Team Populism launches OPUS Young Scholars Initiative on Populism

Dear friends and colleagues,

We hope this e-mail finds you well and in good health during these challenging times.

We are delighted to announce that Team Populism has endorsed a new initiative, OPUS: Young Scholars Initiative on Populism, through which it intends to foster the professional development of and facilitate collaboration between young and emerging scholars on populism.

Inaugurated in May 2021, OPUS works as a division (or, “Team”) within Team Populism and provides PHDs and early-career researchers across institutions, regions and academic disciplines with the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills on various aspects of populism as well as the space for academic exchange, dissemination of research, and networking.

The main goal of OPUS is to establish and promote connections primarily among young scholars but also between young scholars and senior researchers, especially Team Populism members from all over the globe by organizing academic seminars, training activities, graduate conferences, and informal gatherings. Going further, OPUS aspires to support graduate students worldwide who strive at cross-national, comparative research on populism with limited resources or less than ideal supervision or peer-to-peer mentoring in their effort to create a network, work out long-term collaboration, present their work and receive prompt feedback through these organisations.

The Initiative is a platform for young scholars, by young scholars. While the senior Team Populism leadership serves as an advisory board, all decisions regarding OPUS are taken by the Steering Committee, which is composed of independent young scholars from diverse backgrounds. At the moment, the Committee has five (founding) members: Didem Seyis (Binghamton University), Ebru Ece Özbey (MPIfG & University of Cologne), Eduardo Ryô Tamaki (UFMG & Oswaldo Cruz Foundation), Semir Dzebo (Central European University), and Victor Alembik (University of Milan).

Membership

Participation within the OPUS Initiative is open to all young populism scholars, regardless of their age. Whether they are currently working towards a PhD, aiming to become a PhD student, or have recently obtained their PhD, everyone who is new to the subject of populism and/or has relatively limited research and publication experience is welcome to join the Initiative, given that they are committed to good scientific practice, peer-mentoring and positive and constructive exchange.

To become a member, please fill in the registration form, and you will be contacted shortly.

We kindly ask you to circulate the news among your contacts. Have a look at our Twitter page and Facebook Group and feel free to show your support!

If you have further questions, contact us at initiativeopus@gmail.com or visit https://populism.byu.edu/Pages/Team/12

Thank you for spreading the word!