At the joint conference of the PhD-level fellows from the Global Supplementary Grants Program – North America (GSGP) and the Doctoral Fellowship Programs (DFP), the program of events attempted to incorporate as many disciplines as possible from the wide-ranging specialties of the grantees.
The innovative research in Central Asia conducted by Karim Aly Kassam, Professor of Environmental and Indigenous Studies at the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University, formed the opening lecture. Professor Kassam’s research focuses on the belief that ‘human ecological perspective’ should be at the forefront of any examination of human interaction with the local environment, a tenet which guided his research into the usage of medicinal plants and drug use in communities along the border regions.
Innovative roundtable sessions on the processes and completion of the PhD were held in conjunction with academic guests. "Perspectives of the Role and Significance of Doctoral Study for the NSP Region" was discussed by Professor Karim-Aly Kassam, as well as Professor Joanna Regulska, Dean of International Programs, Women’s and Gender Studies, Rutgers University and Professor Gautam Yadama, Director of International Programs, Brown School of Social Work, Washington University.
For those in the all years of the PhD process, issues surrounding the completion and the successful development of a professional academic resume are never far away. A roundtable entitled "Successfully Completing the PhD & Developing as a Professional Scholar" was presented and discussed by Professor Michael Pittman, Department of Arts and Sciences, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Professor Eric Klinenberg, Department of Sociology, New York University.
Guest Presentations and Panel Discussions
- What are the Applied Research Issues in the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia? Karim-Aly Kassam, Environmental and Indigenous Studies, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University
- Revenue Watch Institute, Suneeta Kaimal, Deputy Directors, Revenue Watch Institute
- Soros Economic Development Fund: Overview by Neal DeLaurentis and Fawzia Naqvi, Vice Presidents, SEDF
OSI Grantee Panel Discussions and Presentations
- Political Protest After Fraudulent Elections, Alla Manukyan (GSGP, Georgia State University)
- Authoritarian Liberalisms in Central Asia: Governmentality Perspective, Assel Rustemova (GSGP, Rutgers University)
- Exploring Small and Medium Enterprises in Post Soviet Kyrgyzstan Aisalkyn Botoeva (GSGP, Brown University)
- Macedonian Journalists and their Perception of Professionalism; Katerina Spasovska (GSGP, University of Tennessee moderated by Darian Pavli, Open Society Institute Justice Initiative
- The Boundaries of National Identity Defined; Recent Immigration Trends and Nationalist Violence in the Post – Soviet Russian Federation, Ekaterina Romanova (GSGP, George Mason University) moderated by Olga Tarasov, Program Manager, Russia Program, OSI
- Breast Cancer Challenges in Post Soviet States, Maria Creciun (DFP, Brandeis University) moderated by Dr. Kathleen Foley, MD, Medical Director, Palliative Care Initiative, Public Health Program, OSI
Societal Structures and Their Impacts on Post-Soviet Space
- An Analysis of Tajikistan’s Politico-Economic Development Utilizing the Feminist Approach to International Political Economy, Gulbahor Saraeva (DFP, Rutgers University)
- Education in Ukrainian Orphanages: Perpetuation of Inequalities Alla Korzh (GSGP, Columbia University)
- Decentralization and Corruption: New Cross-country Evidence Maksym Ivanyna (GSGP, Michigan State University)
- Local Hierarchies and Enduring Rivalries in Post-communist Space Rena Salayeva (GSGP, Claremont College)
Cultural Life through a Literary and Sociological Lens
- Sociology and Moral Relativism: Cui Bono? Vitalie Sprinceana (DFP, George Mason University)
- Balkanism in Emir Kusturica’s Underground and Life is a Miracle Mario Slugan (GSGP, University of Chicago)
- Russian Colonial Writing in Central Asia Dzhambul Akkaziev (GSGP, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- Radical and Other Faces of the City at the Age of Global Defacement Nikolina Nedeljkov (GSGP, City University of New York)