We would like to invite you to the upcoming Critical European Studies Workshop, taking place at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona from 29 to 30 May 2015. The workshop is the sequel of last year’s successful workshop at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, bringing together scholars from the Critical Political Economy Research Network (CPERN) and from the Arbeitskreis für kritische Europaforschung (AkE). The workshop provides a forum for critical scholars within and outside academia as well as activists to meet and discuss critical theoretical perspectives on the configuration of European capitalism, the EU, its crisis and political resistance. This year’s workshop focusses on austerity, the political economy of Spain, debt as well as strategies of social movements, trade unions and new left parties.
The format of the Barcelona workshop will be similar to the one in Amsterdam. In order to foster a constructive debate the workshop will avoid the ‘usual’ conference structure with individual paper presentations and foregrounds collective discussions instead. We will proceed on the basis of thematic block sessions of 120 minutes – with each tabling a core text that all participants will have read beforehand. The sessions start with a brief introduction, and 5 to 6 participants discussing and enhancing the perspectives developed in the core text from the angle of their own research/activism (5 minutes each). This is followed by a mumble where all participants share their ideas on the inputs in small groups of 3-4 people (5 minutes), after which the floor will be opened for a plenary discussion.
The workshop is open to all scholars and activists interested in critical perspectives on European integration. To register, please write a message to criticaleuropeanstudies@gmail.com.
Programm
Friday, 29 May
13:00-14:00
Round of Introductions
14:00-16:00
Session 1: Locking in austerity. The current state of European crisis management
Core text: Radice, H. (2014) Enforcing austerity in Europe: the structural deficit as a policy target. Journal of Contemporary European Studies 22(3): 318-28.
16.00-16.30
Break
16.30-18.30
Session 2: The Eurozone crisis and the political economy of Spain.
Core text: López, I. & Rodríguez, E. (2011): The Spanish model. New Left Review 69: 5-28.
18.30- 19.00
Break
19.00-21.00
Public event (tba)
Saturday, 30 May
10:00-12.00
Session 3: Politicizing Debt
Core text: Roberts, A. and Soederberg, S. (2014) Politicizing Debt and Denaturalizing the ’New Normal’. Critical Sociology 40(5): 657-68.
12.00-12.15
Break
12.15-14.15
Session 4: Strategies of Social Movements and Trade Unions in the European crisis
Core text: Huke, N., Clua-Losada, M. and Bailey, D.J. (2015) Disrupting the European Crisis: A Critical Political Economy of Contestation, Subversion and Escape. New Political Economy, DOI: 10.1080/13563467.2014.999759
14.15-15.30
Break
15.30-17.30
Session 5: Syriza, Podemos, Venceremos? Left Parties
Core text: Spourdalakis, M. (2014) The Miraculous Rise of the ‘Phenomenon SYRIZA’. International Critical Thought 4(3): 354-66.
17.30-18.00
Closing
Confirmed participants include Núria Alabao, David Bailey, Sergi Cutillas, Agnes Gaygi, Mathis Heinrich, Albert Jiménez, Stefanie Hürtgen, Nicholas Kiersey, Katrin McGauran, Vicenç Navarro, Jörg Nowak, Marica Frangakis, Lukas Oberndorfer, Henk Overbeek, Frederico Pinheiro, Albert Recio, Ramon Ribera Fumaz, Thomas Sablowski, Michalis Spourdalakis & Maka Suarez.
Support
A limited amount of financial support may be available to fund participation of activists and researchers working in precarious conditions. In case you wish to participate and have trouble funding your travels do not hesitate to write us message (criticaleuropeanstudies@gmail.com).