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[musclememory]

I am a Ph.D. in a humanities field, and the number of conferences per year is ridiculously small in my discipline.  The central organization of my field has one big shindig per annum, and each region gets one little yearly shindig.  Pretty much everything beyond that in the US is limited to little colloquia at schools, hosted by and for their own students.

But then I look over at the CFPs for Europe and I see an endless list of sexy, interesting conferences.  Instead of "Rembrandt and the Church: a one-day conference limited to the most boring graduate papers ever written," I read about "Art and Evil," "Psycholinguistics, Sci-Fi, and the Gothic," and "Druidism After Einstein, hosted by the Continental Organization of Complete Awesomeness."

What gives?  I can't afford to travel to these conferences (my department is broke), even if I get a paer into them, and so many of them are not for faculty that it makes me wonder, why the hell can't US faculty put on some freaking interesting conferences?  Epistemologically, I love my field of study, but by reading its journals and looking at the other scholars in it, you'd think we're all gutless boors.

[qrypt]

Sounds like an opportunity waiting for someone with initiative. 

[euro_trash]

But then I look over at the CFPs for Europe and I see an endless list of sexy, interesting conferences. 
What gives? 

Europe is just plain cool that is why.

[bread_pirate_naan]

I read about "Art and Evil," "Psycholinguistics, Sci-Fi, and the Gothic," and "Druidism After Einstein, hosted by the Continental Organization of Complete Awesomeness."

I was in a stateside seminar on one of the above topics.

Answer:  Because almost no one will supervise theses and dissertations on these subjects (certain rock stars and muckey mucks notwithstanding) and few top departments will admit students who show more potential for complete awesomeness than sucking it up and playing the game.

Grads who want to go to these conferences should keep an eye on those interdisciplinary nodes where the humanities intersect with the sciences.  Then they can get funded to take awesome trips to Europe to present such conferences.   

[mischt]

The structures in German universities for example are far more conducive to interdisciplinary research. That is why we host kick-ass conferences.
Berlin is so full of awesome conferences that you are constantly feeling that you have to choose between great speakers on great topics on the same day.

[euro_trash]

The structures in German universities for example are far more conducive to interdisciplinary research.

OK now seriously - you have been smoking too much crack.  German universities are about as interdisciplinary as my @ss.  US universities are -way- more interdisciplinary but that is another thread.

However, Europe is indubitably cool I agree

[doctor_torrseal]

What gives?  I can't afford to travel to these conferences (my department is broke), even if I get a paer into them, and so many of them are not for faculty that it makes me wonder, why the hell can't US faculty put on some freaking interesting conferences?  Epistemologically, I love my field of study, but by reading its journals and looking at the other scholars in it, you'd think we're all gutless boors.

I don't know the details of your field, but the likely answer, as it is to most questions, is money.  The Euro conferences may be sponsored by institutes that have a budget for it, or they are getting money out of government programs that exist to help sponsor conferences.  Additionally, European institutions tend to have larger support staffs than in the US, which soaks up budget but means there are people around to whom the profs fob off the organizational details.

Why don't US faculty put on interesting conferences?  Because it requires an amount of organizational gruntwork that is surprising if you've never done it, and there is not much infrastructure to support you.

[hollow_man]

I don't know the answer to your question.

I do want to say that nothing is more boring or pointless to me than half-***ed interdisciplinary work in the humanities that doesn't show mastery of ANY one field.  And in my field, that's what a lot of it amounts to.

[ideagirl]

OK now seriously - you have been smoking too much crack.  German universities are about as interdisciplinary as my @ss.  US universities are -way- more interdisciplinary but that is another thread.

Wow, I had no idea your ass was so interdisciplinary. That concept puts very strange images in my head, but whatever.

[dolljepopp]

OK now seriously - you have been smoking too much crack.  German universities are about as interdisciplinary as my @ss.  US universities are -way- more interdisciplinary but that is another thread.

Wow, I had no idea your ass was so interdisciplinary. That concept puts very strange images in my head, but whatever.

There are websites specifically focused on interdisciplinary asses.



Or so I've heard...

[dolljepopp]

Back to the thread, though... I am rubbish at finding things like where the cool conferences are and my department only forwards info on ones in the States, where I don't currently live. Is there a recommended source for cool conferences in Europe?

[michiexile]

Back to the thread, though... I am rubbish at finding things like where the cool conferences are and my department only forwards info on ones in the States, where I don't currently live. Is there a recommended source for cool conferences in Europe?

For my field, one really good source for conference announcements is
http://www.emis.de/conf/by-date.html

YMMV.

[mischt]

sorry, I was away from my computer for a few days.
German universities are TOTALLY interdisciplinary. I work in an interdisciplinary research centre and have a position that is 100% devoted to research. I work together with 20 other projects from 10 other fields in the humanities. There are other projects at the 3 Berlin universities that mix natural science and humanities in a single research centre (for example the new centre considering the distinction between "mind and brain" in the two branches of research).
In my experience, you can have "cross-appointments" at US universities, but you still end up TEACHING courses in one or the other. Hands up: who has a 100% research position in the humanities in a 100% interdisciplinary research centre...

[euro_trash]

Are you suggesting that, as a rule, German universities are more interdisciplinary than American universities?  Really?  I would really be interested to know where you are working.  I have experience working at 3 German universities all over the country, and I have found that American Liberal Arts Colleges are much more interdisciplinary per se.  Sure German universities claim to be into cross disciplinary work, but students still generally focus on only their discipline. 

Are you at some kind of fine arts school?  It doesn't sound like you are at one of the large state run schools...

And the size of your research appointment has nothing to do with the relative interdisciplinarity of your university.  I personally wopuld find it weird not taching at all.  Teaching, for me, is part of interdisciplinary work.

[dysnomia]

In my experience, you can have "cross-appointments" at US universities, but you still end up TEACHING courses in one or the other. Hands up: who has a 100% research position in the humanities in a 100% interdisciplinary research centre...

This is slightly off-topic (re: interdisipinary research) but in my field, there are also 100% research positions for faculty. However, they are usually grant-funded, that is, on "soft money," and are generally considered less desirable than a teaching position (where research is ~50% of your time, and in which you can buy out courses when you have grants.) 

Having said that, there are some very good things about the German system as well, so I'm not knocking it.