Content
This PhD-seminar explores the study of contemporary politics from an area studies perspective and is open to candidates who are working on such questions in their PhD-projects. We invite participants to reflect on what characterises an area studies approach to contemporary politics in a seminar that will deal with two specific issues in this context: sources and theory.
The seminar consists of two days, where the focus of day 1 will be on sources and the use of sources. Which kind of source material is used by PhD-candidates in area studies, and what are the strengths and limitations of different types of sources for the study of politics within a specific area? We invite candidates to reflect upon the opportunities and challenges they face with respect to the source material they use for their PhD-projects.
On day 2 we will address theory, and the use of specific theories from, for example, the social sciences in the study of politics within a given area. What can be seen as the relationship between general or generalised theories, and the area-specific? We invite the participants to present the theory/theories they are using in their projects, and to reflect upon the implications of adopting this theoretical framework for research on politics in their specific area.
Both days will start with two presentations on the topic of the day, followed by the individual presentations of the PhD-candidates who have signed up for the seminar.
Participants may enlist for one or both of the two days and will be required to give a presentation of 20 minutes where they address the topic of the day with respect to their own PhD-project. Following each presentation there will be a brief discussion where all participants are expected to contribute. Up to 6 PhD-candidates may enlist as participants on each of the two days.
1 ECTS is awarded for each day.
Day 1: sources; takes place on 13 June 2025
Day 2: theory; takes place on 26 September 2025
Programme:
Day 1:
09:15 - 09:45: Coffee/tea and mingling
09:45 - 10:00: Opening of seminar by research group leader Atle Wold
10:00 - 11:00: The case of the Yellow Vests Movement in France: different sources to the same case.
> 10:00 - 10:40: Ingeborg Misje Bergem: The Yellow Vests - how to define an undefinable movement?
> 10:40 - 11:00: Kjerstin Aukrust: What can we learn about social movements, such as the Yellow Vests from studying literary texts?
11:00 - 11:30: Questions and break
11:30 - 11:50: PhD-candidate Live Kjos Fjell: Legislating security and national identity: What parliamentary debates on French counterterrorism laws reveal about contemporary society
12:00 - 13:00: Lunch break
13:00 - 13:20: PhD-candidate Miras Tolepbergen: Russian Foreign Policy towards China after February 2022: Construction of Status, Identity, and Role in Central Asia
13:30 - 13:50: PhD-candidate Ekaterina Donskikh: State power by other means? Youth grants and the “soft” politics of governance in contemporary Russia
14:00: end of seminar
Day 2:
09:15 - 09:45: Coffee/tea and mingling
09:45 – 10:00: Opening of seminar day to by head of research group Atle Wold
10:00 - 11:00: The use of social science-based theories in area studies:
> 10:00 - 10:30: Geir Flikke: Hybridity and Legitimacy: Core Concepts and Dilemmas in the Evolution of Authoritarian Regimes
> 10:30 - 11:00: Øivind Bratberg: Political Science and British Politics
11:00 - 11:30: Questions and break
11:30 - 11:50: PhD-candidate Miras Tolepbergen: Constructing Power in Transition: A Constructivist Analysis of Russia’s Identity, Role and Status vis-à-vis China in Central Asia since 2022
12:00 - 13:00: Lunch break
13:00 - 13:20: PhD-candidate Ekaterina Donskikh: Moving beyond economic policy: Neoliberalism and the reshaping of social and political life in Russia
13:30 - 14:00: Final discussion
14:00: end of seminar
Contact person: Atle Wold, email: atlelib@uio.no