INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"HIERARCHY AND POWER
IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS"
June 2000, Moscow
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
AND CALL FOR PAPERS AND PANEL PROPOSALS
The Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies of the Russian
Academy of Sciences in co-operation with The Institute of Cultural
Anthropology (Russian State University of Humanities, Moscow)
is organizing in June 2000 International Conference
"HIERARCHY AND POWER
IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS".
The Conference objective is to discuss the processes of
the politogenesis in their regional and temporary variation. This
discussion, in its turn, could and should promote the advancement of
the understanding of the general trends and mechanisms of
sociocultural evolution, the interrelation and interaction of
social, cultural and political dimensions in the society, and
further development of general methodology for anthropology,
cultural studies, sociology, political science &c.
Until recently it was considered self-evident that it was the formation
of the state which marked the end of the primitive epoch and alternatives
to the state did not actually exist. All the stateless societies were considered
pre-state ones, standing on the single evolutionary staircase
squarely below the states.
Nowadays postulates about the state as the only possible form
of political and socio-cultural organization of the post-primitive society,
about a priori higher level of development of a state society in comparison
with any non-state one do not seem so undeniable as a few years ago.
It has become evident that the non-state societies are
not necessarily less complex and efficient . The problem of existence
of non-state but not primitive (i.e. principally non- and not
prestate) societies, alternatives to the state as the allegedly
inevitable post-primitive form of the sociopolitical organization
deserves attention.
The example of alternatives to the state reveals that it is possible
to achieve the same level of complexity allowing societies to solve
similar problems, on essentially differing pathways of evolution
which appeared simultaneously with human society and increased
in quantity alongside with its social-and-cultural advancement.
This fundamental alternativity of social evolution could be observed
throughout the whole length of human history from non-egalitarian
and egalitarian early primitive associations to the totalitarian and
democratic polities of the 20th century and is already
found in pre-human _egalitarian_ or _despotic_ primates_ groups .
The choice of an evolutionary direction which a society follows is
to a considerable extent a result of its all-round adaptation to
the environment, not only the natural but sociohistorical one as well.
The _type of civilizational development_ seems to be one of the key
notions, capable to help to reveal essential backgrounds of societies
and systems of them, civilizations.
The following two main sections are suggested:
1) "Civilizational Models of the Complex Sociopolitical
Organization".
Convenors: Dr. Dmitri M. Bondarenko,
Prof. Andrey Korotayev
2) "Ethological Basis of Hierarchy and Power in Human Society".
Convenor: Prof. Marina L. Butovskaya
In addition to the two main sections, we are planning to
organize a few panels ("Hierarchy and Power in Pre-
colonial Tropical Africa", "Hierarchy and Power among
the Nomads", "Socio-Cultural Evolution: Factors and
Models" &c).
Any new panel proposals are strongly invited.
Deadline for panel proposals: September 1, 1999.
Deadline for paper proposals (with abstracts [within 300 words]
enclosed): December 1, 1999.
If you would like to take part in the Conference, please, let us know
your full name, title, institutional affiliation, full mail and e-mail
addresses, and fax #.
Prof. Igor V. Sledzevski, the Conference Convenor
Director of the Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Dr. Dmitri M. Bondarenko, the Conference Vice-Convenor
Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Mr. Dmitri D. Beliaev, Conference Secretary
Center for Civilizational and Regional Studies
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
30/1 Spiridonovka St.
Moscow 103001
RUSSIA
FAX: + 7 (095) 202 0786
EMAIL: dbondar@inafr.msk.su
Prof. Andrey Korotayev, the Conference Vice-Convenor
Prof. Marina Butovskaya, the Conference Vice-Convenor
Institute of Cultural Anthropology
Russian State University for the Humanities
6 Miusskaya Ploshchad (Korpus 2, Etazh 2)
Moscow 125267
RUSSIA
FAX: +7 (095) 250 5109 (for Institute of Cultural
Anthropology)
EMAIL: andrei@rsuh.ru
(Dr) Andrey Vitalyevich Korotayev, Head
Laboratory of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Institute of Cultural Anthropology
Russian State University for Humanities
6 Miusskaya Ploshchad
Moscow 125267, RUSSIA
FAX: +7 (095) 250 5109 (c/o Institute
of Cultural Anthropology)
EMAIL: andrei@rsuh.ru
Seniour Research Fellow
Oriental Institute
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
12 Rozhdestvenka, Moscow 103753, Russia
FAX: +7 (095) 975 2396