In the research seminar for European cultural and social studies, institute members and invited guests present and discuss their work and put it in dialogue with the IFES research questions.
Along the last terms, the research seminar has engaged primarily with the questions of what is ‘critique’ and of which notion of ‘critique’ and how can be fruitfully integrated into our research agenda.

Once per term the IFES also hosts closed research seminars for institute members and guests in order to discuss works in progress (PhD or habilitation thesis, research grant proposals, academic articles).

Research seminar schedule - Summer term 2023

Research seminar schedule - Winter term 2021/22

Research seminar schedule - Summer term 2021

Research seminar schedule - Winter term 2020/21

Research seminar schedule - Summer term 2020

Research seminar schedule - Winter term 2019/20

Research seminar schedule - Summer term 2019

Research seminar schedule - Winter term 2018/19

Research seminar schedule - Summer term 2018

Research seminar schedule - Winter term 2017/18

Research seminar schedule - Summer term 2017

The IFES Lunch Lectures are open to a wider university and public audience. They reunite Viadrina and external experts in order to address current affairs topics, in particular those related to main political events and the rise of illiberal trends in Europe.

24 October 2023

13:00-14:15h (Arrival at 12:45 and lunch-boxes are welcome!)
Gräfin-Dönhoff-Gebäude, Room GD 204, Europaplatz 1, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)

In cooperation with the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies
Voting in Times of Crisis and Devisions: Analyzing Polish Parliamentary Elections 2023

Roundtable-Discussion with:
Wojciech Gagatek (University of Warsaw)
Marek Prawda (Warsaw/ EUV)
Anja Hennig (IFES/ EUV)

Facilitation:
Dagmara Jajeśniak-Quast (VCPU/ EUV)

After eight years of a Law and Justice Party (PiS) led government, the 2023 elections in Poland are considered as crucial for the future of the country. In times of crisis, however, people tend not to vote for political change. Especially the far right “Konfederacja”, a potential coalition partner of PiS, tries to capitalize on the multiple crises. At the same time, recent polls reveal a growing support for the massively mobilizing, but politically divided opposition consisting of the major Civic Platform (KO), the Third Way (Trzecia Droga) and The Left (Lewica).
We will discuss voting motives in the light of the extreme polarizing election campaign, coalition building options and potential consequences for Polish politics vis-a-vis Germany and Europe. The roundtable is also part of a joint Master course from the Viadrina and the Warsaw Universities, cordially supported by the Foundation for Polish-GermanCooperation (SDPZ).  

Please note: different time!
7 December 2022, 6-8 pm (s.t.), HG 109 (Senatssaal)

Monday demonstrations in Frankfurt (Oder): Same mobilization in a new guise? (in German)
Panel discussion with a welcoming address by Viadrina Executive President Eva Kocher

Jan C. Behrends (EUV)
Frank Hühner ("Demokratie leben!", Frankfurt (Oder))
Valerie Müller-Huschke (EUV)
Olaf Sundermeyer (Journalist and editor, rbb24 Investigation)

Facilitation: Anja Hennig (IFES/EUV) and Stefan Henkel (EUV/Viadrinicum)

Please note: change of room!
30 November 2022, 1-2 pm (s.t.), GD 309, Zoom

US Midterm Elections: Culture or Economy?
Randall Halle (University of Pittsburgh) in conversation with Sascha Münnich (IFES/EUV)

Link for Zoom participation (Meeting ID: 880 9814 7599, Code: 155688)

20 July 2022, 1:00-2:00 pm, online via Zoom

Presentation of CriDis and its Covid-19 special edition at IFES (in German/English)

With the co-editors:
Amelie Kutter (IFES)
Christiane Barnickel (HU Berlin)
Elena Dück (CAU Kiel)

and authors. Facilitated by Anja Hennig (EUV/IFES).

Crisis Discourse Blog (CriDis) is a platform for people interested in discourses of crisis. We offer accessible, but scientifically rigorous, analyses of current crisis debate and make suggestions for reflection. We look into framings, forms of language use, images and memes, ambiguous concepts and larger discourse configurations that suggest tackling a crisis in specific ways. We also use photography and illustration to engage with crisis debate. We believe that discourse analysis and artist intervention can help us to better navigate the mediatized drama of crisis and see through its social and political implications.

18 May 2022, 1-2pm, hybrid, LH 101/102, Zoom 

Hungary after the general elections: Down the path of autocratization?

With: 
Melani Barlai (Andrássy University Budapest)
Balázs Dénes (Civil Liberties Union for Europe)

In conversation with:
Sonja Priebus (European Studies/IFES) and Zsuzsanna Végh (Comparative Politics/IFES) 

Tuesday, 26 April 2022, 1-2pm, online

Presidential elections in France, a French-German view: which perspectives for Europe?

Martin Baloge (Université Paris-1 Panthéon Sorbonne/Centre Marc Bloch)
Cédric Pellen (Université de Strasbourg/Centre Marc Bloch)

In conversation with:
Timm Beichelt and Elsa Tulmets (European Studies/IFES)

In cooperation with the project Pensées Françaises Contemporaines. This event was recorded and is available for rewatch at the IFES channel at the Viadrina media platform.

Wednesday, 16 March 2022, 1-2 pm, online

Putin nach Den Haag - wo ist der Weg? Völkerrechtliche Perspektiven auf den Ukraine-Krieg (in German)

With:
Anne Fock - International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (EUV)
Simon Gauseweg - Humanitarian International Law (EUV)
Kilian Wegner - Junior Professorship Criminal Law, Criminal Trial Law and Commercial Criminal Law (EUV)

Facilitation: Susann Worschech (EUV/IFES)

Click here to read a report about the lecture by the Viadrina Logbuch (in German). A recording of the lecture is available at the IFES channel of the Viadrina media platform (in German).

Wednesday, 2 March 2022, 1-2 pm, online

Russian War of Aggression: What are the Consequences for Ukraine? 

With:
Jan C. Behrends (EUV) 
Oksana Mikheieva (Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv/DAAD lectureship) 
Mikhail Minakov (Kennan Institute, Washington, D. C.)
Susann Worschech (EUV/IFES) 

Facilitation: Timm Beichelt (EUV/IFES)

Wednesday, 8 December 2021, 1-2 pm, online

How can climate neutrality be achieved - in time? (in German)
Experts' talk on climate policy scenarios after Glasgow and with the future German government

With:
Reimund Schwarze (EUV/IFES, Climate expert at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research)
Martin Weiß (Climate Neutrality Foundation)

Facilitation: Anja Hennig (IFES)

Click here to read a report about the lecture by the Viadrina Logbuch (in German). The lunch lecture was recorded and is available at the IFES channel of the Viadrina media platform (in German). 

Thursday, 17 June 2021, 1-2 pm, online

Book presentation:
From “the Ukraine” to Ukraine. A Contemporary History, 1991–2021 

Co-editor Mykhailo Minakov (Kennan Institute, Wilson Center / former IFES guest researcher) will present the newly published book From "the Ukraine" to Ukraine. A Contemporary History, 1991–2021 (ibidem Press).

In cooperation with the EUV chair of Entangled History of Ukraine.

The lunch lecture was recorded and is available at the IFES channel of the Viadrina media platform (in English).

Wednesday, 26 May 2021, 1-2 pm, online

Covid 19 Vaccination politics: (In)equalities and the role of Europe

With:
Stuart Blume (Prof. emer. University of Amsterdam) and Caroline Meier zu Biesen (University of Leipzig).
Facilitation by Anja Hennig (IFES/EUV) and Marian Burchardt (University of Leipzig).

The lunch lecture was recorded and is available at the IFES channel of the Viadrina media platform (in English).

Monday, 27 January 2020, 11.30 am - 1 pm, Senatssaal (HG 109)

Günter Verheugen:
Die Bedeutung des Brexit für die Politik in Europa

In Hinblick auf den bevorstehenden Brexit am 31. Januar 2020 hält Günter Verheugen (Viadrina-Honorarprofessor und ehemaliger Vizepräsident der Europäischen Kommission) im Rahmen der Europa-Vorlesung von Prof. Timm Beichelt einen Vortrag über die Bedeutung des Brexit für die Politik in Europa.

Click here to read a report about the lecture by the Viadrina Logbuch (in German).

Tuesday, 28 May 2019, 1-2 pm, GD Hs01
Panel discussion
Analysis of the results of the European elections: Coherence or corrostion of the European integration? (This event will be held in German).

Jarosław Jańczak (EUV),
Nicolai von Ondarza (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin)
Facilitation: Timm Beichelt (EUV)

A cooperation of the Viadrina Institute for European Studies (IFES) with the Master in European Studies.

Conception and organization: Claire Gauthier and Stefan Hanisch (IFES).

A livestream was available for this event.

Tuesday, 14 May 2019, 6.15 pm, HG 109 (Senatssaal) (Please note: Changed time!)
Panel discussion: Protestkultur in Frankreich (German)

Prisca Martaguet (Fotografin und Studentin der Europa-Universität Viadrina)
Fabien Jobard (Polizeiforscher in Paris, Centre de recherches sociologiques sur le droit et les institutions pénales)
Dieter Rucht (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung )
Facilitation: Prof. Dr. Michael Minkenberg (Europa-Universität Viadrina)

In May, IFES Lunch Lecture deals with the so-called "yellow vests" and considers them in a larger (historical) context in French protest culture.

A cooperation with the Chair of Comparative Politics.

23 January 2019, 1-2 pm (s.t.), Room: HG 109
Italien und die EU: Ritorno al futuro? Südeuropäische Populisten im Konflikt mit Brüssel

Günter Verheugen (Honorary professor at EUV)
Paweł Tokarski (Forschungsgruppe EU/Europa der SWP in Berlin)
Facilitation: Timm Beichelt (Professor für Europa-Studien, Europa-Universität Viadrina)

11 Decemer 2018, 13:00–14:00 s.t., GD HS03
Poland´s Liberal Cities: Poznań after Municipal Elections

A cooperation between the Viadrina Institute for European Studies and the Center for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies

Local elections in October and November saw the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party win nationally. At the same time, the opposition claims victory - particularly in the cities. Poznan, capital of Greater Poland district and 170km east of Frankfurt/Oder is among the most progressive Polish cities. Biketrails, student clubs and a liberal re-elected major with chances to play a role for the forthcoming parliamentary elections next fall.

The IFES-Gegenwartsanalyse explores the political and cultural potential of our neighbouring city Poznan, locating it into the broader context of the Polish socio-political landscape. Discussants are:

Eliza Kania (Senior specialist for cooperation with academic and scientific environment, Department of Development and International Cooperation Administration of the City, Poznań)

Jarosław Jańczak (Political scientist, European University Viadrina und Adam Mickiewicz University)

Concept and Facilitation: Anja Hennig (Expert for Poland, State Chancellery of Brandenburg, Potsdam)

Here you can find a video of the event.

17 July 2018, 18.00-20.00, GD Hs06 (Please note, changed time!)
Aufbruch Ost! Ein neues „Mutbürgertum“ in ostdeutschen Kommunen?

Panel discussion

with:
Rene Wilke, Oberbürgermeister der Stadt Frankfurt/Oder
Raj Kollmorgen, Professor für Soziologie an der Hochschule Zittau-Görlitz
Christian Bangel, Autor des Buches „Oder Florida“ und Leitender Redakteur bei ZEIT ONLINE

Facilitation: Susann Worschech, IFES.

Auf der Veranstaltung soll das "Wunder von Frankfurt", der in den letzten Monaten vielfach beschriebene Wandel der Stadt von einer abgehängten Provinzstadt mit rechtsextremer Mobilisierung hin zu einer weltoffenen und engagierten Stadt mitten in Europa diskutiert werden. Übertreibt die taz, wenn sie titelt: "We love Frankfurt/Oder" und die zupackende Zivilgesellschaft lobt? Sind die deutlichen Wahlsiege liberaler und linker PolitikerInnen bzw. die Niederlagen der AfD-KandidatInnen spezifischen zeitlichen Kontexten geschuldet, oder deutet sich darin eine erneute, progressive Transformation an, die beispielhaft für zahlreiche Kommunen (nicht nur) in Ostdeutschland sein könnte? Wie sollte bürgernahe, nicht-populistische Lokalpolitik in Post-Transformationskontexten aussehen? Steht Frankfurt für einen neuen Stil oder gar eine neue Epoche politischer Partizipation und Gestaltung pluralistischer Gesellschaft "im Osten"? Ist Ostdeutschland Avartgarde?

Diese Fragen sollen aus der polit-praktischen, soziologischen und journalistischen Perspektive mit den Gästen und dem Publikum diskutiert werden.

20 June 2018, 13.00- 14.00, GD Hs03
Whitewashing history? Context and consequences of Poland’s ‘Holocaust Law’

with:
Werner Benecke (EUV)
Paweł Machcewicz (PAN Warsaw/Institute for Advanced Study Berlin)
Zuzanna Dziuban (University of Amsterdam/FU Berlin)

Welcome: Kerstin Hinrichsen (MES), Moderation: Anja Hennig (IFES)

A cooperation between the Viadrina Institute for European Studies and the Master of European Studies. (Englische Sprache)

You can find the video of the event here.

13 December 2017, 13:00-14:00 Uhr (s.t.), GD Hs08

Über die neue Mittelklasse der Einzigartigen und die Krisen der Gegenwart: Die Gesellschaft der Singularitäten.
Zum Strukturwandel der Moderne

Andreas Reckwitz, Professor für vergleichende Kultursoziologie an der Viadrina, talks about his new book with Estela Schindel (IFES) and Timm Beichelt (IFES).

Facilitation: Anja Hennig (IFES)

Tuesday, 9 February 2021

Religion and Illiberal Politics: Concepts, Actors, Identity Narratives

Co-editor Anja Hennig (EUV/IFES) presented the newly published collective volume Religion and Illiberal Politics: Concepts, Actors, Identity Narratives (campus Verlag). Michael Minkenberg (Professor for Comparative Politics, EUV) and Marian Burchardt (University of Leipzig) discussed the volume and situated it within current resarch contexts in political science and sociology of religion.

The event was recorded and is available on the Viadrina media portal. Click here to watch the video (in German).

Tuesday, 15 December 2020

Legitimation in the European Union. A Discourse- and Field-Theoretical View

Together with Vivien Schmidt (Boston University) and Nicolas Hubé (University of Lorraine), Amelie Kutter (EUV/IFES) presented her new publication Legitimation in the European Union. A Discourse- and Field-Theoretical View (Palgrave 2020).

Tuesday, 1 December 2020

Ambivalenzen der Europäisierung

The co-editors Timm Beichelt, Clara Frysztacka, Claudia Weber and Susann Worschech (EUV/IFES) discussed their newly published book Ambivalenzen der Europäisierung. Beiträge zur Neukonzeptionalisierung der Geschichte und Gegenwart Europas (Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 2020) in conversation with Matthias Schloßberger (EUV) and the audience.

The event was recorded and is available on the Viadrina media portal. Click here to watch the video (in German).

Tuesday, 7 July 2020

Europa dezentrieren

The co-editors Jens Adam (Bremen) and Paweł Lewicki (research associate at the Chair for Comparative Middle European Studies) discussed "Europa dezentrieren. Globale Verflechtungen neu denken" with Kira Kosnick, professor for Comparative Social and Cultural Anthropology (EUV).

The event was recorded and is available on the Viadrina media portal. Click here to watch the video (in German).

Tuesday, 30 June 2020

Deutsch-Ukrainische Kulturbeziehungen

Susann Worschech (research associate at the Chair for European Studies) presented her study "Deutsch-Ukrainische Kulturbeziehungen. Veränderungen nach dem Euromaidan" in conversation with Mattia Nelles (program director Ukraine, Zentrum Liberale Moderne).

The event was facilitated by Silke Hüper (Kyjiwer Gespräche / European Exchange).

The event was recorded and is available on the Viadrina media portal. Click here to watch the video (in German).

Tuesday, 12 May 2020

Zeit-Schriften der Moderne

Author Clara Frysztacka presented her dissertation "Zeit-Schriften der Moderne - Zeitkonstruktion und temporale Selbstverortung in der polnischen Presse (1880–1914)", which has been published recently, in conversation with Andreas Bähr (EUV).

In cooperation with Lehrstuhl für Europäische Kulturgeschichte der Neuzeit (Professorship for Modern European Cultural History).

The event was recorded and is available on the Viadrina media portal. Click here to watch the video.

Tuesday, 26 November 2019

Der Hitler-Stalin-Pakt und seine Auswirkungen auf Polen

Author Claudia Weber (EUV) presented her book "Der Pakt - Stalin, Hitler und die Geschichte einer mörderischen Allianz" in conversation with Krzysztof Ruchniewicz (University of Wrocław).

The event was organised in cooperation with the Viadrina Centers B/ORDERS IN MOTION.

Tuesday, 02 July 2019, 6 pm, LH 101/102
Who Embodies Europe? Explorations into the construction of european Bodies 
Launch of the special Issue “European Bodies” by Paweł Lewicki and Anika Keinz at the Anthropological Journal of European Cultures

The thematic focus ‘European Bodies’ of the Anthropological Journal of European Cultures discusses the role of the processes of Europeanisation and of colonial legacies on the production of the European body as a racialised, classed, and gendered body. The construction of a ‘European body’ can be observed in discourses and practices that constitute the normal/desired/legitimate body and has an impact on notions about the ‘civilized’ or ‘cultivated’ body, which is often linked to whiteness, secularism, and legitimate class and gender performances.

The aim of the texts gathered in this thematic focus is to look back across pasts and into the present in order to explore the boundaries of what comes to be considered as a ‘European’   body. Who or what embodies the present? Which and whose body epitomises Europeaness and how does Europeanisation generate (tacit) knowledge about the legitimate body?

In this roundtable, the editors Anika Keinz and Paweł Lewicki will introduce the thematic focus together with two of the authors, Jennifer Ramme and Victor Trofimov, and discuss their findings and perspectives with the audience.

Prof Anika Keinz is Junior Professor for Comparative Social and Cultural Anthropology of the Late Modern Societies at the European University Viadrina.

Dr Paweł Lewicki is an anthropologist and an associate professor at the chair for Comparative Central European Studies at the European University Viadrina.

More information about the publication can be found here.

Wednesday, 26 June 2019, 1-2 pm, LH 101/102
Postdemokratisierung der Legitimationspolitik:
Diskursnetzwerke in bundesdeutschen Großen Regierungserklärungen und Aussprachen 1949–2014

Book presentation

Christiane Barnickel stellt ihr kürzlich erschienenes Buch „Postdemokratisierung der Legitimationspolitik: Diskursnetzwerke in bundesdeutschen Großen Regierungserklärungen und Aussprachen 1949–2014“ vor.

In der Monographie wird untersucht, wie im bundesrepublikanischen politischen Diskurs seit 1949 Legitimität ‚hergestellt‘ wird. Sie zeigt, auf welche argumentativen Figuren Politikerinnen und Politiker zurückgreifen und zeichnet nach, wie Legitimität zunehmend über die Verwendung postdemokratischer Argumente konstruiert wird. Damit wird erstmals die in der Literatur seit Langem geführte Postdemokratisierungsdebatte mit legitimationstheoretischen Überlegungen verknüpft und die Frage nach der Demokratiehaftigkeit politischer Legitimationsdiskurse umfangreich empirisch fundiert.

Nach einer kurzen inhaltlichen Einführung werden die Ergebnisse der Studie im Gespräch mit Timm Beichelt und dem Publikum diskutiert. Da der Termin auf der Mittagszeit liegt, können Sie sich sehr gerne Verpflegung mitbringen – für kühle Getränke wird gesorgt.

Weitere Informationen zum Buch finden Sie auf der Seite des Verlages.

04 July 2018 13.00-14.00, LH 101/102
“Development and Dystopia. Studies in Post-Soviet Ukraine and Eastern Europe“

Book presentation

with: Prof. Dr. Mikhail Minakov (DAAD-Gastprofessor an der Viadrina/Kyiv)
Prof. Dr. Andrii Portnov
Dr. Susann Worschech

Facilitation: Dr. Daria Isachenko (IFES)

27 June 2018 13.00-14.00, LH 101/102
„Die Herstellung von Zivilgesellschaft in der Ukraine“

Book presentation

Dr. Susann Worschech stellt ihr Buch „Die Herstellung von Zivilgesellschaft. Strategien und Netzwerke der externen Demokratieförderung in der Ukraine“ (2018) vor.

Comments: Prof. Dr. Gwendolyn Sasse (ZOiS)
Dr. Eduard Klein (Zentrum Liberale Moderne/Ukraine Verstehen)
Facilitation: Stefan Henkel (Viadrina)

Tuesday, 15 May 2018
"Erzsatzspielfelder - Zum Verhältnis von Fußball und Macht"

Book presentation

by Prof. Dr. Timm Beichelt with Prof. Dr. Michael Minkenberg and Dr. Peter Rosenberg.

Event journal of the department for public relations (in German language).

Tuesday, 21 November 2017, 4-6 pm, LH 101/102
"EU-Space and the Euroclass. Modernity, Nationality and Lifestyle among Eurocrats in Brussels"

Book presentation

by Pawel Lewicki (EUV)

With Günter Verheugen
Facilitation: Timm Beichelt, Head of the IFES.

Read a report in the event-journal of the Department of Press and Public Relations here (in German Language).

Workshops and conferences are mainly organized by members of the institute and are mostly related to their individual or collective research activities. The IFES either supports or organizes them, also in cooperation with other institutions.

Political Climate Change:
Regional, European and Global Comparative Perspectives

Conference of the Research Section "Comparative Politics" of the German Political Science Association (DVPW) 

22-23 September 2022
European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) 

In cooperation with: DVPW Standing Group “Demokratieforschung”, DVPW Standing Group "Vergleichende Diktatur- und Extremismusforschung"
Local organizers: Timm Beichelt, Michael Minkenberg, Sonja Priebus, Zsuzsanna Végh
Conference languages: English and German

For questions and more information contact us via email: political-climate-change@europa-uni.de

Read more

Authors' Workshop and Special Issue
Covid Crisis Discourse

2-3 December 2021
online via Zoom

Conveners:
Amelie Kutter (European University Viadrina)
Christiane Barnickel (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Hannah Broecker (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität)
Elena Dück (Universität Passau) for the Discourse Group at DVPW

The workshop ‘Covid crisis discourse’ brings together scholars and students in discourse studies, who want to share insights in their current research on discourses of the Covid-19 pandemic and related crises and prepare these insights for publication on the Crisis Discourse Blog (CisD). The CisD is a platform for sharing research and reflection on aspects of current crisis discourse, its problematic language use and selective and politically performative power. 

Feel invited to submit your blogpost proposal in form of a 100 words abstract to kutter@europa-uni.de by 17 October 2021. For more details see the full call for contributions.

Workshop
Understanding EU legitimacy: Cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of the European Union

8-9 September 2021
hybrid, in Frankfurt(Oder)/Słubice and online

Conveners:

Paweł Lewicki (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder)
Alexandra Schwell (Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt)

The workshop is organized by Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt and supported by the Fritz-Thyssen-Foundation.

Interested parties are kindly invited to participate either online or in person. Please register to whk-ifes@europa-uni.de until Sunday, Sept. 5.

The full program is available here.

International Workshop
Struggles over Europe: Post-colonial West/East dynamics of race, gender and sexuality

Conveners:

Paweł Lewicki (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder)
Randi Gressgård (University Bergen)
Rafał Smoczyński (Polish Academy of Sciences)

Viadrina Institute for European Studies & Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences
Europa-Universität Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)
Collegium Polonicum, Słubice
14-15 November 2019

The workshop starts at 1 pm on 14 November in the Collegium Polonicum, room CP 21 and is open for listeners.
All interested parties are kindly invited.

Find the full programm for both days here.

Explorativer Workshop:
Postkoloniale Kritik: Lateinamerikanische und osteuropäische Perspektivierungen (American South – European East)

23-25 September 2019, Forum Transregionale Studien

Mit dem Begriff der postkolonialen Kritik wenden wir uns dezidiert gegen eine Auffassung der postkolonialen Theorien als ein mehr oder weniger neutrales Methoden-Kit, das in jeder Konstellation gleichermaßen anwendbar ist. Postkoloniales Denken impliziert unserer Auffassung nach, dass eine Vielfalt an verorteten kritischen Perspektiven auf Re-Produktionsmechanismen von Macht und Machtasymmetrien in der globalisierten Moderne zum Ausdruck gebracht werden.

Damit schließen wir teilweise an die postcolonial studies an, zu deren Grundbestand die Frage nach dem Zusammenhang von Sprechen, Wissens und Macht gehört. Jedoch zeigt sich am postkolonialen Diskurs selbst, wie sehr die Wissensproduktion und der Wissenstransfer einer kolonialen Ordnung folgen: In den kanonisierten Texten, Sprachen und Schauplätzen des Postkolonialen spiegelt sich in eigentümlicher Ambivalenz die Deutungshoheit der hegemonialen Metropolen wieder. Damit stellt sich auch die Frage nach den Grenzen und Funktion von Ansätzen, die sich als postkoloniale bezeichnen.

Der Workshop möchte diesen diskursiven und auch sprachlichen Flaschenhals mit einer verorteten transregionalen Perspektive (American South – European East) sowohl theoretisch als auch diskursiv aufbrechen. Ost-Europa und Lateinamerika werden hier als Produktionsstandorte post-kolonialen Wissens erörtert, die sich durch spezifische Positionalitäten auszeichnen. In beiden Fällen stellt sich nämlich nicht nur die Frage nach der kolonialen Formation der jeweiligen Gesellschaften und Kulturen. Ebenso zeigt sich, dass beide kritische Differenzierungen der Begriffe von ‚Westen‘ oder auch ‚Europa‘ ermöglichen. Auf einer eher diskursiven Ebene gilt es, die postkoloniale Kritik als eine Wissenspraxis zu problematisieren, die an einer transregionalen Wissenskritik aktiv partizipiert. Mit diesem Workshop und einer experimentellen Offenheit möchten wir Möglichkeiten diskursiver Pluralität ausloten und erfahren, ohne eine allgemeine Formel plural-diversen Sprechens zu forcieren, aber auch ohne eine vollkommene Unvergleichbarkeit zwischen den verschiedenen Erfahrungen und Schauplätzen der kolonialen Moderne zu behaupten.

Konzept: Clara Frysztacka, Jennifer Ramme, Pablo Valdivia.

Further information in English is available at the website of the Forum Transregionale Studien.

Read here an interview with the conveners as well as the full program of the workshop.

"Wir und die Anderen"
Politische Gemeinschaftsideen in den Ländern Mittel- und Osteuropas und im postsowjetischen Raum

Conference of the section for Political and Social Sciences of the German Association for East European Studies

11-13 September 2019, Forum Internationale Wissenschaft Bonn

The conference is chaired by Timm Beichelt (EUV) and Evelyn Moser (Universität Bonn).

Politisches Entscheiden bindet Kollektive. Entsprechend relevant ist für jedes politische Regime die Frage, wer dieses Kollektiv ist und wie seine Grenzen bestimmt werden. Wie die Verständigung über diese Frage erfolgt und welche Bedeutung ihr in unterschiedlichen nationalen Kontexten und zu unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten zukommt, ist grundsätzlich kontingent: Sie kann mehr oder weniger kontrovers und umkämpft sein, sie kann latent bleiben oder manifest werden. In den Ländern Mittel- und Osteuropas – davon zeugen nicht zuletzt die politischen Erfolge populistischer Parteien und Politiker – lässt sich beobachten, dass Gemeinschaftsideen diese Kollektivbestimmung maßgeblich prägen. Gesellschaftliche Integration und sozialer Zusammenhalt werden normativ betont und die Grenzen der Gemeinschaft unter Verweis auf interne Bindungsmechanismen festgelegt und eingefordert. Gemeinschaftsideen bestimmen politische Zugehörigkeiten und die Möglichkeiten individueller politischer Teilhabe. Jenseits der Unterscheidung von Demokratie und Autokratie sind sie ein wichtiger Faktor, um die Funktionsweise politischer Regime zu verstehen. Die Tagung nimmt politische Gemeinschaftsideen in Mittel- und Osteuropa aus verschiedenen sozialwissenschaftlichen Perspektiven in den Blick und fragt nach ihren inhaltlichen Konstruktionsweisen, politischen Wirkungsmechanismen und institutionellen Verankerungen.

The conference program can be found here (in German).

26th Conference of Europeanists. Council for European Studies

20-22 June 2019, Universidad Carlos III, Madrid

The Viadrina Institute for European Studies was participating in several panels and symposiums at the 26th Conference of Europeanists of the Council for European Studies that took place at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid on 20-22 June 2019, “Sovereignties in Contention: Nations, Regions and Citizens in Europe”. IFES members were presenting as organizers, chairs or contributors, among others in a mini-symposium on peripherisation of the European Union, the mini-symposium of the Research Network European Cultures, and panels on populism and nationalism in Ukraine.

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Explorative Workshop
Social Disappearance: Explorations Around a Travelling Concept from Latin America to Eastern Europe

07-08 February 2019, Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin

Across their diversity and geographical dispersion we observe a series of features that suggest an emerging pattern of social disappearances which stay in relation to new contemporary mobilities. We aim to explore this from a transregional perspective between Latin America and Europe – with a focus on Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe – both in terms of its empirical and research implications and on a conceptual-theoretical level.

Convener: Estela Schindel (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt/Oder) and Gabriel Gatti (Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea)

Further information can be found on the site of the Forum Transregionale Studien or in this interview with Estela Schindel and Gabriel Gatti.

Read the Workshop report here.

International Workshop
Secessions in Europe: Between Statehood Claims and Conflict Resolution

Tuesday, 06 December 2018

The workshop aims to examine contemporary secession movements, statehood claims and possibilities of conflict settlement in Europe from a comparative perspective. It will compare unrecognized states in post-Soviet Eastern Europe (such as Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transdniestria, and regimes in Donetsk und Luhansk) and cases of Kosovo, Northern Ireland, and Catalonia.
The project is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service.

Concept and organization: Mykhailo Minakov (DAAD Gastprofessor, European University Viadrina/University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy) and Daria Isachenko (Institute for European Studies/Viadrina)

Authors’ workshop ‘Peripheriality: constructing socio-spatial hierarchies within and beyond Europe’

20-21 September 2018

Collegium Polonicum, Słubice

The past decades have brought an increase in spatially connoted disparities and inequalities both within and between European societies, intertwined with changes within the European Union (EU) and the global constellation. The workshop ‘Peripheriality: constructing socio-spatial hierarchies within and beyond Europe’, which is hosted by the project ‘Reconfigurations’, discusses contributions that investigate the construction of centrality and peripheriality or of central and peripheral Selves in discourses and practices of policy makers and social groups, applying different disciplinary perspectives.

Speakers include: Galvão Debelle dos Santos (Barcelona), Mona Lou Günnewig (Berlin), Babur Hussain (Bengaluru), Danijela Majstorović (Banja Luka), Elizabeth Mariam (New Delhi), Gerardo Costabile Nicoletta (Castellabate), Maria Giulia Pezzi (L’Aquila), Gabriella Punziano (Naples), Ngai-Ling Sum (Lancaster), Zoran Vučkovac (Giessen) and members of the IFES Peripheries group

Concept: Amelie Kutter

Contact: kutter@europa-uni.de

Postcolonial Studies und Europakritik

Tuesday, 26 June 2018, 13:00-18:00

Europa-Universität Viadrina im Logenhaus (Raum 101)

Workshop
Gemeinsam mit Expert*innen wird in dem Workshop über die Anwendbarkeit postkolonialer Theorien in der (Ost)Europaforschung diskutiert. Das Treffen dient zudem als Plattform für die Sichtbarkeit und Vernetzung der postkolonialen Forschung an der Viadrina. 

Interessierte, die an der Europa-Universität Viadrina und dem Collegium Polonicum studieren oder tätig sind und sich mit postkolonialen Themen beschäftigen, sind herzlich zur Teilnahme eingeladen.
Wer sich aktiv am Workshop in Form einer fünfminutigen Präsentation der eigenen Forschung oder eines Forschungsvorhabens beteiligen möchte, kann sich bis zum 10. Juni 2018 wenden an: Clara Frysztacka (frysztacka@europa-uni.de) oder Jennifer Ramme (ramme@europa-uni.de).

Informationen zum Programm:

13:00 Uhr: „Perspektiven und Potenziale Postkolonialer, Gender und kritischer Queerer Theorie“
Öffentlicher Eröffnungsvortrag von Ulrike Auga
(Zentrum für transdisziplinäre Geschlechterstudien, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)

14:15 Uhr: „Getting together“ und Diskussion mit Expert_innen
Universitätsöffentliche Veranstaltung.

16:00-18:00 Uhr „Postcolonial Studies, osteuropäische Perspektiven und Europakritik: Synergien, Möglichkeiten und Gefahren“ 
Universitätsöffentliche, interdisziplinäre Podiumsdiskussion im Rahmen des IFES-Kolloquiums mit Ulrike Auga, Bożena Chołuj (Europa-Universität Viadrina), Małgorzata Zduniak-Wiktorowicz (Collegium Polonicum / Universität Poznań) und Jan Surman (Poletayev Institute for Theoretical and Historical Studies in the Humanities National Research University Higher School of Economics).

Veranstalter: Viadrina-Institut für Europa-Studien (IFES), Lehrstuhl für Europäische Zeitgeschichte, Lehrstuhl für Deutsch-Polnische Kultur- und Literaturbeziehungen und Gender Studies (Europa-Universität Viadrina).

Ort: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Logenhaus, Logenstraße 11, Raum 101

The Liberal Order in Crisis: Authoritarian, Radical, and Populist Challenges to Democracy in Europe

Friday, 01 June - Saturday, 02 June 2018

European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)

The liberal European order is under siege. Its normative foundations are challenged by various radical parties and movements. Many of its policies are contested and criticized as inefficient, ineffective and hypocritical. Liberal democracy, human rights and open markets are no longer taken for granted but must today be justified and defended in the public arena. Some even fear that the political and legal integration among the EU’s member states is giving way to the lure of nationalism and parochialism. How significant are these processes and how deep is Europe’s crisis? Is it part of a global process and similar in kind to authoritarian tendencies in US, Russia and Turkey? Are we even witnessing the end of post-war liberalism and is the idea of the open society slowly being replaced by a new combination of traditionalism, authoritarianism and nationalism?

The workshop is organized by Timm Beichelt, Michael Minkenberg and Jürgen Neyer and will take place at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) from June 1-2, 2018. It is open to arguments form all areas of social sciences and the humanities. Limited funds for reimbursing costs of travel and accommodation are available. Here you can find the workshop program.

Students, Researchers and Employees of the Viadrina are invited to attend the workshop as auditors. Registration is requested via mail to: workshop-populism@europa-uni.de.

International workshop ‘European peripheries: transdisciplinary perspectives’

Thursday, 30 November –  Saturday, 02 December 2017

European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder)

Recent crises have revealed that European integration has reinforced, instead of smoothened, divergent development between and within member societies of the European Union and the larger Europe. Moreover, political conflict on crisis management has enhanced existing hierarchies between so-called ‘peripheries’ in the South and East and a so-called ‘core’ in the centre and North of Europe. The workshop ‘European peripheries: transdisciplinary perspectives’, which is hosted by the project ‘Reconfigurations’ at the Viadrina Institute of European Studies (IFES), investigates these current trends of periphery-building in the European context. Contributions from political economy, sociology, political science, history, cultural and discourse studies provide conceptual orientation and empirical depth to peripheries as an emerging transdisciplinary research agenda.

Concept: Amelie Kutter

Contact/registration: reconfigurations@europa-uni.de

Once a year, the IFES invites distinguished speakers to deliver a lecture on topics related to Europe and the challenges it faces. The aim is to offer colleagues and students the possibility to have direct contact to reknown authors who have been influential in their fields and relevant in the global academic conversation.

A video of the lecture is available at the Viadrina media portal, and a report about the event by the Viadrina Logbuch (in German) can be found here.

The lecture was also broadcasted on the radio, in the programme "Hörsaal" bei Deuschlandfunk Nova and is now available online as a podcast.

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

„Achtung, Europa!"
by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Ágnes Heller

IFES semester opening and lecture as part of the IFES Keynote Lecture Series in cooperation with the Professur für Deutsch-Polnische Kultur- und Literaturbeziehungen und Gender Studies.

The video documentation of the event can be accessed here, and a short report by the Viadrina-Logbuch is available here (both in German).

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

"Is Europe possible without imperialism? Reflections on the global future of the European Union"
by Prof. Arjun Appadurai

You can find a video documentation of the event here (English language) and a short report (in German) in the Viadrina-Logbuch.

11 May - 30 June 2018, Collegium Polonicum: Foyer

widerschein
Photo exhibition by Jennifer Ramme

The photo exhibition displays documentary photographs and photographic stagings. Recurring motifs in the works are reproduction, but also destruction in its varied facets, among them: Copies of copies; analogies and homologies; parallels and parodies; appearances and reflections.

More information and impressions on the exhibition can be found on the website of the Collegium Polonicum as well as in an article bf the newspaper MOZ.

Wednesday, 24 October 2017, 4-6 pm
Opening event of IFES Research Seminars: Exhibition Opening and panel

The Aesthetic Fixation of Sociocultural Inequities in a Post-Socialist Society
Photographs by Mykhailo Minakov (DAAD Visiting Professor, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder) / University of Kyiv)

Panel discussion with Mykhailo Minakov, Paul Zalewski. Timm Beichelt, Alexander Wöll and Amelie Kutter

Facilitation: Estela Schindel

Gräfin-Dönhoff Building GD 102

The exhibition will be open from 25 Oct 2017 until 31. Jan 2018 in the gallery on the 1st floor of the Gräfin-Dönhoff-building. Currently the photographs are on display on the 1st floor of the Logenhaus.

A bulletin of the MOZ about Mykhailo Minakov can be found here.

Here you can find the event-journal of the Department of Press and Public Relations in German Language.