Throughout the entire week, several working groups will go public in order for participants to get a glimpse of what a vibrant community the SPS is.
Friday, 2 December, will be the highlight of the Open Days with two major sessions: "Meet the SPS faculty: A Q&A session" and "Meet the SPS researchers: A Q&A session."
We kindly invite all those who are interested in attending, to register to the event. Please find below the Programme of the Open Days.
For more information, please contact [email protected].
SPS OPEN DAY(S) - Autumn 2022
Monday 28 November
Qualifie - Qualitative and Fieldwork Working Group
"Conceptualizing the field: The Implications and Practicalities of Multi-Sited Research Designs"
H: 14:00 – 15:30 (CET time)
Presentation by Lothar Smith (Radboud University)
The Qualifie WG is a knowledge exchange and community hub for researchers, fellows and faculty members with an interest in fieldwork, ethnography, interviewing and qualitative methodology more broadly.
In an increasingly interconnected world, the understanding of "the field" as a bounded entity is being challenged by a variety of literatures. This change, which has both theoretical and methodological implications, has inspired the development of multi-sited research. Multi-sited research is the practice of undertaking fieldwork in and between multiple physical locations as part of a single study. Unlike comparative case studies, it usually has a specifically transnational focus. In this session, Lothar Smith will draw on his own experience to lead an interactive session on the implications and practicalities of multi-sited research.
EU Studies Working Group & Political Economy Working Group
"War and integration. The Russian attack on the Ukraine and the institutional development of the EU"
H: 17:00 – 18.30 (CET time)
Presentation by Philipp Genschel (European University Institute), Lauren Leek (European University Institute), Jordy Weyns (European University Institute)
The PEWG covers a wide range of topics, such as welfare states, economic integration, regime varieties and institutional change, crises, and trade relations, through using both comparative and international political economy perspectives. The EUSWG is interdisciplinary and open to all those whose research relates to the European Union and European Integration.
Tuesday 29 November
Political Behaviour Colloquium
"We Could Have Been Worse: Competitive Innocence and Defensive Memory Among Perpetrator Groups"
H: 17:15 – 18:30 (CET time)
Presentation by Joe Kendall (European University Institute)
SPS' longest-living working group, the Political Behaviour Colloquium offers researchers and fellows interested in political behaviour a platform to discuss their work. Its interests range from the foundations of attitudes towards leaders, governments, or democracy; to the process of voting decisions and the consequences of political participation.
Wednesday 30 November
Professor Dinas' Lab Group
"War and State Capacity: Is Fiscal Centralisation the Only Answer?"
H: 12:00 – 13:30 (CET time)
Presentation by Ipek Çineli (European University Institute)
The group consists of both past and current PhD students, Max Weber Fellows (postdoctoral researchers) and visiting researchers and fellows who are under the supervision or mentoring of Professor Elias Dinas. This is a very informal weekly encounter, where "good ideas come to die" and if they do not, they depart from there to convert into research projects with great potential.
Ipek will present a paper that looks at the Ottoman empire to show how war pressure can actually lead to fiscal decentralization rather than centralisation.
Thursday 1 December
CLIC / Inequality Working Group
"Education and social mobility in India"
H: 13:30 – 15.00 (CET time)
Presentation by Divya Vaid (Jawaharlar Nehru University)
The mission of the working group is to facilitate the exchange of research among EUI researchers and professors on various aspects of social inequality. The group operates within the set of activities of the Comparative Life Course and Inequality Research Centre (CLIC), which studies changes of life courses and their consequences on social inequality in modern societies.
Professor Golden's Colloquium on Political Economy
Open discussion by Professor Golden’s supervisees
H: 16:00 – 18:30 (CET time)
The colloquium provides doctoral researchers and postdoctoral fellows working under the supervision of Prof. Golden with regular opportunities to present ongoing work and receive feedback, as well as providing skills, training and exposure to work techniques in modern social science.
The session will offer a discussion on a survey on Russian migrants, written by Emil Kamalov (European University Institute) and Ivetta Sergeeva (European University Institute), and a discussion on a memo outlining a possible survey of Italian bureaucrats, written by Ramon Shirali (European University Institute).
Friday 2 December
Meet the SPS faculty: A Q&A session
H: 10:30 – 11.30 (CET time)
This session is hosted and organised by the SPS Faculty
It will start with an introduction by the Head of Department, Professor Elias Dinas. The Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Arnout van de Rijt, will be present to address possible questions about the programme.
Meet the SPS researchers: A Q&A session
H: 12:00 – 13:00 (CET time)
This session is hosted and organised by the SPS Researcher Representatives
The Researcher Representatives will introduce themselves and give a brief overview of their experiences at the EUI and in Florence. The rest of the session will be an open floor for participants to ask any questions they have about the PhD programme, working at the EUI and living in Florence.
Professor Van de Rijt’s Colloquium on Analytical Sociology
H: 14:00 – 16:00 (CET time)
Presentations by David Lazer (Northeastern University / European University Institute) and Pedro Martín (European University Institute)
The Colloquium on Analytical Sociology provides doctoral researchers and postdoctoral fellows with an opportunity to present ongoing work and receive feedback, work on collaborative research projects, and provide an invaluable opportunity for beginning researchers to learn the tricks of the trade of social science research from more experienced researchers, postdoctoral fellows and the supervisor in a safe environment. This open session of the colloquium will begin with an introduction by Director of Graduate Studies at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, Professor Arnout van de Rijt, which will then be followed by the two Researcher’s presentations.