Nordic Society for Middle Eastern Studies
The Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul
2024 PhD Summer School in Istanbul:
Exploring Migration, Urban Evolution, and Historical Continuity in a Megalopolis
18-23 August 2024
Every three years, the Nordic Society for Middle Eastern Studies (NSMES) holds a PhD summer school with the aim of qualifying academic content and processes for the society’s early career colleagues working on their PhD theses. Through thorough discussions of individual PhD projects, the society facilitates academic and personal development and offers teaching moments and academic feedback by senior Nordic scholars in relevant fields. Lectures and excursions are interspersed with seminars where participants get to comment on each other’s work and receive feedback from senior scholars. Students may count participation as part of their PhD program after agreement with their supervisors.
The PhD school is open to all members of the NSMES working on PhD theses at Nordic institutions.
The theme of the 2024 PhD summer school is Exploring Migration, Urban Evolution, and Historical Continuity in a Megalopolis. Participants, irrespective of the subject of their own PhD projects, are invited to delve into the topic of past and present migration and urbanism, in and beyond the Middle East. Using Istanbul as a case study, teaching moments will explore the modern city as a palimpsest of migration and encampment, from its emergence as a place of transfer in antiquity to its role in current-day regional, national and global politics. Attention will also be given to Turkey’s role in the migration routes from the Middle East to Europe and back. The summer school will include lectures by local and international scholars, seminars at which attendees will present their PhD projects, and city walks.
Applications should consist in a CV and a letter of interest, no longer than one page.
Housing and some meals are provided by the NSMES in collaboration with the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. Travels should be covered by attendees’ universities. In cases where this is not possible, the NSMES may offer financial support for a limited number of flight tickets. If such support is needed, the application should also include an explanation, also no longer than one page, of why the applicant’s own university cannot cover travel costs. It is up to the applicant’s own university to determine how many ECTS points to award for participation in the PhD summer school, but on request the organizers will provide a certificate of attendance that recommends a minimum of 3 ECTS points.
Applications should be sent to sriiapplications@gmail.com before November 30, 2023.
Those who are admitted will be notified by the beginning of 2024. The number of places is limited.