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 Forgotten women in the Russian Revolution:
Dr. Philippa Hetherington was invited to participate in a panel discussion on Alexandra Kollontai for ABC Radio National (Australia). Alexandra Kollontai was a Russian revolutionary, later to become a Bolshevik and Soviet Ambassador to Norway. Listen to the discussion |
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Dr. Philippa Hetherington is the winner of British Academy Rising Star Engagement Award, 2017.
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 Dr. Udo Grashoff, who appears in the documentary Karl Marx City (2017), is applauded by a review in the NYT. The reviewer says: "Among the remarkable people I learned about through Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s documentary Karl Marx City is Dr. Udo Grashoff, a lecturer in modern German history at University College London who has developed a specialty in suicide notes... "
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Dr. Udo Grashoff will lead this year's FRINGE International Workshop on Comparative Approaches to Informal Housing across the Globe.
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 Russian and American relations: Prof. Alena Ledeneva has explored the emerging centrality of kompromat and its role in the Russia-US relationships for France 24. In relation to the Trump administration, she said: "Russia has been an emerging market in the last couple of decades with tremendous opportunities for those who dared to test the unknown". Read the full article on France 24 |
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In February 2017 in Brussels, Prof. Alena Ledeneva has launched in-formality.com, the first online database of informal practices, searchable by country, region or practice.
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 Dr. Eric Gordy, is the Principal Investigator of the Horizon 2020 research project on Closing the Gap between Formal and Informal Institutions in the Balkans, INFORM. Dr. Gordy and his team met with representatives of the EU's Director General office, near Brussels in December 2016, and will be be holding consultations with EU country representatives starting in June. Dr. Gordy, leads the INFORM consortium of nine Balkan research teams, funded by the European Commission. |
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 Publication: Dr. Michał Murawski's project, The Centre Cannot Hold has developed in a number of directions. His latest publication (March, 2017) Radical Centres:The Political Morphology of Monumentality in Warsaw and Johannesburg is published by Third Text. The article compares and contrasts two monumental architectural ensembles: Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown, Johannesburg, opened in 2005 by President Thabo Mbeki; and The Palace of Culture and Science, a Stalinist skyscraper ‘gifted’ to Warsaw by the Soviet Union in 1955. Read publication
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 Event: Dr. Philippa Hetherington has successfully coordinated the second iteration of her Borders of Biopolitics Project. The workshop took place at the Jordan Centre in New York on 7 April 2017, part of the FRINGE moves towards greater internationalisation.
Read write-up of the event on Jordan Centre website
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 Event: Prof. Alena Ledeneva was invited to showcase her work on The Global Informality Project at the OECD Global Anti-corruption & Integrity Forum, Paris. A further part of the FRINGE moves towards greater internationalisation.
Read write-up on Informality Project for OECD
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The European Institute has become a partner of The Global Informality Project, with a focus on developing entries for Spain and Portugal. Project Assistance Dr. Constanza Curro will be working on securing and editing all European entries.
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Culture Tree: Moscow’s Zaryadye Park and Architecture in the Age of Putin
Part of the lecture series: Moscow Makeover: Architecture & Power in Putin’s Russia.
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Comparative Approaches to Informal Housing across the Globe
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 The FRINGE Series published by UCL Press currently accepts edited volumes for consideration. Volumes must meet the FRINGE test. Learn more
Update on accepted manuscripts:
- Global Encyclopedia of Informality Vol. 1 & 2 (Alena Ledeneva ed.) Re-submission of manuscript following comments from UCL Press.
- The (City) Centre Cannot Hold? New Monumentality, Neo-Modernism and Other Zombie Urban Utopias (Jonathan Bach and Michal Murawski eds.) Manuscript to be submitted in April 2018
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Publications by members of team
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 SEER special issue available now
The Slavonic and East European Review published a special issue on Innovations in Corruption Studies. With FRINGErs Prof. Alena Ledeneva, Dr. Roxana Bratu and Dr Philipp Köker as guest editors. Read now
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 Russian Montparnasse: Transnational Writing in Interwar Paris.
Prof. Maria Rubins publishes a revised and expanded version of her monograph Russia Montparnasse (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) The new (2017) version, in Russian translation is forthcoming from NLO Publishing House, Moscow. |
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 The walls do not speak
The focus of a FRINGE event last term, with creators Florence Weber (Prof. of Social Anthropology, École Normale Supérieure) and Jean-Robert Dantou. (Photographic Artist). A brilliant collection of images and true stories challenging representations of mental illness in academia and in photography. Out now
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 Economies of Favour after Socialism
The focus of a FRINGE event last term, with editors, David Henig and Nicolette Makovicky invited to talk on themes surrounding the book. FRINGE Director Alena Ledeneva writes 'Ambivalence of Favour' (Ch. 2 of the work) which is out now.
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In-formality.com now live
The first online database of informal practices, searchable by practice, keyword or country. With thanks to Web Developer Matt Keehan and Project Assistant Denisia Bencze.
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FRINGE promotional video (can’t get enough)
Created by documentary filmmaker Giulio Gobbetti, the FRINGE promotional video is an excellent way to get to know about our distinctive FRINGE approach.
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Funding efforts
FRINGE academics are encouraged to apply for grants to support FRINGE projects. The funding applications and results from the autumn term are as follows:
- Octagon Small Grants Fund (Successful, Udo Grashoff, £1000)
- Global Engagement Fund International (Successful, Udo Grashoff, £3000)
- Future of Russia Foundation (Pending, Maria Rubins, £4500)
- Santander Research Catalyst Award Application (SRCA) (Pending, Alena Ledeneva, £4000)
- Global Engagement Fund International 2017/18 (in preparation, Alena Ledeneva, £4000
- European Institute (Successful, Alena Ledeneva)
With thanks to Udo, Maria, Alena, Constanza, Akosua & Peter for applications, drafts and comments.
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Student FRINGE
FRINGE supports the next generation of researchers by offering research-based learning opportunities. Upcoming student projects include:
- Interns: Each summer we host interns from UCL's Digital Humanities who support us to develop our in-formality.com database. The nomination is to be confirmed on 24 April.
- Leadership opportunities: Dr. Udo Grashof has been successful in his application to offer research-based work experience to undergraduate students as part of Laidlaw Research and Leadership Programme.
- Conference participation: MA students taking the Informal Practices in Post-Communist Societies will present their work within the Global Informality Project framework (5-11 June 2017)
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We are saddened by the departure of SSEES Director, Prof. Jan Kubik who will go back to the US this summer. Prof. Kubik has been an avid supporter of the FRINGE Centre since taking up the directorship of SSEES in January 2015. While Prof. Kubik will be missed, he will internationalise the work of the FRINGE Centre in the US.
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Our contact details have changed. You can now get us on: fringe@ucl.ac.uk
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