CROSSING BORDERS: REVITALIZING AREA STUDIES International Institute l University of Michigan

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

PRAGMATICS AND SOCIAL CONFLICT IN THE ANDEAN REGION
A WORKSHOP ORGANIZED BY THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE
CUSCO, PERU, JULY 1-14, 2001

Convenor: Bruce Mannheim, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan

The Andean Republics are complex linguistically, diverse in the languages, and diverse in the varieties of Spanish spoken in the region. Indeed, language is one of the principle vectors of social differentiation, discrimination, and conflict, shaping both national public cultures—in arenas ranging from classrooms to ethnic "comedy"—and political discourses—in the new movements of Native Andeans as much as in older framings of nationality. But political attention to language has been focused primarily on a narrow set of social domains, mainly education and law. In contrast, the grind of social conflict that is the staple of everyday life in arenas ranging from the mass media, to the market, to the plaza, to the home has largely slipped under the attention of policy-maker and scholars, perhaps because it is too routine to be noticed.

The workshop on Pragmatics and Social Conflict in the Andean Region is designed to examine the role of real-time social interaction in the reproduction of social inequality and conflict in the Andean republics (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and the northwestern part of Argentina), comparing cases from a variety of social settings, including research on the major languages of the region (Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní, Mapudungun), and across major ethnic and class divides. The workshop will bring together graduate students and faculty from the University of Michigan and U.S. institutions with their counterparts and active researchers from the Andean republics to work together in identifying common empirical issues, methodological problems, and analytic approaches through controlled comparison, laying the groundwork for a new area of study in the region and for a comparative research agenda.

ELIGIBILITY AND NUMBER OF WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

Graduate Participants (5-7): Any University of Michigan graduate and graduate-level professional school student in good academic standing.
Faculty Participants (1-3): Any tenured, tenure-track, or primary research faculty member at the University of Michigan.
The workshop will also include participants from the University of Chicago, University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin, as well as Latin American institutions with which the University of Michigan has working relationships.

EXPECTATIONS OF WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

The workshop will meet from July 2-13 for approximately three hours each weekday. All participants will be expected to attend each workshop meeting and co-lead at least one session. Participants should plan to convene in Cusco on July 1 and depart on July 14. The workshop will take place at the Centro de Estudios Rurales Andinos "Bartolomé de las Casas," an education- and research-oriented NGO that specializes in social research in the Andean region. The Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at the University of Michigan has an active research and training partnership with the Centro Bartolomé de las Casas, which has a conference center in urban Cusco.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applicants should submit a packet of materials including:

1. An International Institute Student or Faculty Funding Request Cover Sheet.

2. A two to three page letter addressed to Bruce Mannheim, Workshop Convenor, that includes a description of your scholarly activities, your past work or specific interests related to international expertise, and anticipated contributions and benefits of your participation in this workshop.

3. An abbreviated curriculum vitae (two to three pages).

4. For graduate students only: A letter of recommendation (one or two pages) from a faculty mentor or the graduate chair of your program (one copy of the original document only in a sealed envelope).

APPLICATION DEADLINE

The application deadline is April 16, 2001. Please submit three copies of your application to the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, University of Michigan, International Institute, Room 2660, 1080 S. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106.

SELECTION PROCESS AND AWARDS

A committee of university faculty will review applications and select participants by April 30, 2001. Expenses for round-trip travel (between Ann Arbor and Cusco or at an equivalent or lesser rate for other points of departure and return) and on-site room and board will be covered for University of Michigan graduate students and faculty accepted for participation in the workshop.

WORKSHOP SPONSORSHIP

This workshop is supported by a "Crossing Borders: Revitalizing Area Studies" grant awarded by the Ford Foundation to the International Institute.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For more information, please contact:
Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program
University of Michigan
1080 S. University, Suite 2607
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Telephone 734.763.0553
Fax 734.615.8880
<lacs@umich.edu>

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