Two-week residency in Bulgaria for Scholars of East Central and Southeastern Europe
ACLS has partnered with the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS) to create the Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe (SISECSE) to enable scholars to undertake local fieldwork and research in Bulgaria and engage in interdisciplinary discussions. In 2023, 2024, and 2025, ACLS and CAS will convene leading scholars from Eastern Europe and North America for a two-week residency in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
With international travel restricted over the past two years due to the pandemic, many scholars have been forced to delay their research. SISECSE will provide participating scholars with two weeks to dedicate to their own research and writing in a collaborative and interdisciplinary setting. Participants will be able to undertake local fieldwork, including archival research, work in museum collections, interviews, site surveys, or other forms of data collection. In addition to conducting their own research, scholars will also have the opportunity to participate in small group writing workshops, as well as a series of immersive discussions on a broad topic of shared academic interest.
The program will cover travel, accommodation, and per diem expenses. Institute members will be expected to be in residence and to participate in all planned events for the duration of the institute. Scholars will also be provided with opportunities to travel locally during this time.
Scholars should apply with their own research proposals through the ACLS online system. Information on how to apply to attend the 2023 Summer Institute will be made available later this summer.
Eligibility
The competition will be open to scholars in any field or discipline in the humanities and interpretive social sciences pursuing postdoctoral or advanced research in the region (Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine).
Scholars should be based at institutions in North America (US, Canada, Mexico) or Central/Eastern Europe (see the list above).
About the Center for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS)
The Centre for Advanced Study in Sofia is an independent institution with strong international and interdisciplinary orientation, promoting freedom of research and scholarly excellence in the humanities and the social sciences. Since its establishment in 2000, CAS has been attracting young talents and outstanding senior scholars by offering institutional conditions conducive to free pursuit of knowledge and dialogue in the framework of individual research fellowships or collaborative multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural enquiries. In partnership with other Institutes for Advanced Study, universities, scholarly and cultural associations, it works to re-establish the tradition of intellectual communities and to facilitate open critical debate and exchange of ideas on national and trans-national levels.
This program is made possible thanks to a generous donation by Carl and Betty Pforzheimer.
