CIFU XIII First circular / Call for symposia

Dear colleagues,

the International Congress for Finno-Ugric Studies (Congressus Internationalis Fenno-Ugristarum, CIFU) is the most important international event in the world of Finno-Ugric (Uralic) studies. It is organized since 1960 every five years. Traditionally, the congress has been hosted by “Finno-Ugric countries”, alternating since 1990 between Hungary, Finland, Estonia, and Russia. However, at the 12th CIFU in Oulu, 2015, it was decided that for the first time in its history, the CIFU of 2020 would take place outside these countries, in Vienna. We at the Finno-Ugric Department of the University of Vienna are honoured by this important task and the confidence placed in us. We also see it as an important reminder about the international character of Finno-Ugric studies, transcending the borders of states, regions, national research traditions and schools.

We invite all interested colleagues to the XIII International Congress for Finno-Ugric Studies, which will take place in Vienna on August 16–21, 2020. The programme will consist of plenary papers, symposia, and general session papers. The congress will have no single particular theme: contributions from any area within Finno-Ugric/Uralic studies in the wide sense are welcome. However, we would like to point out that papers representing Hungarian, Finnish, or Estonian studies without wider international, contrastive or comparative relevance would be better placed at a conference with a more specific theme.

In this first circular, we invite you to submit proposals for symposia via e-mail to cifu13@univie.ac.at by October 31, 2017. The proposals must include a brief description of the symposium and the name and contact information of the main organizer. The proposals must be written in English. (Note that the actual talks at the congress can in principle be given in other traditional languages of Finno-Ugric studies as well. Within the symposia, it will be up to each symposium organizer to decide what languages can be used.) Each symposium organizer will be responsible for the evaluation of the abstracts submitted for their symposium. They are also free to plan and edit an independent symposium publication; no publication containing all papers of the Congress is planned.

The conference website at cifu13.univie.ac.at will be continuously updated, and new information (further circulars, call for papers, information about the conference venue, programme, registration and conference fees etc.) will be made available. You are also welcome to follow our Facebook event site (http://www.facebook.com/events/436565176702962/ ).

Welcome to Vienna in 2020!

Johanna Laakso
President of XIII Congress for Finno-Ugric Studies