News Winter 2009/2010

What is Europe according to its others? An essence, an origin, a center? Or is it nothingness, a void or a chiasm? Where is Europe? In diasporic or migrant spaces? How is Europe different from the West? Could an identity be turned into European? Could it be Eurocentric or Euro-chiasmic? Can one leave one cultural frame to take on another one? Can one transnationalize and/or regionalize a national identity or vice versa? Can the European Union create a single entity or a grand signifier of Europe out of multiple differences? What is the role of communication, media, and culture in such exchanges, transformations, processes and practices? Can we account for the similarities, proximities, and relations or should we focus on the differences, cleavages, and tensions?

This conference aims to explore the questions above and how such questions surface in media and cultural texts, ranging from everyday practices to media representations.