Call for Worskhop Proposals
EWIS 2024: Call for Workshop Proposals
11th European Workshops in International Studies
Istanbul, 3-5 July 2024
The future yet to come: for a global politics of hope
Call for Workshop Proposals is closed
The European International Studies Association (EISA) invites workshop proposals for EWIS 2024, which will take place at the Kadir Has University in Istanbul, from 3-5 July 2024. The European Workshops in International Studies (EWIS), launched by the EISA in 2013, have fast established themselves as a spirited place for the European IR community to engage in sustained, in-depth discussion with a diverse range of peers from various institutions, countries, disciplines and career stages. EWIS has proven to be a popular and productive format, perfect for preparing special issues, edited volumes or exploring new ideas, themes and directions in a vibrant and friendly atmosphere.
EWIS 2024, to be held in Istanbul, will take place at a historical moment in which multiple global-scale challenges as well as a dire and ubiquitous search for a new future loom large. In 2023, the Mediterranean Sea recorded its highest-ever surface temperature, while at the same time wildfires raged across the region. Turkey, Syria and Morocco were also hit by deadly earthquakes while Libya experienced devastating floods. Throughout this time, the Mediterranean continues to be a dangerous route for people seeking to reach Europe via sea. These events take place in the context of threats of global war, entrenched global inequality, as well as other political, economic, environmental, and social crises. These conditions starkly contrast with the continuation of global politics as ‘business as usual’, lacking imaginative ideas and hope for the future. Our academic community bears a responsibility to help overcome the impasse of constant crisis and take part in the solution rather than contributing to the problem.
Hence, the 11th iteration of EWIS at Kadir Has University invites EISA members to consider and rethink our discipline’s theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions to dealing with our current moment and reimagining global politics for the future. In particular, we are interested in proposals that seek to deal with complex crises in ways that support hope, agency and resistance. What does a global politics of hope and social change look like? How does the interconnected nature of crises feed into theoretical developments in international studies? How can IR help overcome the paralysing effect of fear and anxiety, while contributing to the deconstruction of catastrophic narratives in a non-utopic manner? How do we make sense of the disconnect between the urgency to reckon with disasters and crises, and the need to leave space for hope and resistance? What economic, political and social alternatives for the future emerge if we focus our attention on various forms of political agency, knowledge production, and social upheaval that have thus far remained at the margins of academic frameworks?
Venue
The location of EWIS 2024, Istanbul, as a city at the center of history and a place where many cultures, perspectives, and narratives cross paths, constitutes an ideal vantage point for reflecting on complex challenges and imagining a better future. As the heart of numerous empires since Rome, Istanbul has assumed a pivotal role in the course of human history marked by various catastrophes but also renewals. On one hand, it has witnessed countless disasters and destructions, while on the other, it has played a significant role in the realms of art, culture, and social change. Istanbul, as it hosts EWIS 2024, bears symbolic relevance in terms of serving as a bridge between the Western world and non-Western geographies. As the host institution for EWIS 2024, Kadir Has University, which was converted from a tobacco factory built in the late Ottoman period, represents this rich and multilayered history of Istanbul.
Submission Deadline
We invite colleagues to submit 500-word workshop proposals with an extended list of potential participants and their paper topics by 23 November 2023. We intend to have workshops with up to 20 participants.
We are seeking proposals for workshops relevant to the EWIS 2024 theme, but are also happy to consider proposals that explore other topics in International Studies.
Submission Instructions
All proposals should be submitted to form(closed).
The proposals should include the following:
- Workshop title, description of the proposed workshop topic and its relevance (max. 500 words)
- An indication of possible paper topics and potential participants (1–2 pages)
- A short biography of each workshop convenor (max. 1 page each)
Workshop convenors must be EISA members at the time of submission.
Conditions
Maximum of two convenors per workshop. Workshop convenors must be current EISA members. They will pay a reduced participation fee and will be invited to the workshop convenors’ dinner. They will, however, fund and arrange their own travel and accommodation.
Accepted workshop convenors will be notified by 12 December 2023.
The general call for papers will then open on 8 January 2024 and EISA members will be able to submit their abstracts until 5 February 2024.
Workshop format
EWIS will be an on-site only event and no virtual participation is possible.
The 11th iteration of EWIS will start on July 3, 2024 with registration, plenary sessions and welcome reception. The registration desk will open early morning. The plenary sessions will start around 13:00 followed by an early evening welcome reception. Workshops will take place on day 2 and 3 (July 4 and 5, 2024 respectively) from 9:00 until 18:00.
Participants are expected to attend all sessions of their respective workshops. In total, we plan 8 sessions of 90 minutes each over the two workshop days (4 and 5 July 2024). This includes the introductory and conclusion sessions for each workshop. The EWIS format is meant to enable in-depth discussions in a closed group of participants. Each session will therefore host 2-3 papers maximum to ensure paper presenters have the most benefit from the workshop format. Typically, a small EWIS workshop has around 8 participants while we, based on previous experience, do not recommend workshops with more than 15 papers.
Convenors of accepted workshops will have the following tasks/responsibilities:
- Share the call within your networks and directly reach out to those whom you indicated in your workshop proposals as confirmed/potential speakers. Make sure that everyone, including confirmed/potential paper presenters, submits their abstracts through the EISA’s submission portal before the official deadline.
- Review abstracts submitted to your respective workshops and make the decision on acceptance/rejection. EISA will be in touch concerning the technical steps in reviewing and evaluating applications. Once the abstract selection is completed, the EISA will send out acceptance and rejection emails.
- Once the registration is open, the EISA will send official emails to invite accepted paper presenters to register. We strongly encourage you to get in touch with prospective participants of your workshop to make sure everyone registers on time. Late registration will not be possible.
- Devise workshop sessions according to your workshop needs, such as time allocation, presentation type, assigning chairs/discussants, etc. You have flexibility in terms of how you want to distribute the sessions over the workshop period. Make sure you circulate individual papers at least 2 weeks before EWIS 2024 to allow other participants to read them.