Call for Proposals: ISERP Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Seminar (IIGSS) $500 honorarium per presentation

Our yearlong ISERP-sponsored seminar continues to seek to foster a conversation across the social science communities at Columbia to discuss the diverse ways in which interdisciplinarity can be mobilized. The ultimate goal of the seminar series is to explore how interdisciplinary approaches can contribute to and enrich traditional disciplines and what such interdisciplinarity demands from them.


This semester’s IIGSS invites proposals on the theme of ‘crisis,’ broadly defined, from social sciences and humanities fields. Projects which address current crises of migration and border regulation, continuing economic turbulence, democracy and political upheaval, opioid addiction, incarceration and police violence, environmental change and its effects, or historical crises in similar arenas would all make welcome proposals. Projects could also explore disciplinary crises of methodology that exist within the Academy, addressing paradigm shifts and the evolving challenges of research and replication.


This Call for Proposals is open to graduate students in the social sciences and related disciplines at Columbia University. Collaborators from other institutions are also welcome so long as a Columbia student is involved in the project and seminar presentation. We seek contributions from scholars who are actively trying to incorporate interdisciplinary approaches and methods in their work. In addition to providing the opportunity to present works-in- progress, the seminar will foster discussion across disciplines and fields, creating opportunities for collaborative research. The Seminar Series will meet three times in Fall 2018; the seminars will take place in the Week of September 24, the Week of October 22, and the Week of November 19 in the Lindsay Rogers Room on the seventh floor in the International Affairs Building (Room 707; exact dates & times TBD). The first half-hour of the seminar will entail the presenter detailing their project and research methodology, in order to open up the conversation among participants for the remainder of the session. Food and drinks will be served at a small reception following each seminar.


The Fall 2018 submission guidelines are as follows:
1. In order to qualify, papers should address the semester’s theme of ‘crisis’ and attempt to further the efforts of ISERP and the IIGSS to develop collaborative and interdisciplinary research and methods. Collaborative projects by students in different disciplines are especially encouraged.

2. To apply, please email applications to the IIGSS Committee at iserp- [email protected] by August 20, 2018. Final decisions for papers to be presented at the annual workshop will be announced by September 1st, 2018.

3. Applications should include:

a. A Research Proposal. Research proposals (at least 250 words, maximum of 1000) should focus primarily on how the project addresses the semester’s theme and describe how the speaker and project will benefit from participation in the IIGSS. Research proposals will be judged by the IIGSS committee composed of doctoral students from 5 social science departments, so you should ensure that your research proposal can be understood by those outside of your own field. b. Curriculum Vitae or Resume.
If selected, presenters are expected to send papers to the IIGSS committee one week before the workshop. The committee will circulate papers to other participants. A $500 honorarium will be provided for selected presentations.


The ISERP Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Seminar (IIGSS) seeks to promote inquiry that crosses geographic, temporal, or disciplinary boundaries, by creating new opportunities for dialogue among graduate students in the social sciences, and by exploring new methodological and research approaches. The IIGSS is organized by a committee of doctoral students. The Committee consists of: Mireia Triguero Roura (Sociology), Nathaniel Mark (Economics), Dylan Groves (Political Science), Julia Maria Rubio (Political Science), Anna Simone Reumert (Anthropology), and Caroline Marris (History).