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Call for Papers "Questioning European Values: Discursive Constructions of Europe" International Conference Educational Research Institute, Ljubljana Consortium in Humanities Ljubljana (Slovenia) 11-13 March 2011 __________________________________________________ In his recent essay, French philosopher Etienne Balibar called into question the very vitality of the European political project, pronouncing it dead. Although such a verdict might be too hasty, in recent years it has become certain that the EU is suffering from a lack of confidence, social cohesion, and political orientation. The widespread enthusiasm for Europe at the beginning of the 1990s is largely being replaced by equally widespread resignation; it seems that the European political project is continuing more on inertia than on genuine political, social, and economic ideas or coherent programs. At the same time, the social, economic, and political problems that have caused disappointment and disillusionment among the peoples of Europe are very real and persistent: the financial and debt crisis, migration problems, the rise of xenophobia and discriminatory legal measures concerning migrants from outside the EU, the failures of the Bologna and Lisbon strategies, which have caused massive student and labor unrest, lack of political legitimacy and ideological coherence on the part of the EU’s administrative apparatus, which has shown itself to be little more than a legal superstructure for the imposition of a common market and common currency, and lack of democratic and popular control and influence on key decisions regarding the EU’s social and economic policies. The list could go on. We are therefore confronted with a social, political, and economic crisis of Europe on the one hand, and a crisis of popular political and social imagination on the other, allowing for project Europe to (lifelessly?) perpetuate itself despite its increasing lack of political legitimacy and despite the increase in social ills, which the EU is (if not outright responsible for) at least unable to remedy. Specific conference topics - Europe in Media and Public Discourse: How is Europe as a political entity and social agency constructed through mass media and parliamentary discourse? How is Europe (re)presented to its various constituencies? What do the media coverage and political discussions on European political projects reveal about the nature and functioning of the EU—and, perhaps more importantly, what do they downplay and exclude? How does the public image of Europe encode, present, and/or distort its policies and its structure. - Europe, the Welfare State, and Neoliberalism: On the one hand, the EU presents itself as the continuation and/or even embodiment of Europe's characteristic sensitivity to issues of social justice and equality but, on the other hand, certain EU measures and policies actually result in its precise opposite. Catchphrases surrounding such unpopular (or even anti-popular) measures are thus usually a quasi-dialectical union of opposites such as “flexicurity.” The EU seems to be caught in a crossfire of demands from multinational corporations and financial institutions on the one hand, and its own peoples on the other. Is there a way out beyond the old choice between the welfare state and neoliberalism? - A Common European History?: In the mobilization rounds for its political project and enlargements, the EU seems to focus a lot on Europe’s common and glorious history. This strategy is suspicious on both counts: the actual history of Europe is a history of deep and violent ethnic, religious, class and gender divisions, subjugations, and inequalities. How is this common history (discursively) (re)constructed and/or invented? Is there a way to come to terms with such history that goes beyond the paeans to contemporary “multiculturalism” and “celebration of diversity”? Can European history teach us more than Christian charity and humility, liberal respect for private property, and superficial tolerance? - Knowledge-Based Economy and Knowledge Society: The propaganda that followed in the wake of the Bologna reform promised the rise of the knowledge society and knowledge-based economy. Actual reforms of the universities involved budget cuts, closing down certain departments, attempts to privatize the universities, and introducing (or raising) student fees and credits. Does a knowledge-based economy mean an economy in which knowledge production is commercialized, commoditized, and standardized? How are these developments (discursively) legitimized? Is it possible to conceive of a knowledge-based society that is not based on entrepreneurial and business-friendly knowledge? Is there more to European education than “skill-enhancement” and “lifelong learning”? - Europe and Democracy: The establishment of the EU in its most recent form coincided with the fall of communism as the last remaining “totalitarianism.” The Europe-wide dominance of democracy, one of the key European values, was thus guaranteed—or was it? Although political threats to democracy have been successfully eliminated, a new threat has emerged with the development of the EU’s core project: the single market with a single currency. The new threat to democracy seems to be economic, wresting control over the most basic and crucial aspects of people’s lives—such as working conditions and relations, wage policies, and governance of public institutions—away from democratic supervision and control. Can democracy survive European integration? Should it be reinvented? How is democracy (discursively) (re)presented to different publics, and for different purposes? Papers and abstracts Papers will be allocated 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions. The language of the conference is English. Abstracts of 400-500 words (excluding references) should be sent by email as a Word attachment to [email protected] and [email protected] by 15 December 2010. Please include name, affiliation, email address and paper title in the body of the email. All abstracts will be subject to peer review. Notification of acceptance decisions will be communicated via email by 31 December 2010. Important dates 15 December 2010, abstracts due. 31 December 2010, notification of acceptance. 31 January 2011, all conference fees due (registration fee & accommodation package). 28 February 2011, final program. 11-13 March 2011, the conference. Plenary speakers Professor Bo Strath, Renvall Institute, University of Helsinki. Professor Bob Jessop, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University. Professor Andreas Musolff, School of Language and Communication Studies, University of East Anglia. Professor Chris Lorenz, Department of History, UV University, Amsterdam. Professor Jonathan Charteris-Black, Department of English, Linguistics & Communication, University of the West of England. Contact: Igor Z. Zagar, PhD Professor in Rhetoric and Argumentation Educational Research Institute & University of Maribor Gerbiceva 62 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia Phone +386 (1) 4201 265 Fax: +386 (1) 4201 266 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.pei.si/Sifranti/StaticPage.aspx?id=80 __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
