Cardwell.

Medieval Archaeology at the Crossroads: Excavations at the Arai Caravanserai

Kathryn Franklin, PhD Candidate
University of Chicago Department of Anthropology

2 September 2011 2:00pm
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography NAS RA
Charents Str. 15
Yerevan, Armenia

This presentation will provide an early summary of results from this summer's excavations at the Arai Caravanserai site. This caravanserai or road-inn was a node in the late medieval world trade network, which intersected the Armenian Highlands and connected Europe and the Far East. As the presentation will discuss, local sites such as the Arai caravanserai are interesting because they connect this large scale trade with questions of local politics and social life during the medieval period.

Kathryn Franklin is a senior graduate student at the University of Chicago in the Department of Anthropology. For the last four years she has worked in Armenia in connection with the joint American-Armenian Project for the Archaeology and Geography of Transcaucasian Societies (ArAGATS). Kathryn's research focuses on political economy of the late medieval period, specifically the links between local highland perceptions of politics and long distance trade. This research is fueled by a wider interest in trade as a cultural practice, and in the history of the Armenian highlands.

This event is co-sponsored by the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC), the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography NAS RA, Project ArAGATS, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=270650042947803

Courting the Nation Abroad: Diaspora Policies in Post-communist Armenia, Croatia and Serbia

Sarah Garding (PhD candidate, University of California, Berkeley; ARISC Fellow)

August 27, 2010
14.00-16.00
CRRC-Armenia
52, Abovyan Street
3rd floor, room 305
Yerevan, Armenia


Over the last several decades, a growing number of contemporary and historical sending states have developed policies to engage their diasporas in the politics and economy of the homeland. In Eastern Europe and Eurasia, the collapse of communism presented a unique opportunity for new governments to reconfigure relations with their diasporas and overcome the antagonism that had hitherto marred state-diaspora relations. This talk addresses the varying approaches to engaging the diaspora in post-Soviet and post-Yugoslav Armenia, Croatia, and Serbia.  Specifically, I focus on citizenship policies, extraterritorial voting, parliamentary representation, and the creation of diaspora bureaucracies -- policies that are often used by sending states to deepen emigrants' political ties to their country of perceived origin.  These three postcommunist countries simultaneously grappled with war, independence, state-building, and economic collapse, and thus one might expect to find strong policies to engage the diaspora.  In fact, governments in these three states showed varied willingness to deepen state-diaspora ties. This talk assesses the sources of this variation.

Sarah Garding is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Her dissertation looks at the policies of post-Soviet Armenia and post-Yugoslav Croatia and Serbia towards diaspora populations, and the participation of the latter in homeland political affairs in the wake of independence. She carried out the research for this project in Croatia and Serbia during 2009-2010 as an IREX fellow, and is currently in Yerevan as a fellow with the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus.

This talk is co-sponsored by the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) and the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC). For more information, please visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146138098747342

The Kura Araxes Culture in Regional Context with Special Reference to Shengavit

Professor Mitchell Rothman, Widener University (USA)

July 6, 2010, 4:00pm
CRRC, 52 Abovyan, 3rd floor
Yerevan, Armenia

The Kura Araxes Culture is a unique culture of the 4th and early 3rd millennia BC in the Transcaucasian area. Originally thought to be a minor village culture, it is now clear that it was part of an ancient globalization stretching from the Persian Gulf to the plains of the North Caucasus opening into eastern Europe and western China. Peoples from the Transcaucasus migrated into the Taurus and Zagros Mountains all the way to the north Jordan valley of modern Israel in the early 3rd millennium creating a unique blending of cultures. This illustrated talk speaks of the nature of this culture and work of an Armenian-American team under the leadership of Hakop Simonyan at Shengavit.

Dr. Mitchell Rothman is a Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology at Widener University in Pennsylvania and a consulting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Beginning in 1974 he has been doing archaeology in the greater Middle East, first in Iran then Turkey, and now Armenia and has analyzed material from Iraq. His interest is in the development of cultures in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. His publications include books on the theory of cultural evolution, Tepe Gawra Iraq, Godin Tepe, Iran, and the Uruk Culture of Mesopotamia. His interest in the Kura Araks Culture began while surveying in Mus by Lake Van.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC)

Azerbaijan:

 

Street view in Baku.  Photo courtesy of Alice Harris

Xinaliq Documentation Project, in process

Tamrika Khvtisiashvili, PhD Candidate and ARISC Fellow
University of Utah, Linguistics

Rethinking the Origins of Civilization in Azerbaijan: 2010 Excavations at Oglanqala, Naxcivan

Dr. Lauren Ristvet, University of Pennsylvania
 
August 10, 2010
7:00pm
60, R. Behbudov Street, American Center
Azerbaijan University of Languages, 1st floor
Baku, Azerbaijan
 
From 2008-2010, a joint American-Azerbaijani team of archaeologists and scientists have been excavating an Iron Age site called Oglanqala in Naxcivan. The project focuses on the creation of a small state during the 9th century, one of the earliest in Azerbaijan , and the important roles resistance and cultural exchange played in the origins of politics here. The fortification walls of Oglanqala enclose an area of 12 hectares, but there are extensive architectural remains and pottery scatters across a 50 hectare area, making this one of the largest sites in the Caucasus from this period. Excavation has revealed four phases, from 1200-100 BC, during which this site was one of the principle centers of Azerbaijan .
 
Lauren Ristvet (BA, Yale 1999; MPhil, PhD, Cambridge 2005) specializes in Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern history and archaeology, with an emphasis on the formation and collapse of archaic states, landscape archaeology, human response to environmental disaster, and ancient imperialism. She is the associate director of excavations at Tell Leilan, Syria (ancient Shehna/Shubat-Enlil), where she has excavated since 1999. This was one of the largest ancient cities in Northern Mesopotamia, and the short-lived capital of the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia during the 18th century B.C. She is also co-director of the Naxcivan Archaeological Project in Naxcivan, Azerbaijan, a combined survey and excavation project.

This event is co-sponsored by the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) and the US Educated Azerbaijani Alumni Association (AAA).  For more information, please visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102692836453766&ref=mf

Workshop: Research Grant Writing

This workshop, led by Anar Valiyev and Sabina Manafova, aims to help scholars and academicians in the humanities and social sciences learn how to write winning proposals for research related grants. A comprehensive, hands-on workshop that covers researching funding sources and writing real proposals, this program will teach participants how to use the proposal writing format, the most widely used in the world. Participants will leave this workshop with new skills and the ability to apply those skills to their own needs or to the needs of their institutions.

During the first session, participants will be given instruction and practical exercises going through all the stages of a grant proposal. In the second session participants will prepare their own complete proposals related to their research interests, which will be reviewed and evaluated.

Session I
Saturday, 12 June 2010
10:30am - 1:00pm
CRRC Baku
122, B.Safaroglu Street, Khazar University, 2nd floor
Baku AZ1009, Azerbaijan

Session II
Saturday, 19 June 2010
10:30am - 1:00pm
CRRC Baku
122, B.Safaroglu Street, Khazar University, 2nd floor
Baku AZ1009, Azerbaijan

To apply, please submit a cover letter, a page describing your interest in the workshop in English and your CV to ARISCEvents "at" yahoo. com no later than 2 June 2010. Space is limited and applicants will be contacted by 9 June 2010 with the results.


This workshop is sponsored by the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC) and the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC).

Georgia:

Davit Gareja.  Photo courtesy of Pamela Cardwell

"Down With Illiteracy! Assessing and Combating Illiteracy in the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (1922-1936)"

Jeremy Johnson
University of Michigan

Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)/CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16, downstairs Conference Hall
Tbilisi, Georgia

One of the often upheld accomplishments of the early Soviet state was the mass eradication of illiteracy among its multinational and multilingual population through a process commonly known as LikBez (likvidatsiya bezgramotnosti).  This WiP presentation will explore how early Soviet activists assessed and combated illiteracy among non-Russian speaking populations in the South Caucasus during the TSFSR with a particular emphasis on the role of women important actors in campaigns to increase literacy.  The presentation will largely focus on evidence from Georgian and Armenian archival and print sources.
Jeremy Johnson is a PhD Candidate at the University of Michigan in the Interdepartmental Program in Anthropology and History.  He has an MA in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies from the University of Michigan and is the recipient of dissertation research fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, American Councils and U of M’s Armenian Studies Program. His research focuses on literacy education and LikBez among non-Russian speakers in the South Caucasus in the 1920s and 1930s.
For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/249871461786940/

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 15th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Radarami: Connecting Georgian Villages to Global Conversations"

Mark Mullen
Radarami

Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)/CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16, downstairs Conference Hall
Tbilisi, Georgia

The rest of the world is discussing some big new ideas. We want Georgians to join those conversations.

Radarami brings the most important, timely, and excellent international non-fiction books to Georgian readers in high quality translations and affordable prices -- and then we help connect our readers to each other.

Georgians are blessed with one of the world’s unique languages – it has no resemblance to any other language on the planet. Not Russian. Not English. Not Arabic. Georgians are proud of their mother tongue, but it poses some problems if, like a lot of Georgians, it’s the only language you know well enough to enjoy reading. Finding good things to read is one of them.

That's where Radarami comes in. Georgians are highly literate, well-educated, and have a long tradition of writers, thinkers, and poets. But people aren't reading much these days. We looked around and noticed that for many Georgians there isn't a lot to read in the Georgian language, particularly from outside Georgia. International publishers aren’t interested in translating books into a language spoken by so few people. Around the world, every month, new and stimulating books with big new ideas about how the world works appear on bookshelves in major metropolises. These books shape the debates from Parliaments to kitchen tables. They’re translated into Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish. But not Georgian.

We’re publishing one book a month, beautifully translated by expert linguists and sold inexpensively throughout the country. Readers can find a four digit number in our books, send a text message to let us know their names and where they live. We want readers to be a part of Radarami so we can connect them with each other - around ideas.

Mark Mullen is from Dallas, which he left to attend and graduate from Wesleyan University in 1989.  There he was captain of the swim team and failed aesthetics.  He then moved to Japan and played go, to Washington where he held several wacky hand-to-mouth jobs, finally moving to Malawi where he worked in drought relief and voter education.  From there he moved to Palestine where he set up a civic education program, on to Albania and in early 1997 moved to Tbilisi, Georgia where he was involved in helping the population express its feelings about the government, heading www.ndi.org. When the Shevardnadze regime collapsed of ennui, he left NDI and ramped up the Georgia chapter of Transparency International.  In late 2006 he moved to London and did a Sloan fellowship at the London Business School, a one year MBA for old people. In Georgia he currently works with www.GeoCapital.ge, www.BetsysHotel.com, www.TbilisiOpenLabs.org, www.Transparency.ge and www.Radarami.org, the last two of which he chairs.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/229541750478778/

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 14th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Metal, rituals and interactions: Western and Central Caucasus in the Late Bronze/ Early Iron Age"

Giorgi Bedianashvili
Georgian National Museum and
Tbilisi Representative for ARISC

Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 6:15 PM

International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)/CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16, downstairs Conference Hall
Tbilisi, Georgia

This talk deals with the interactions that took place during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the Caucasus, more particularly among different societies that in the regional archaeological literature are referred to as the Koban, Colchis and Samtavro cultures. The people of these societies inhabited both the southern and northern slopes of the Caucasus mountains. This territory covers what are today the republics of northern Caucasus (Russia), and the western and central parts of Georgia.

Focusing on bronze materials and hoarding practice as an indicator of communication networks, this talk will discuss how different Koban, Colchian and Samtavro cultures are tied together through common ritual beliefs.

Giorgi Bedianashvili obtained his Masters Degree at the Sorbonne University in Paris. In 2006-2008 with the Professional scholarship of Ministry of culture of France he worked at the Caucasian archaeological collections stored at the National Archaeological Museum of France, and in 2010 Giorgi was a Carnegie fellow at Purdue University. Currently Giorgi Bedianashvili works for the Georgian National Museum and also for American Research Institute of the South Caucasus as the Tbilisi Representative. He has authored a number of articles on Georgian archaeology and has about 10 years of fieldwork experience in Georgia and overseas.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/105911096211241/
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W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 13th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).
 

WiP - "Data Driven Advocacy in Georgia: A Grassroots Perspective"

Eric Barrett
JumpStart Georgia

Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 6:15 PM

International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)/CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16, downstairs Conference Hall
Tbilisi, Georgia

JumpStart Georgia was formed in Tbilisi, Georgia in October, 2009 with the purpose of creating open-source digital maps of Georgia using a network of community organizers and volunteers. JumpStart Georgia began with the funding, technical, administrative and financial management support of JumpStart International. JS Georgia has built more than merely maps, however. It has evolved to embody the spirit of open information, improved communication, and increased citizen participation in the world around. We are defined by a set of core values, and we work hard to engage others in what we believe in.

This WiP discussion seeks to draw attention to the challenges of a tech-driven non-governmental organization in Georgia trying to advocate for improved data use among civil society organizations. This will not be an academic discussion by any means, but will focus on JS Georgia's experience to-date and future goals.

Eric Barrett hails from Houston, Texas. While he studied Russian literature at Boston University, he is a long-time technologist and supporter of open-source software. He has been living in Georgia since 2005 and currently is the director of JumpStart Georgia, a non-governmental organization seeking to improve fact-based discourse in Georgia using technology.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/434470719901543/


W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 12th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "The Postcolonial Contexts of 20th century Georgian Literature"

Bela Tsipuria
Ilia State University

Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)/CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16, downstairs Conference Hall
Tbilisi, Georgia

Georgian literature of past two centuries can be seen as a mission-based, anti-colonial cultural reality which can be interpreted through the Postcolonial theoretical approaches. Georgia spent two centuries as a part of nother state – the Russian Empire in the 19th century, and the USSR in most of the 20th.  In Georgian social and cultural understanding, this period is characterized by colonial dependence on Russia. This dependent relationship influenced the whole cultural process and affected the specifics of cultural development. In Soviet times the whole cultural space, the National Narrative Culture was shaped with anti-Soviet/anti-colonial mission. Under the pressure of Soviet ideological control Georgian writers still managed to develop artistic/allegoric forms of resistance to Soviet/colonial regime, thus supporting the preservation of national identity. Poems and novels with clear national aspiration earned great social power, and influenced public moods and affections. The idea Georgia’s sovereignty and future state independence, suggested through allegorical figures and tropes, is the main connotation of literary texts within this space. On the other hand, the romantic vision of future was irrational and dim, since the collapse of the Soviet Union was not something foreseen and predicted. Thus the vision of future was indeed trailed by unreliability, uncertainty and anxiety. Consequently, National Narrative Culture contributed to the process of carrying out the idea of state independence, but was not able to prepare Georgian society to the new reality. As a result, in post-Soviet times the public still stayed oriented towards the irrational resistance and not toward the process of building new society. Considering the role of National Narrative Culture this can even explain why Georgian society occurred to be non-adapted to the new long-expected reality; the hidden cultural/societal ambivalence of colonial period was resulted into the open social controversy in post-Soviets.

Bela Tsipuria is a professor of comparative literature, and a director of the Institute of Comparative Literature at the Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. She earned her PH.D. from the Tbilisi State University, Georgia, were she has worked as an associate professor. In 2004-2008 she was a Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia. She was a research fellow at Lund University, Sweden; JFDP fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, USA; Thesaurus Poloniae fellow at the ICC, Krakow, Poland. She specializes in twentieth-century Georgian literature and comparative literature, with a focus of interculturalism, modernism and avant-garde movements, Soviet ideological influences and poscolonialism. She has written textbooks of Georgian literature for the use of Georgian high schools and some fifty research papers some of them available in English.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/262240400535370/?notif_t=plan_user_invited

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W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 11th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Varieties of Corruption: Implications for the Georgian Reform Process"

Peter Nasuti, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - 6:15 PM
ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16, Downstairs Conference Hall
Tbilisi, Georgia

Many accounts of the decline in petty corruption in Georgia after the Rose Revolution, such as a recent World Bank report, have attributed this change to the application of political will. Why is it, then, that successful anti-corruption drives are quite rare, given the great toll that corruption exerts on a developing country and the corresponding incentive for leaders to enact reforms? This talk will look at the political factors that allow corruption to persist over a long period of time, as well as to adapt to attempts to reduce its prevalence. In doing so, it will examine how Georgia managed to see significant changes in its corruption levels while other countries continued to face problems with corruption even after reform-minded governments took power.

Peter Nasuti is a Ph.D. student in the Political Science department of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, he is a Fulbright scholar in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he is researching his dissertation on the anti-corruption reforms that took place in the country after the Rose Revolution. Before Peter came to Wisconsin, he received a B.A. in Russian Studies from Yale University and an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins-SAIS. He also spent two years in the Peace Corps as an English teacher in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/236961606401108/

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W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 10th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Elite Configuration in Post-Soviet Georgia and the Political Power of the Cultural Elite"

Inge Snip, Uppsala University

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 6:15 PM
ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16, Downstairs Conference Hall
Tbilisi, Georgia

Invisible structures in society, such as elite configurations, both enable and restrict the social interactions that reinforce the exercise of power and influence, which in turn affect political/economic development and social mobility. In order to understand how societies work and why certain political processes seem to develop in unexpected ways, it becomes necessary to take a closer look at different aspects of society.

In post-Soviet Georgia, the cultural elite seem to possess a large amount of status, and hence, power. For example, when one only looks at the Wikipedia page on ‘Influential Georgians’ one notices right away the emphasis on cultural figures. Therefore, this presentation will focus on Georgia’s current cultural elite. Following the theoretical framework constructed by Mattei Dogan and his colleagues on elite configuration, the project will study Georgia’s elite groups, concentrating on ‘the relative position and size of various elite circles in the constellation of power.’

Currently, the project is in the process of collecting data through informal snowballing methods on one hand, and through in-depth qualitative interviews with various elite groups on the other hand. The elites are identified through John Scott’s interpretation of Max Weber stratification theory, looking at status, and hopefully identifying which of these groups possess perceived command. The research will focus on the perceptions of these groups towards each other’s position in society and their own - arguing that it will be possible to come to a conclusion regarding their perceived positions by cross-referencing the interviews and looking for comparisons and discrepancies.

Inge Snip has been living in and out of Georgia for the last 4 and ½ years, working for several NGO’s and founding Evolutsia.net, a news and analysis website covering the political landscape of Georgia. She is currently completing a Master’s degree in Politics and International Studies at Uppsala University, for which she spent 6 months conducting individual research on elite configuration at the Harriman Institute of Columbia University in NYC. Her thesis will focus on Georgia’s current cultural elite, and the research will include sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas of capital, arguing that not only economical capital creates power within society, but also social, cultural and symbolic capital.

Inge has a LLB degree in International and European Law from the University of Groningen, and a Russian language certificate from Kyiv National Economic Trade University, where she studied for one year. For a full resume you can visit her linkedin profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ingesnip

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/206628042779648/

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W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 9th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Hearths and Andirons in Kura-Araxe Culture: The Early Bronze Age Caucasus"

Davit Darejanashvili

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 6:15 PM
ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16, Downstairs Conference Room
Tbilisi, Georgia

One of the most important features of Kura-Araxe culture are the hearths and andirons that occur in each site.  Such kind of material is characteristic only for this culture. We see various types of andirons in all of the sites in the entire existence of the Kura-Araxe culture, regardless of changes in construction equipment.  This lecture seeks to define the functions of this material using the example of Inner Kartli. The presenter will try make a conclusion as to how they were used after this description of materials.

Davit Darejanashvili graduated from Tbilisi I. Javakhishvili State University in the Faculty of Humanities with a Bachelor’s Degree in Archeology.  He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in archaeology science at the same university. He is the founder of the NGO, “History Club” (http://geohistoryclub.blogspot.com/), and has taken part in numerous conferences and archeological expeditions.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/248663945228453/

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W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 8th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Playing at Democracy: Designing a Game to Show How the System Really Works"

Mark Rein·Hagen

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 - 6:15 PM
ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16, Downstairs Conference Room
Tbilisi, Georgia

This Works in Progress lecture will delve into the process of developing board games, focusing specifically on the presenter's latest game: "Democracy: Majority Rules".  This game simulates how a democratic system works (or can fail), based on the presenter's work in political campaigns, experiences with political systems around the world and Selectorate Theory.

Democracy is a game about the thorny and convoluted machinery of democracy: the absolute worst form of government… except for all the others. It is focused on the retail work of politics at any scale: making friends, forging alliances, outmaneuvering rivals, deceiving enemies, building consensus, selling your point of view, creating a coalition, hiding resentment, feigning weakness, blindsiding foes and turning doubters into believers. You play power broker or leader of a political party; someone who organizes campaigns, games the system and wins elections.
 
The goal of the game is to collect victory points known as Political Capital, which represents moral authority, political dominance and the trust and respect of the people. Players earn Political Capital by winning votes, forming winning coalitions, and not using their powers.  Every player has a particular a political identity (loosely based on the Nolan Chart) and assumes various roles throughout the game as they navigate the various modular domains of the board, including Lawmakers, Voters, Activists, Media, Bureaucracy, Justice, and Money.

The game is flexible and can be customized to play-simulate various historical political situations, including the French Revolution, the Rise of Hitler, and the Velvet Revolution. It is designed to be able to used in an educational context. The presentation will include sample gameplay and audience participation.


Mark Rein·Hagen is a game designer from the United States, notable as the founder of White Wolf and the creator of "Vampire: The Masquerade", and for his work relating to theories of social manipulation, especially in games. A founding co-owner of Wizards of the Coast he helped bring Magic:The Gathering and the Pokemon trading card game to the world, but has also worked on numerous roleplaying and video games. He further has experience in TV production and film, and was the co-creator of a prime-time TV show on FOX with Aaron Spelling. Mark lives in Tbilisi, where he has worked for the Government of Georgia in various capacities and is married with children.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/388901161138283/?notif_t=event_invite

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W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 7th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "The Early Stage of Prosperity of Goldsmithery in Georgia"

Marina Puturidze, PhD

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 6:15 PM
ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16, Downstairs Conference Room
Tbilisi, Georgia

Dr. Marina Puturidze is the head of The Centre of Archaeological Research in Tbilisi.  She has participated in many archeological expeditions, including a long running project in Shida Kartli, focusing on investigating local cultures of the 4th and 3rd millennium B.C. and their connections with the contemporary cultures of the Ancient Near East.   This presentation will focus on early metals culture in the Caucasus, drawing from her experiences.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/360178967348782/

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 6th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Security Sector Reform, State Building and Social Consequences in Georgia"

Leslie Hough, PhD Candidate in Political Science, Yale University

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - 6.15 PM
ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16, Downstairs Conference Room
Tbilisi, Georgia

This presentation lays out the plan for Ms. Hough's dissertation research through which she hopes to explore how the security sector reforms following the Rose Revolution dramatically impacted the daily lives of Georgian citizens, particularly the freedom of movement of women and business prospects for local entrepreneurs, in Tbilisi and Svaneti.

Leslie Hough first came to Georgia in 1999 to work for then Chairman Zurab Zhvania’s Office in the Georgian Parliament, returned in 2006 as a longterm election observer with the OSCE and again in 2011 as an IREX US Embassy Policy Specialist. She has worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the South Korean Mission to the United Nations, holds an MA in Conflict Management from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and has conducted research and election-monitoring missions in Russia, Kosovo, Albania, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Haiti.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/240165262740983/?notif_t=event_invite

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 5th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "'Zhiviom, ra?': Affective Registers of Russian Language Use in Contemporary Georgian" 

Perry Sherouse, University of Michigan

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 6:15pm
ISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16
downstairs Conference Room
Tbilisi, Georgia

This project investigates the social contexts in contemporary Tbilisi in which Russian language acts as a resource for affectively-charged Georgian utterances. Despite appearing "Russian", speakers treat loanwords in aesthetic rather than political terms, semantically refiguring Russian terms in Georgian social practice. In this talk I will present examples from several different contexts and briefly discuss the historical links that speakers perceive for various parts of the Russian-influenced lexicon. Additionally, I will discuss the category of speech designated by Georgians as "zhargoni" and the analytical problems it poses. One of the main goals of this project is to describe how modes of linguistic and cultural practice are passed on outside of educational institutions.

Perry Sherouse is a Ph.D. candidate in Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He is currently conducting his dissertation research in Tbilisi, Georgia.

For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/247106032037761

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

This is the 4th talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Zero Tolerance Schooling: Crime and Education in Georgia"

Gavin Slade
 
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 – 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)
CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16
Tbilisi, Georgia
 
In this presentation, Dr. Slade will discuss his research on the Georgian school system, specifically the institution of the mandaturi, or uniformed officers patrolling the schools.

Dr. Slade graduated from the University of Oxford, UK with a PhD. He first came to Georgia in 2002 and conducted has conducted his PhD research here over the past few years. His interests are criminological in focus and include: organized crime and state responses to it, penal subcultures, and prison and police reform in the post-Soviet space.

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).
 
The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.
 
For more information, please see https://www.facebook.com/events/231403773615827/

This is the 3rd talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC)

WiP - "Ethnic Conflict and Political Control in the 3rd and 4th Century Caucasus"

Marco Bias

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 – 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)
CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16
Tbilisi, Georgia

This presentation will examine (or reexamine) the changes in the political control over the Eastern Caucasian coast, according to some written sources (particularly Armenian, Iranian and Classical sources), laying stress on the emergence, the development and the collapse of the Kingdom of the Mazk'ut'k' (to use the ethnic name we find in Armenian sources) between the 3rd and the 4th c. A.D.

Marco Bais  is Associate Professor of Ancient Armenian Language (grabar) at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. His main interests are the history of Caucasus in Late Antiquity, particularly the missionary activity within Caucasia and the history of Caucasian Albania. Another line of his research focuses on the Mongol conquests and domination as depicted by Caucasian (Armenian and Georgian) sources. One of his desiderata is writing a study on the shaping of Caucasus as a physical and cultural region throughout the history of European culture.

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/164948513618116/

This is the 2nd talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "The Diversification of Post-Soviet Cultural Spaces"

John Schoeberlein, Harvard University
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)
CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16
Tbilisi, Georgia

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by CRRC and the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS.
 
The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/234901146591516/

This is the 1st talk of the Spring 2012 Works-in-Progress Series , co-sponsored by American Councils, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Creating Brand Identity for the Georgian National Museum and New Opportunities to Join the International Museum Network"

Natalia Shelegia
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 – 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)
CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16
Tbilisi, Georgia

This presentation will examine American and European museum culture, explore the methodologies that are used to create the brand identities in museums, study Western communication paradigm transformation; discover new trends affecting museum activities, examine Georgian museums concept and what is most important, adopt the researched materials and knowledge to modern Georgian museum model.

The ultimate goal of the empirical study is to describe the brand identity building process and analyze the branding methodologies, in order to broaden the knowledge about museum branding and to deliberate a set of recommendations for the Georgian National Museum. The data obtained with the qualitative research could assist museum in creation of affective branding  tools for transforming Georgian museums into living and interesting, vital community resource and educational center, devoted to diffusion of knowledge and understanding in society.
 
Natalia Shelegia  is the Director of Communications Department at the Georgian National Museum and  is currently pursuing her PhD at Tbilisi State Academy of Arts.  She has extensive experience in PR, communications, and marketing as well as being an artist.  Her website is www.natalia.ge.

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by CRRC and the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS.
 
The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/134939156619255/

This is the 11th talk of the Fall 2011 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

WiP - "Why Me?" - First Findings of the MYPLACE Project in Georgia

Tinatin Zurabishvili and Tamuna Khoshtaria, CRRC
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 – 6:15 PM
International School of Economics of Tbilisi (ISET)
CRRC Georgia
Zandukeli St. 16
Tbilisi, Georgia

This presentation will address the findings of the first phase of fieldwork in the MYPLACE (Memory, Youth, Political Legacy and Civic Engagement) Project.
 
MYPLACE is a four-year international project employing a combination of survey, interview and ethnographic research to provide new, pan-European data that not only will measure levels of civil participation of the young people (aged 16 to 25), but also capture the meanings young people attach to it.
 
Dr. Tinatin Zurabishvili has been coordinating the CRRC Caucasus Barometer survey since 2007 and the MYPLACE project since 2011. Since 1999 she has taught BA and MA courses in sociology, focusing on research methods, at Telavi State University and at the Center for Social Sciences of Tbilisi State University, where she was a Civic Education Project (CEP) Local Faculty Fellow (2001-2003) and Academic Fellowship Program Returning Scholar (2005-2006). Since 2010, she has been teaching at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). Prior to teaching in Georgia, between1999 and 2001 Dr. Zurabishvili served as a junior researcher for Yale University's Poverty, Ethnicity and Gender in Eastern Europe during Market Transition project. Dr. Zurabishvili also worked for five years as a sociologist at the Russian Center for Public Opinion and Market Research (now the Levada Center), where she worked on the Russian Public Opinion Monitor.
 
Tamuna Khoshtaria is a research associate at CRRC. She holds a BA and MA in Social Sciences from Tbilisi State University. During her MA study she was awarded a scholarship to study at Humboldt University in Berlin, where she spent a year conducting qualitative research in family sociology.

W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place every Wednesday at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by CRRC and the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS.
 
The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/306278279394172/?notif_t=event_invite
 
This is the 10th talk of the Fall 2011 Works-in-Progress Series, co-sponsored by American Councils, the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), and American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC).

Lecture: Uncovering the 1956 Georgian Protests and Their Memory

Melissa F. Gayan
Ph.D. Candidate in History, Emory University
ARISC Fellow

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 5:00pm

Ilia University
Austrian Library
3/5 Cholokashvili Str. room H105
Tbilisi, Georgia

This presentation introduces Ms. Gayan's dissertation project which examines Georgian reaction to Khrushchev's February 1956 "Secret Speech."  The project focuses on the multi-leveled contested cultural nature of national identity in the Soviet Union.  She will place this event in the current historiography, speak about methodology and source problems, and explain why this topic is still relevant to scholarship.  Finally she will share how her project has turned to questions of how these events have been remembered or forgotten.

Melissa Gayan is a history Ph.D. candidate at Emory University specializing in Russia and the former Soviet Union with a focus on the Caucasus.  Ms. Gayan's dissertation topic is on the 1956 Georgian pro-Stalinist, anti-Soviet protests which took place after Nikita Khrushchev's February 1956 "Secret Speech."  She also holds a Master's Degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where her thesis examined Russian influence in Georgia during the first ten years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Ms. Gayan has been a teacher for many years in both public schools, institutes, and universities.  She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, cat, and two dogs.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180015715399090
www.arisc.org

This talk is co-sponsored by the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus, Ilia University, and also made possible by a Russian and East European Studies Graduate Travel Grant from Emory University.

Cohesion and Coercion in the Ruling Parties of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

Eli Feiman, PhD candidate at Brown University
ARISC Fellow



Thursday, 30 June, 2011 at 18.00

Ilia University

Austrian Library
3/4 Cholokashvili str.
Auditorium H105
Tbilisi, Georgia

This talk will address the formation, growth, and in some cases collapse of the ruling political parties of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. By examining cohesion among party elites and by examining the various other tools which parties use, he will present the different trajectories of the parties over the past 20 years. His dissertation addresses the issues of democratization and the consolidation of political institutions, and examines these topics in the South Caucasus where these processes are still underway. This talk draws from interviews with political actors, election returns, internal party documents, and archival research.

Eli Feiman is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Political Science at Brown University. He is currently an ARISC Graduate Fellow in Georgia and is conducting