Call for Applications
The Indian Ocean World and Eurasian Connections

Summer School, July 24-29, 2017, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany

The Center for Interdisciplinary Area Studies (ZIRS) at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, and the Center for Global Asia at New York University Shanghai, China, collaboratively offer a series of three interconnected Summer Schools on the topic of “The Indian Ocean World and Eurasian Connections”. The series is funded through a grant from the Volkswagen Foundation.
After a successful first Summer School in July 2016, applications are now invited for the second Summer School in 2017, which will take place in Halle, July 24-29. It will focus on the sub-theme of “Connectivity in Motion: People, Ideas, and Animals across the Indian Ocean.”
The movement of people, the transmissions of religious ideas and technological know-how, and the spread of plants and animals will be the foci of the second Summer School. Through the examination of travel diaries and memoirs, the study of artistic representations, and following the circulations of plants and animals as well as people and ideas, the lectures will point to the multifaceted ways the regions of the Indian Ocean World were interconnected and how these maritime connections played an important role in the lives of people not only living in coastal regions but also settled in the hinterland areas. The travels and contributions of Lutheran missionaries from Halle as well as Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka, the travels of Hajj pilgrims from Southeast Asia to Mecca, the migrations of the Chinese and Indians laborers to Southeast Asia and Africa, the gifts and poaching of Asian and African animals, the historical role played by pirates in Indian Ocean connectivity in motion, as well as the establishment of tea estates and botanical gardens will be some of the key topics.
The Summer School invites qualified participants to meet with leading scholars from various parts of the world, who will direct our shared exploration of the commercial, diplomatic, religious, political, technological, and migratory exchanges across the Indian Ocean world.
Participants will learn about and discuss the dynamics of the Indian Ocean world through rigorous analysis of texts, archaeological evidence, secondary sources, and ethnographic data. The overall aim of the Summer School is to stimulate an understanding of the importance of Indian Ocean “connectivities” and Eurasian exchanges in global history.

Eligible Participants
The Summer School will invite a total of 25 participants (from Germany and from the NYU Global Network universities).
Applicants from German universities should meet one of these requirements:
- Graduate students from Germany or with an affiliation to a German institution, who are currently doing a PhD in social anthropology, history, human geography, political and economic sciences, archaeology, or related fields;
- Postdoctoral researchers from Germany or with an affiliation to a German institution in the mentioned relevant fields
The Summer School will be held in English. Travel, accommodation, and meals for the participants will be covered.
Participant Responsibility
Summer School participants are asked to read selected materials to be distributed in advance of the Summer School. They will also be asked to prepare an essay about their ongoing research after the completion of the Summer School. The best contributions that emerge out of the ongoing collaboration will be considered for publication in an international peer reviewed journal or an edited volume.
Application
Please send your application, consisting of a CV, a letter of intent (one page maximum) explaining why you would like to participate in the Summer School and what knowledge you have on the subject, and a short writing sample based on your current research interests. Please submit the application as one pdf-file to katja.mueller@zirs.uni-halle.de. Deadline for all applications is January 31, 2017. Successful participants will be informed by March 15, 2017.
Contact
For any further questions please contact Dr. Katja Müller (katja.mueller@zirs.uni-halle.de).

The NYU Global Network posts a similar call separately.