About AGSS

Founded by: Harold Isaacs, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of History

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

Association of Global South Studies Annual Conference

21-23 July 2024

Sofia, Bulgaria

Conference Theme: Geopolitics and Transnationalism in the Global South: History,

Post-Nationalism, and Human Rights in the Twenty-First Century.

 

The Association of Global South Studies welcomes individual papers or panels from any discipline related to the study of the Global South. Typically, 75-minute panels consist of three to four presenters. Register online at https://form.jotform.com/240105405647146. Send registration questions to the program coordinator and AGSS vice president/president elect Joseph Bangura (jbangura@desu.edu). The deadline for proposals is 10 May 2024. Applicants will be informed within one week of submission if their proposal has been accepted.

Applicants must register for the conference at the time of submitting their proposal. If a proposal is rejected or the applicant decides not to attend and notifies the treasurer Paul Rodell rodell@georgiasouthern.edu by 15 June 2024 the registration fee will be refunded.

Conference Registration All paper presenters must be registered for the conference by 10 May 2024. Individuals should register online at https://form.jotform.com/240105405647146.

All questions about or problems with the online registration site should be addressed to AGSS treasurer, Paul Rodell at rodell@georgiasouthern.edu. People not presenting papers but who wish to attend the conference must register by 15 June 2024.

The conference registration fee includes the Opening Reception on Sunday 21 July and the Awards Banquet on Tuesday 23 July. A combination ticket for guests to attend the Opening Reception and the Awards Banquet but who will not attend the paper presentation sessions can be purchased online for $100 before 15 June 2024.

2024 Conference Registration Fees

  • Option 1: Global North Resident, Standard registration: $200 [comes with a complimentary one-year membership].
  • Option 2: Global South Resident, Standard registration: $80 [comes with complimentary one-year membership].
  • Option 3: Lifetime member registration: $140 [if interested in obtaining a lifetime membership for $400, contact Paul Rodell].
  • Option 4: Student registration, all regions: $80 [comes with complimentary one-year membership].

Conference Venue: The Sofia Balkan Palace Hotel

The conference hotel is the Sofia Balkan Palace (https://www.sofiabalkanpalace.com/) an imposing ornate structure located in the center of Sofia in the Presidential Palace compound within walking distance of many of the important cultural and historical sites that have drawn visitors to this place for thousands of years. Thracian ruins, thousand-year-old churches, the presidential palace with its changing of the guard ceremony that occurs on the half-hour, the antiquities museum, the central mosque, the Sofia synagogue (after its renovation in 2015-2017, the synagogue was selected as one of the most beautiful in Eastern Europe), the Vitosha pedestrian zone, and the obligatory McDonalds are all within a 10-minute walk from the hotel.

Expanding this map you will notice the Balkan Palace Hotel directly in the center with all the notable sites in Sofia in the direct vicinity of the hotel. The hotel is quoting a conference rate of 145/155 Euros for a “Premium” single/double room. The room price includes a very lavish breakfast in palatial surroundings. Our block of rooms is limited to forty guest rooms. The deadline for booking rooms is 15 June 2024. Once our block of rooms is taken, however, the special rate may not apply. Book early.

The Sofia Metro System

The Sofia Metro is modern and extensive. Notice that the airport is at the terminus of the Yellow Line (M4). The Balkan Palace Hotel is located at the “Serdika” metro stop on the Yellow Line. The Metro train will take you from the airport to directly adjacent to the conference hotel for 1.60 Leva or about US$0.88 without needing to change trains. The government authorized provider of taxi service from the airport is OKSupertrans. The fare to center city Sofia from the airport will be about 15 Leva or about US$8.00.

Pre-Conference Excursion

We are planning a pre-conference excursion to the Rila Monastery and then on to Blagoevgrad, home of the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG). The price of the excursion excluding meals or beverages will be US$50. The Monastery is a United Nations World Culture Heritage site and about a one-hour bus ride south of Sofia. After a guided tour of the monastery, we will continue on to Blagoevgrad and AUBG another forty minutes further south for a coffee or lunch or both in the charming pedestrian zone in the center of the city.

The Rila Monastery in the foothills of the Rila mountain range. The monastery sits at an elevation of 1300 meters.

Blagoevgrad and AUBG

A portion of the AUBG campus in Spring with the Rila mountains in the distance. This photo was taken from the newly constructed Student Center. The Blagoevgrad pedestrian zone begins about 300 meters from this spot up the walkway and across James Boucher Street. Here is a photo of the pedestrian zone with an art installation in place.

For further information about the conference site, please contact site coordinator AGSS secretary Philip Szmedra szmedra001@gannon.edu for more information.

Register for the Sofia conference and submit your abstracts at https://form.jotform.com/240105405647146.

See you in Sofia, Bulgaria!