Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 12:10 PM
Subject: Fly: Conference on European Identity and nationalism, Rutgers
University
European Identity and Nationalism
Call for Papers
Multi-disciplinary Graduate Student Conference
May 2001, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Sponsored by The Center for Russian, Central and East European Studies;
Comparative Literature
Department; and Political Science Department of Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey.
The recent collapse of communism has challenged the imaginary geography
of "Europe" to include
past and recent "others" (e.g., "the Balkans", the "Slavs", "the
post-Soviets"), to confront the
bankruptcy of state socialism, and to make sense of the idiosyncratic
cohabitation of post-modern
and pre-modern world-views. At the same time, Europe is faced with new
war fronts of
nationalizing processes at its midst.
Consequently, the configuration of the new "European political identity"
seems to be slipping
away from the control of the European Union, as more voices -- both
within and outside the
Union -- pronounce that Europe does not equate with the EU. Exploring
European identity leads
us into a more fluid and contested terrain that is at times bigger
(narratives of expanding
cosmopolitanism) and at times smaller (narratives of separatism
manifested as aggressive
nationalisms). This troublesome but also promising process of
(re-)inventing Europe provides
the opportunity to deepen our understanding of nationalism and its place
in Europe, and to
identify the dominant modes of recasting European identity vis-a-vis
more particular identities
(nationalism, regionalism, minorities). Meanwhile, we are challenged to
re-conceptualize the
representation of the European political identity and its
actor/story-teller.
We invite graduate students to participate in this fully
interdisciplinary conference, with organizers
from five disciplines--history, anthropology, political science,
literature, cultural studies -- putting
together the panels. The issues that will be addressed will include but
not be limited to:
-Interplay of national and European identities at the threshold of the
new millennium;
-Europe through the eyes of its minorities/immigrants;
-Politics of European representations;
-Imaging the European space from within and from without;
-Europe and imperialism;
-The political economy of nationalism;
-Nationalism and the imperial legacies in Europe;
-Nationalism and theories of modernity/post-modernity;
-Nationalism and race/gender/class/religion;
-National literatures/arts;
-Nationalism and violence/conflict;
-Nationalism and history/genealogy/mythology/memory;
We are also open to other topics as long as they address any aspect of
the relationship between
specific national identities and broadly defined "Europeanness".
Interdisciplinary and
methodologically innovative approaches are strongly encouraged. The
conference will comprise
panel discussions and round tables. At the panel discussions,
participants will present their own
work and engage in debate. At the round table meetings, participants
will explore a single piece of
writing announced by the organizers in advance. The keynote speakers as
well as round table
discussions at the conference will be announced at a later stage.
Please, visit our website periodically
for updated information on the program, speakers, and schedule:
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~crcees/
Please, address your inquiries to:
Yianna Liatsos [log in to unmask]
Serguei Glebov [log in to unmask]
The deadline for abstracts submissions is November 27, 2000.
The abstracts should be no longer than one page and can be mailed, faxed
or sent via e-mail to:
CRCEES
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
172 College Avenue
New Brunswick, New Jersey, 08901-8537, U.S.A.
Tel: (732) 932-8551
Fax: (732) 932-1144
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~crcees/
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