Newsletter February 2024

ACADEMIC EVENT SECTION

#1: Virtual Event: “The Fraught Use of the Term Genocide Since 1945”

The event organized by The Holocaust Educational Foundation of Northwestern University is part of a new series: Holocaust Studies, Terror and War. This scholarly conversation aims to reflect on the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, and its consequences. The academics will discuss political violence and its impacts on the community. Academics from universities in Boston, Florida, and New York will participate in the virtual event that takes place on February 11, 2024, at 6 p.m. Registration for the event is required. For the registration, please use this link. If you have any questions or suggestions, do not hesitate to contact the organizers via email at hef@northwestern.edu.

#2: : Report Launch: Unveiling ‘The Sound of Silence: EDI in European Studies Canon’

The event is being organized by the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES). The report is written by the current UACES Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) officer, Dr. Koen Slootmaeckers, and the previous EDI officer Prof. Roberta Guerrina. The report investigates the dynamics shaping the academic landscape, focusing on the construction of the European Studies Canon, and the place that is given to equality themes. The report launch will occur online on Zoom on February 12, 2024, at 2 p.m. For registration, please visit this link.

#3: “Leiden University: 449th Dies Natalis“

The theme of the celebrations of 449th Dies Natalis of Leiden University is Curiosity: the inquisitive behavior that is the basis of all science, and that also engages and moves us forward in our daily existence. The opening speech will be given by the rector of Leiden University, Prof. Hester Bijl, on the theme of curiosity. Several other lectures will be delivered. The first of them will be given by cognitive psychologist Prof. Mariska Kret, who deals with research on expressions of emotions in humans and animals. The second lecture will be delivered by Prof. Sara Seager, who developed a method of investigating to what extent the atmospheres of certain exoplanets are suitable for life. The event will be accompanied by a music performance of the Leiden Student Choir and Orchestra Collegium Musicum. Dies Natalis will occur on February 8, 2024, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. For registration, click here.

#4: LSE Joint Sessions on Critical Europe 2024

The University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) is organizing a postgraduate workshop session open to PhD candidates and early-career researchers working in Critical European Studies. The European continent is facing a series of crises, financial, migratory, political as well as military. At the same time, Europe is depicted as an idyllic ‘garden’ as opposed to a jungle, which is behind the ‘garden’ walls. The conference consists of three workshops: “Violence and the Politics of Memory,” “Neoliberalism and the Political Economy of Precarity,” and “Paternalism and the Politics of Migration.” The conference will occur in London, UK, from February 22 to 23, 2024.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL EVENT SECTION

#1: Annual Ball of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University

Please accept an invitation to the traditional ball of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The ball will take place on February 29, 2024, at 7 p.m. in the historical premises of the National House at Vinohrady. The program will offer the opportunity to listen to live music, dance, and meet with your colleagues from the university on the occasion of a traditional gala evening. The tickets can be purchased here.

#2: ‘In the Borderland between Worlds’ part III: The Island of the Day Before

Visit the exhibition in the Jagiellonian University Nature Education Centre (NEC) that deals with the discoveries and the dichotomy they bring. Discoveries, on the one hand, contributed to scientific progress and, on the other hand, led to the downfall of some cultures and the extinction of numerous plant and animal species. The exhibition features art from Academies of Fine Arts in Wroclaw, Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice, and Gdaňsk, presenting paintings, photographs, and items related to nature, bio-art, and natural history collections. The exhibition venue is at NEC, Gronostajowa 5, and lasts until February 8, 2024.

#3: In Conversation With…Matt Field

A series of occasional talks organized by Václav Havel Library continues with a conversation with Matt Field, the UK’s ambassador in Prague, who has spent a little over a year in the Czech capital and has already become perhaps the most recognizable diplomat in the Czech Republic. What is the most important aspect of his diplomatic mission, how does he view Czech-British relations in 2024, and what values does he wish to promote? These and other questions will be discussed. The event starts at 7 p.m. in Prague on February 13, 2024. For more information, visit the event web pages.

CALL

#1: Unfolding European Integration

The student journal of European Studies of the College of Europe, DuoDecim Astra, is inviting postgraduate and Ph.D. students to send a paper covering the theme ‘Unfolding European Integration.’ Contributions in all areas of European Studies, including enlargement, the history of European Integration, and reflections on the Europeanisation process, are welcome. Research focusing on identity, migration, foreign policy, political economy, and the rule of law in an era characterized by the concept of poly-crisis are also convenient themes for the paper. The chosen papers will be published in the 2024 issue of the journal. Both abstracts and articles in French or English are accepted. The submission deadline is on February 15, 2024. Here you can find detailed information about the call for articles/abstracts.

#2: Three-month paid internship

Peace Research Center Prague (PRCP) is offering a paid internship to master’s/PhD students who would contribute to a paper related to arms control and/or non-proliferation issues and also participate in PRCP seminars, workshops, and other activities. The intern will receive a 950 €/month stipend and travel subsidies. Interested candidates should send their CV, motivation letter (max. 1 page), and a writing sample (e.g., research paper/essay/part of thesis; max. 10 pages) to barbora.novotna@fsv.cuni.cz by February 28, 2024.

Important note: Only candidates from EU member states are eligible for this call!

IMPORTANT DATES

#1: Master’s Open Day Leiden University

Get to know Leiden University’s master’s programmes and the career opportunities it brings. Get a glimpse of the university buildings and cities of Leiden and the Hague. Master’s Open Day on campus takes place on February 16, 2024. There will also be a chance to attend an online open day (a precise date will be specified).

HINDSIGHT

#1: Barcelona Research Seminar

The event that occurred from January 17 to 18, 2024, gathered second year students of the EPS programme from all partner universities. The students had opportunity to present, defend and discuss their MA Thesis projects with academics from the partner universities. We want to thank all the students and teachers who participated in the event.

READING TIP: The Shadow of the Wind, 2001 (author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Spain)

Story from Barcelona shortly after the finish of the Second World War. The city heals from the wounds caused by the conflict, and the antiquarian’s son Daniel, who has recently lost his mother, escapes harsh reality by reading a peculiar book, The Shadow of the Wind, by Julian Carax. In search for other works of the author, Daniel opens a door into the darkest secrets of Barcelona and the epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love evolves.

FREQUENT QUESTION / DO NOT FORGET

What is the date and venue of the graduation ceremony?

The graduation ceremony for EPS graduates who finished EPS studies during summer (June-September) 2023 will occur on March 20, 2024, in the Great Hall of Charles University. If you graduate later, the later date of the ceremony will be allocated and communicated to you. The hours of the event will be confirmed approx. one month before the graduation ceremony by the International Office of CU (degreeprograms@fsv.cuni.cz). The number of attendees per graduate is not limited.

Do you have any hints, ideas, or tips for interesting events, calls, books, films, podcasts, etc.? Do not hesitate to reach us at eps@fsv.cuni.cz. Your feedback and contribution are highly appreciated.