Euro-Crisis, Greek-Crisis, Refugee-Crisis, Brexit-Crisis – the European Union is currently going through arguably the deepest series of crises since its inception. Ever since the economic debt problems began in 2008, questions about the future of Europe and its sustainability abound. Equally present are references to its past and the EU’s capacity for transformation. While questioning the Union’s future, politicians, citizens and the media have increasingly started to use selective narratives of particular historical episodes to promote contrasting reactions to present crises. These reactions range from increased social engagement to political disillusionment and reactionary exclusivism. As a result, long-standing political and social relations between member states have deteriorated, calling into question decades of EU integration efforts.
What kind of discursive frames do various social and political actors use in order to make sense of the different predicaments currently afflicting the EU? What are the effects of context-specific memory practices by politicians, media, civil society organizations, artists, cultural producers, and ‘ordinary citizens’ in framing forms of resilience, protest, or innovation? How important is the role played by the evoked images of the past in the changing nature and quality of inter-state relations? How do the memory politics that surround the crises inform or challenge European identity? How can we conceptualize these developments that are driven both from below and from above, often in conflictual and contradictory ways?

For the next Conference of Europeanists taking place in Glasgow from July 12-14, 2017 we are looking for research projects from all disciplines, which examine these questions from different angles, and use different methodological and theoretical approaches. We welcome in particular whole panel proposals (4-5 presenters, one chair and one discussant).

Please submit your panels and papers through the CES website, affiliating it with the Research Network on Transnational Memory and Identity. The submission portal opens on August 15th and closes on October 4th: http://councilforeuropeanstudies.org/component/content/article/11-meetings-and-conferences/289-24th-conference-general-information

We are looking forward to your submissions!
Dr. Aline Sierp, Maastricht University
Dr. Jenny Wüstenberg, York University Toronto