Max-Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Religious Diversity in Göttingen

Summer School 2014

Sponsor: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity Goettingen, Germany

Organizer:  The Center for the Study of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity （民族文化多样性研究中心） in China at Minzu University in Beijing

Location: Minzu University in Beijing

Dates: July 07-11, 2014

Language: English

Invited speakers:

• Peter van der Veer
• Joseph Bosco
• Da Wu
• Yongjia Liang
• Dan Smyer Yu

Deadline for applications: April 01. 2014.

Themes/Intent

Social theories of inequality and diversity in relation to questions of religion and ethnicity. These theories are discussed in general, but also in relation to the ethnography of Asia and China in particular. The theoretical framework that is offered in the summer school has been developed at the Max Planck Institute and is applied in fieldwork sites all over the world.

The purpose of the MPI summer school at Minzu University is to educate students, but also to select the best students for Ph.D. and Postdoctoral scholarships. Ph.D. and Postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded depending on the quality of the applicants at the end of the summer school. Successful candidates will receive a four year fellowship for PhD or a 2 year fellowship for Postdocs. The dissertation of the Ph.D. fellowships will be defended at Utrecht University.

The research will be done in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in China at Minzu University in Beijing. The projects have to be on the following topics:

1. Study of the relations between Yi and Miao in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Vietnam

2. Study of the effects on ethnic minorities of the opening up of S.W. China to S.E. Asia

3. Social networks beyond ethnicity in China: Case study of the classmates and alumni of Minzu

Requirements

PhD/Master students in Social /Cultural Anthropology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Political Science or other related disciplines of the Social Sciences or Humanities. Fluency in English and Mandarin Chinese is expected. 

Applications should include a cover letter, a Curriculum Vitae, a proposed research statement of 1000 words for the period of the fellowship, a list of publications if any, and the names and contact details of two potential referees.

Applications are due 1^st April and selection will be made before 1^st May. The Summer Institute will provide free tuition, but lodging and transportation has to be taken care of by the students. Selected students are supposed to complete pre-assigned readings before the Summer School begins.

Structure of the Summer Institute

Five days; lectures in the morning, discussions of the project proposals that have been submitted in the afternoon.