Formerly East-West Seminar

Subject to funding being assured, the International Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ISECS) invites applications from scholars in all fields of eighteenth-century studies to attend the International seminar for young eighteenth-century scholars (formerly East-West Seminar) which will be held from July 17 to 22, 1999 in Saarbrücken, a German university town close to the French border.

Initially this yearly seminar, set up by Robert Darnton in 1988, was intended to promote intellectual exchange and to establish personal contacts between scholars from East European countries and the West. After the changes that took place in the East, one has to acknowledge that the differences are disappearing and that eighteenth-century studies are becoming international independently of ideological confrontations: while applications from Asia and America are multiplying, those from Eastern Europe are becoming rarer. The International Society and the organizers of the Seminar, Jean Mondot (Bordeaux) and Jochen Schlobach (Saarbruecken) have taken this evolution into account and are opening the seminar to scholars from all countries, from the North, the East, the West and the South. The twenty available places will be attributed without regional quotas. Lodging, meals, and travel (subject to funding and the need of the candidates) will be paid. For the papers to be given as well as for the discussions and debates the languages of communication will be English and French. Candidates must meet the following requirements:

1. They must be under forty years old on January 1st, 1999
2. they must have a Ph.D. or its equivalent
3. they must be able to speak French or English, preferably both
4. if successful, they must submit an original paper of about 20 typewritten pages on the theme of the seminar.

Applications should be sent before September 1st, 1998 to Jochen Schlobach, 8.2. Romanistik, Universitaet des Saarlandes, D-66123 Saarbruecken (fax: +49-681-302-4588; e-mail: aida@rz.uni-sb.de (Jochen Schlobach)].

They should include the following information:

1. Nationality
2. date of birth
3. a short curriculum vitae with date of Ph.D. and list of principal publications
4. a brief description of the proposed paper (250-500 words)
5. one letter of recommendation (it can be sent separately by the recommender but must also be received before September 1st),
6. full information on competence in foreign languages.

The theme of the seminar for 1999 will be:

The European Enlightenment in its relation to the other great cultures and religions of the eighteenth century

The concept of enlightenment, elaborated by eighteenth-century Europeans runs the risk of making less sense for the great cultures of other continents. The growing internationalization of research, noticeable in the foundation and the activity of national societies for the study of the eighteenth century in Japan, in China, in Australia, in Tunisia and in Brazil, calls for expanding the horizon of studies which for many disciplines have remained confined to Europe. It seems to us that present-day conflicts might be better understood, put into perspective and even appeased by an historical comparison of cultures and religions.