The continuation of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, political repressions, crackdowns on LGBTQ+, women’s, ethnic and religious communities’ rights, environmental crises, and the ramifications of colonial legacies have marked the past several years in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. While indispensable academic research is being carried out to investigate various forms of political, social, cultural, and economic oppression and violence, it is crucial to highlight positive alternatives nurtured in these hostile contexts. Throughout history, individuals, communities, institutions, and states have and continue to navigate, adapt, and resist multiple overlapping challenges, fighting for their right to imagine and realize a better future.

The 2024 SSEES Postgraduate Conference celebrates the champions of hope and resilience of the past, present, and future of the region. In this Call for Papers, we invite early-career researchers (including MA students, PhD students, and scholars who recently received their PhDs) who work in various academic disciplines (including but not limited to political science, international relations, economics, history, anthropology, sociology, literature, and inter-disciplinary fields) to share their insights on how diverse actors and institutions have found, constructed, and negotiated political, social, cultural, and economic alternatives in the face of oppression, structural marginalization, and numerous overlapping threats and vulnerabilities.

As such, paper proposals can address, but are not limited to, the following issues:

* social and political mobilization, activism, and protest movements
* everyday practices of resistance and coping
* amplifying marginalized voices and rewriting narratives
* future imaginaries, the transformative potential of art/literature, visionaries and pioneers
* business and technological innovation, problem-solving, and adaptation

Applications can be submitted by filling out the following form: https://forms.gle/qTynVa8XhBytSqraA

Abstracts should be between 250 and 350 words. The deadline for submissions is 03 July 2024. The conference will take place on 4-5 November 2024, at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London, and will be conducted in English.

Any questions can be addressed to: sseespgconference2024@gmail.com.

We look forward to reading your submission!