RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

CENTER FOR CIVILIZATIONAL AND REGIONAL STUDIES

30/1 Spiridonovka st., 103001 Moscow, RUSSIA

Tel. + (7 095) 291 41 19; Fax: + (7 095) 202 07 86

E-mail: <mailto:dmitri.bondarenko@inafr.ru>dmitri.bondarenko@inafr.ru, <mailto:dbondar@hotmail.com>dbondar@hotmail.com

INSTITUTE OF ORIENTAL STUDIES, ST. PETERSBURG BRANCH
18 Dvortsovaya embankment, 191186 St. Petersburg, RUSSIA

Tel.: + (7 812) 315 84 90; Fax: + (7 812) 312 14 65
E-mail: <mailto:invost@mail.convey.ru>invost@mail.convey.ru

SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

"HIERARCHY AND POWER IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS"

July 4-7, 2002,

Saint Petersburg, Russia

THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS

The Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St.
Petersburg Branch) in cooperation with the Center for Civilizational and
Regional Studies of the Russian Academy is organizing on July 4-7, 2002
in St. Petersburg the Second International Conference "HIERARCHY AND
POWER IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS".


The First Conference held in Moscow in June 2000 brought together over
150 scholars. While the majority of participants were from Russia, others
came from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, the
Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, the UK, Ukraine, and the USA.
Billed as a discussion of 'the general trends and mechanisms of
socio-cultural evolution and the processes of socio-political evolution
in their regional and temporary variation', it turned into a series of
debates about the relationship between anthropology and history of the
longue durÈe with contributions from (and implications for) those working
in Political Science, Sociology, Cultural Studies, and related
disciplines. The accounts about the First Conference are published in the
journals Vostok /Oriens/ (2000, no. 5, p. 163) and Anthropology Today
(vol. 16, 2000, no. 6, pp. 23-24).

The success of the First Conference suggested to its participants an idea
to create an international consortium which could ensure the regularity
of further conferences. Now we intend to hold the ?Hierarchy and Power?
Conference biannually. Furthermore, it has been decided to broaden its
disciplinary scope by inviting to participate in the Second Conference
not only anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, but also
political scientists, sociologists, jurists, and specialists in other
related fields. Much of Western Social Science has gone up a postmodern
cul-de-sac, interested only in its own concepts rather than in trying to
understand the external world. Those Western social scientists who
profess to combine history with ethnography often only mean by this very
recent history, especially colonial history. The proposed conference
seeks to explore patterns of human history in the widest possible sense
and the various theoretical models.

The participants of the First Conference came to the conclusion that in
contemporary social sciences we observe a rather effective and
sophisticated system of data collection and their initial analysis (on
the level of individual cultures and civilizations). In the meantime, we
seem to lack a similarly effective and sophisticated system of the
synthesis of the obtained results. It was through understanding this
problem that the First Conference participants came to an idea to make
the ?Hierarchy and Power? Conferences regular, aiming at the filling of
the above mentioned gap, at the creating of a world-wide network of
scholars concerned with the solving of the above discussed problem.

The immediate objective of the Second Conference is to discuss the
following issues:

- civilizational and evolutionary models of socio-political development;
- cultural and socio-biological foundations and factors of dominance in
human societies;
- interaction of the socio-political and cultural-mental groups of
factors in the processes of social evolution;
- representation of the diversity of systems of socio-political
institutions in fine arts and fiction;
- linguistic data and reconstruction of the evolution of socio-political
institutions;
- semiotic aspects of hierarchy and power systems;
- socio-political evolution of the Orient: models and tendencies;
- evolutionary position of the state among the forms of socio-political
organization;
- democratic and non-democratic forms of socio-political organization at
different levels of cultural complexity;
- political center and regions: interrelations within the frameworks of
different models of socio-political organization;
- schools and trends in the study of the ?hierarchy and power?
problematique.

The following panel proposals have been received by today:

- ?Conceptualizing Hierarchy in the ?Prehistory? and History of
Anthropology? (Convenor: Dr Robert Launay /USA/ - e-mail:
<mailto:rgl201@northwestern.edu>rgl201@northwestern.edu);
- ?Hierarchy and Power in Ancient Eurasian Societies according to Data
of Archaeological Researches? (Convenors: Prof. Nadejda A. Gavriliouk
/Ukraine/ - e-mail: <mailto:tim@ittfnan.ua>tim@ittfnan.ua, Prof. Nikolay N. Kradine /Russia/ -
e-mail: <mailto:kradin@mail.primorye.ru>kradin@mail.primorye.ru);
- ?Gens de la terre, gens du pouvoir, rois divins et chamanes?
(Convenor: Prof. Gerald Gaillard /France/ - e-mail:
<mailto:gerald.gaillard@univ-lille1.fr>gerald.gaillard@univ-lille1.fr) ? the working language of this panel is
French;
- ?The Community and above It: Communal and Supracommunal Institutions
in Different Civilizational Contexts? (Convenors: Dr Dmitry M. Bondarenko
/Russia/ - e-mail: <mailto:dbondar@hotmail.com>dbondar@hotmail.com ; Prof. Andrey V. Korotayev
/Russia/ - e-mail: <mailto:korotayev@yahoo.com>korotayev@yahoo.com);
- ?Law, Power and Corporativism in the Ancient and Mediaeval World:
Secular and Sacral Interrelations? (Convenor: Dr. N. A. Selounskaya
/Russia/ - e-mail: <mailto:spesbona@mtu-net.ru>spesbona@mtu-net.ru);
- ?Caste Discrimination: Perspectives and Outcome: Our Duty? (Convenor:
Dr Pratip Kumar Majumdar /India/ - e-mail: <mailto:rabutuma@cal2.vsnl.net.in>rabutuma@cal2.vsnl.net.in ;
<mailto:arpan_sen19@yahoo.com>arpan_sen19@yahoo.com);
- ?Problem of the State and Its Criteria? (Convenor: Dr Dmitry N.
Lielukhine /Russia/ - e-mail: <mailto:lel@lel.msk.ru>lel@lel.msk.ru);
- ?Civilizational Significance of Empires in the History of Hierarchical
Societies of West and East? (Convenors: Prof. Viktor Dm. Komarov /Russia/
- e-mail: <mailto:anviko@mail.ru>anviko@mail.ru ; Prof. Janos Bak /Hungary/ - e-mail:
<mailto:bakjan@ceu.hu>bakjan@ceu.hu, Prof. Patrick Geary - e-mail: <mailto:geary@ucla.edu>geary@ucla.edu);
- ?Civil Society: National Models of Political Culture Formation?
(Convenors: Dr Anatoly D. Savateev /Russia/, Prof. Igor V. Sledzevsky
/Russia/ - e-mail: <mailto:igor.sledzevskiy@inafr.ru>igor.sledzevskiy@inafr.ru ; Prof. Stephen L. Schechter
/USA/ - e-mail: <mailto:schecs@sage.edu>schecs@sage.edu);
- ?Theories of Power; Power of Theories: Anthropological Approaches
(Convenor: Prof. Steve Reyna - e-mail: <mailto:reyna@eth.mpg.de>reyna@eth.mpg.de);
- ?Ideology as Priority in Civilizational Process? (Convenor: Mr Mikhail
N. Shchelkonogov - e-mail: <mailto:sw@sunway-centre.com>sw@sunway-centre.com);
- ?Democratic Control of Technology: The Historical Evolution of
Democratic Theory and Technocracy? (Convenor: Prof. Gary Bryner /USA/ -
e-mail: <mailto:gary.bryner@colorado.edu>gary.bryner@colorado.edu);
- ?Testing a Model of Civilizational Analysis: ?Globalization? and
Civilizational Change? (Convenor: Mr John Cerullo /USA/ - e-mail:
<mailto:jcerullo@cisunix.unh.edu>jcerullo@cisunix.unh.edu);
- ?Islamic World: Concepts of Power and Models of Socio-Political
Evolution? (Convenors: Dr Rafik M. Mukhametchine /Russia/ - e-mail:
<mailto:rafikm@mail.ru>rafikm@mail.ru ; Dr Igor L. Alexeev /Russia/ - e-mail:
<mailto:igor.alexeev@inafr.ru>igor.alexeev@inafr.ru ; Prof. Andrey V. Korotayev /Russia/ - e-mail:
<mailto:korotayev@yahoo.com>korotayev@yahoo.com);
- ?Locality, Hierarchy and Power in Southeast Asia? (Convenor: Mr Gerald
Sullivan - e-mail: <mailto:masdjeri@gwu.edu>masdjeri@gwu.edu);
- ?The Rise and Fall of State-Systems in the Interlacustrine Region of
East Africa: The Struggle for Power? (Convenor: Prof. Godfrey N. Uzoigwe
- e-mail: <mailto:gnu@ra.msstate.edu>gnu@ra.msstate.edu);
- ?The Scholarly Legacy of Ernest Gellner? (Convenor: Dr Declan Quigley
/UK/ - e-mail: <mailto:dq2@st-andrews.ac.uk>dq2@st-andrews.ac.uk ; Dr Peter Skalnik /Czech Republic/ -
e-mail: <mailto:petr.skalnik@ff.cuni.cz>petr.skalnik@ff.cuni.cz).

The deadline for paper submission (an abstract within 300 words) is
December 1, 2001. If you have already presented your paper or have the
intention to do so, please let us know in what panel he wants to deliver
it. You are also requested to include in your paper proposal your full
name, title, institutional affiliation, full mail and e-mail addresses,
and fax number as well as the abstracts of your contribution in English
or in French.

The working languages of the Conference are Russian, English, and French.



The following documents and data are necessary for us to support your
visa application process in the Russian Consulate or Embassy in your
country:

1. the copy of your passport (including the date of its expiry);
2. the full address of your institution (including phone and fax
numbers);
3. your position;
4. the duration of your stay in Russia;
5. the location (town) of the Russian Consulate or Consulate Division of
the Embassy in to which you are going to apply.

The registration fee ($100 or its equivalent in euros, but not less than
100 euros which covers the expenses for the culture program, Conference
book of abstracts, reception, coffee-breaks, &c.) is to be paid on the
spot. Accommodation is about $ 30 per night (single room in a three stars
hotel). Estimated meal and other daily expenses are c. $15.

The correspondence should be sent for Dr Serguei A. Frantsouzoff to the
following address:

Please, send a copy of your proposal for Dr Dmitry M. Bondarenko, Head of
the Department of Civilizational and Anthropological Studies to the
following address:
Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies

30/1 Spiridonovka st., 103001 Moscow, RUSSIA

Tel. + (7 095) 291 41 19; Fax: + (7 095) 202 07 86

E-mail: <mailto:dmitri.bondarenko@inafr.ru>dmitri.bondarenko@inafr.ru ; <mailto:dbondar@hotmail.com>dbondar@hotmail.com