Call for papers

Graduate Conference: “Complexities of ‘Europe’: Between knowledge, power, citizenship and identity”
Date: Late November 2009
Place: Centre for research in the Social Sciences and the humanities (CRASSH), University of Cambridge, UK.
Organized by: CRASSH Post-graduate research group “European Identities and encounters” (http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/page/188/european-identities.htm)
Deadline for abstracts: 1 September 2009
Notification of speakers: 20 September 2009

The theoretical approaches to “Europe” often suggest a teleological narrative, which portrays the establishment of the European Union as the consummation of every cultural and political project of “Europeanness”. This conference aims at bringing together different viewpoints of “Europe” lying beyond the political narratives of accession and integration. Priority will be given to papers that address the complexities of the way in which “Europe” as a concept, a label, a place, an institution or a union is turned into a locus of contestation. We are particularly interested in comparative studies as well as in exploring transfers of knowledge and power across the region(s) described as “Europe”. We are also eager to examine how “Europe” interacts, constructs and is constructed by its “Others” or its “margins– whether in immigration, integration or development policies.

The areas of particular interest are:

Theme 1: Knowledge and power

- Periodizing “Europe”
Exploring the debates over the origins of “Europe” and the political use of history, archeology and historical education.

- “Europe” and the Academy
Projects, Framework programmes, funding and the creation of a “European” sphere of research.

- “Europe” outside Europe
“Europe” as an exporter of normative discourses on human rights, gender and peace though the funding of NGOs, establishment of offices, neighboring policies, organization of projects, exporting of know-how, etc outside the EU borders or in EU’s so called “periphery”.

Theme 2: Citizenship and identity

- “Europe” and borders
Migration, integration, asylum policies, citizenship, frontiers: What can make up for a “European experience”?

- A “European” Public Sphere?
Thinking the possibilities post-national, grass-roots, transnational politics.

- “Europe” and material cultures
Technologies and artifacts, which partake in the construction of a “European” imagination. Is there a distinctively “European” popular culture? Memories of the World War and of colonialism in relation to European identities.

The purpose of the conference is to promote an interdisciplinary dialogue. Thus, we aim at attracting scholars from the entire range of social sciences and humanities, including political science, history, social/cultural anthropology, archaeology, media studies, history of art, linguistics, discourse theory, literature, sociology and geography. The organizing committee welcomes applications from graduate students but will gladly consider abstracts from post-doctoral researchers and early stage academics too.

Abstracts not exceeding 400 words should be submitted by 1 September 2009, to the following email eu_id_encounters_conf@yahoogroups.co.uk

For any enquiry you can contact one of the organizers: Eirini Avramopoulou (avrarini@yahoo.gr), Katherine Cooper (kmc34@cam.ac.uk), Leonidas Karakatsanis (lkarak@essex.ac.uk), Nikolaos Papadogiannis (np308@cam.ac.uk), Thomas Stammers (tes27@cam.ac.uk) and Amr Abdelrahman (amremran@gmail.com)

Additional Information:

Registration
Registration fee: 15 pounds (including paper givers)

Catering offered:
Morning, afternoon and late afternoon coffee and tea with nibbles
Two buffet lunches (1st and 2nd day) with baguettes, cheese, fruits, and sweets.
One dinner (1st day) offered to paper givers, discussants and invited speakers only (others can register and join by paying for a set-course dinner).

Accommodation:
Accommodation is not provided to paper givers, but subsidized college accommodation might be available. Paper givers that will send their abstracts early, since these are accepted, they will gain priority for this offer. In any case however, the organizers will help paper givers to locate affordable accommodation.

Travel expenses:
There can be no coverage/subsidization of travel expenses. Paper givers are advised to seek funding or cover their own travel expenses.

Bursaries:
We have limited funds available to partially reimburse the travel and accommodation costs of no more than three PhD students, who will be selected to present a paper, but their attendance is put in jeopardy due to economic difficulties they face. Applicants are strongly advised not to rely on these bursaries and to seek alternative sources of funding, instead.