240512 SE Decentring Europe: Searching for the new ways to understand Europe and its divisions (P3) (2022S)

The invasion of Ukraine, The Migration Crisis, The Economic Crisis, The Covid-19 Crisis, The EU enlargement and shrinking… The last thirty years have shown Europe to be a dynamic, bewildering puzzle with a constantly shuffling elements and configurations. But are the existing ways of describing and analysing Europe keeping up with its changing dynamic and its complex nature? If Europe is in crises, does it also mean the Crises of European representation? When we are telling a story of Europe, whose story are we telling? From whose perspective? Who is included and who is left out?

The overall objective of the course is to look for new frameworks that will allow us to better understand and represent contemporary Europe. In order to facilitate these goals the course is designed as an open-ended discussion. Instead of offering ready-made theories, this course invites students to actively and creatively search for the new ways of researching, analysing and describing contemporary European realities. To explore paths that will allow us to move beyond East-West, North-South, insiders-outsiders, centres and peripheries approach. The goal is to find effective ways to de-centre and decolonise studies about Europe.
In the course special attention will be given to the East-West divide. Unlike other courses, which consider the East and the West separately, this module takes a novel approach. Through examining case studies from various regions simultaneously, this course facilitates a debate that firstly challenges pre-existing presumptions about different parts of Europe, and secondly explores new ways of conceptualising and representing European divisions and connections.

In the first part of this course, we will look for the historical roots of the East-West divide and ask why it continues to be such a prominent force in the European relations? In the second part of the course we will focus on specific themes (such as economy, political organisation, social movements and civil society, class, religion, gender, migration, colonisation and de-colonisation etc.) in order to explore differences and similarities connecting and disconnecting different groups across the divide.
In the process we will explore serious questions about power, race and inequality in Europe. But we will also ponder more light issues, such as who has the best sex in Europe, is EU a conspiracy (theory), and who will win this year Eurovision?