The 15th conference of ISSEI : "What’s New in the New Europe? Redefining Culture, Politics, Identity"

CALL FOR CHAIRS

Dear Colleague,

We have the pleasure of informing you that the next conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas - ISSEI’s 15th conference - will be held in cooperation with The University of Lodz, Poland, July 11-15, 2016.

Conference Co-Chairs:

Professor Krystyna Kujawinska Courtney
British and Commonwealth Studies,
University of Lodz, ul. Narutowicza 65
Poland
Email: krystyna.kujawinska52@gmail.com

Dr. Edna Rosenthal
The European Legacy/ ISSEI
Israel
Email: Edna.Rosenthal@smkb.ac.il


The theme of the conference is:

What’s New in the New Europe? Redefining Culture, Politics, Identity

The changes that have occurred in Europe in the past quarter-century were dramatic, rapid and unforeseeable. These changes—from the rise of the Solidarity Movement in Poland in the early 1980s to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the unification of Germany, the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc, through the creation of the Eurozone, to the enlargement of the Union to 28 states—seemed to reaffirm the spirit of Europa, the cradle and carrier of Western civilization. They also seemed to amply justify the ideal of the New Europe as defined by the European Union: to create a peaceful and prosperous Europe. This vision, it was hoped, would heal the continent, torn and destroyed by two world wars, and consolidate its central role in the global arena of world politics. Recent events, however, have seriously undermined this vision of peace and prosperity, including the global financial crisis, the political crisis in Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis of immigration, and the repercussions of the political upheavals across the Middle East, Europe’s geographical neighbour.
It would seem that Europa, that symbol of a united and peaceful Europe, cannot be upheld without examining what Europe is today, without, that is, attending to Europe’s own self-understanding alongside how it is seen by non-Europeans, from east to west. Since ideals and realities have a history, often a very long history, and since our terms of reference are determined by particular methodologies and disciplines, the attempt to examine the ideal in light of the real, to assess what is new in the New Europe, calls for multiple perspectives on the ever changing faces of Europa.

The organizers of ISSEI 15th Conference invite scholars from various academic fields to discuss the multiple dimensions and problems of ‘The New Europe’. Colleagues interested in chairing a workshop on a topic related to this theme are invited to send a one-page proposal to:

Rachel Ben-David, ISSEI Conference Academic Programme Coordinator

Email: admin@issei2016.com


15th ISSEI Conference website: To be announced


The deadline for submitting a proposal is March 1, 2016.

Guidelines for Chairs:

1. The Chair will promote the workshop in collaboration with the ISSEI central office.
2. Workshops with 8 participants will be held in a single 4-hour session (with a 30- minute coffee-break). Workshops with more than 8 participants will be conducted in two sessions.
3. Papers are to be presented rather than read. A presentation will be 20 minutes long.
4. Papers should not exceed 3,000 words, or 10 double-spaced pages, including Notes. (Notes are to be included in the papers submitted to be included in the Conference Proceedings).
5. The Chair should send copies of the approved abstracts to the other participants in his/her workshop so that they are better prepared to take part in the discussions.
6. Chairs are responsible for selecting and editing the papers recommended for publication in the Proceedings.
7. Workshop chairs may present a paper in their own and/or in other workshops.

This will be the 15th Conference of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas (ISSEI), founded in 1984 in Bellagio, Italy, by the editors of the interdisciplinary journal, The European Legacy (formerly, History of European Ideas).
In 1996 The Library Journal selected The European Legacy as one of the 10 best journals in the United States.
In 2010 The European Legacy was rated among the top 15% of academic journals around the world by the Australian Government’s Australian Research Council. Our journal was in a category where publishing “would enhance the author’s standing, showing they have real engagement with the global research community and that they have something to say about problems of some significance.”
Previous ISSEI conferences were held in: Amsterdam (1988); Leuven (1990); Aalborg (1992); Graz (1994); Utrecht (1996); Haifa (1998); Bergen (2000); Aberystwyth (2002); Pamplona (2004); Malta (2006); Helsinki (2008); Ankara (2010); Cyprus (2012); Porto (2014).