The Second Global Forum of Critical Studies

The Euroacademia Global Forum of Critical Studies
 

The Second Euroacademia

Global Forum of Critical Studies

Asking Big Questions Again

21-22 February 2014
 

Grand Majestic Plaza, Prague, Czech Republic

 

 

 

Some say that the 21st Century or modernity altogether made humans more concerned with doing rather than being. As the classical Greek civilization valued most the reflexive thinking as a form of freedom from natural necessities, contemporary times profoundly involve individuals and the imaginary accompanying social practices in a restless logic of consumption, competition and engagement that profoundly – or some would say, radically – suspends or indefinitely postpones the autonomous capacity of human beings to question and reflect upon the social order and the meaning of social practices. The fast advancement of a peculiar logic of post-industrial societies, the gradual dissolution of alternative models to the capitalist logic and a multitude of other alerting factors pushed ahead a global spread culture of one-dimensional productions of meaning that advances a closure rather than a constant reflexive re-evaluation of cultural/social practices.

 

 

 

Many alternatives at hand are often condemned to marginality or lost in the plural practices where everything goes as long as it’s part of an intellectual market. The ‘fatal strategies’ of post-industrial societies to keep individuals captive, busy and seduced by contingent social arrangements and economic practices minimized the questioning detachment required to evaluate and give meaning through reflexive criticism and unlimited interrogation. Various labels were given to our unfolding times from apocalyptic ones to some more comforting yet not by chance lacking some vital optimism. Despite a wide-spread discontent and suspicion towards the daily realities of our current societies, most of the big questions are often left outside by the self-involved active pursuit of an imagined well-being that is no longer transgressed by harsh critical evaluation of its meaning. The academic arena itself also advances, supports, integrates and promotes limited particular methodologies that generate an effect of mainstreaming and often keeps researchers or practitioners out of the battle-ground for big questions.

 

The ongoing economic crisis made reality even harsher and pushed ahead the need for more thinking as many habitual categories lost their meaning or relevance. New ways of thinking could transgress some inappropriate conceptions or misconceptions that preserve their centrality due to the mechanics of habits. This is a time when a call to thinking is well-placed. This is a call to arms for critical studies that promotes alternative, questioning and multidimensional thinking.

 

The Second Euroacademia Global Forum of Critical Studies aims to bring into an open floor the reflexive and questioning interaction among academics, intellectuals, practitioners and activists profoundly concerned with evaluative understandings of the world we’re living in. The focus of the forum is to initiate an arena where no question is misplaced and irrelevant as long as we acknowledge that evaluation, critical thinking and contestation are accessible trajectories to better understand our past, present and alternative scenarios for the future.

 

Participant’s Profile

 

The conference is addressed to academicsintellectualsresearchers and professionals, practitioners and activists profoundly concerned with evaluative understandings of the world we’re living in. As the nature of the conference is intended to be multidisciplinary in nature different academic backgrounds are equally welcomed.

 

Post-graduate studentsdoctoral candidates and young researchers are welcomed to submit an abstract. Representatives of INGOs, NGOs, Think Tanks and activists willing to present their work, research, experiences or reflections are welcomed as well to submit the abstract of their contribution. Euroacademia does not promote the byzantine association of people with their institutions. As well the distinction between senior and junior researchers is not applied as a cleavage.

 

Abstracts will be reviewed and the participants are selected based on the proven quality of the abstract. The submitted paper for the conference proceedings is expected to be in accordance with the lines provided in the submitted abstract.

Registration and Fee

 

Registration is now closed

 

The Participation Fee Includes:

 

  • the registration fee
  • participant’s package with all the materials for the conference
  • a copy of the electronic volume
  • access to Euroacademia discussion group and newsletters
  • discounted rates for participation in the future Euroacademia conferences
  • daily welcome coffee with snacks and unlimited conference drinks (water/sodas)
  • coffee brakes with snacks for all the duration of the conference
  • sparkling wine opening reception with snacks on 13th of December 2013
  • a 4 course lunch on 21st of February 2014 at the 4* Grand Majestic Plaza Restaurant
  • a 4 course lunch on 22nd of February 2014 at the 4* Grand Majestic Plaza Restaurant
  • certificate of attendance
  • access to exceptionally discounted rates for accommodation at 4* Deluxe Grand Majestic Plaza Hotel
  • optional social program

 
 
 
Unfortunately, Euroacademia has no available funds for covering transport and accommodation to/in Prague. Participants are responsible for finding funding to cover transportation and accommodation costs during the whole period of the conference. Official invitation letters can be sent by Euroacademia to the financing institution to confirm the selection and participation in the conference upon request.
 

Social Activities and Publication

 

A specific spot in the conference program will be dedicated to social networking and therefore all the participants interested in setting or developing further cooperation agendas and prospects with other participants will have time to present and/or promote their project and express calls for cooperation.

 

A specific setting (Social Corner) for promotional materials connected with the topic of the conference will be reserved for the use of the participants. Books authored or edited by the participants can be exhibited and promoted during the whole period of the conference and can also be presented within the conference package based on prior arrangements.

 

An optional dinner and a social event will be organized for the evenings of the conference in a typical Czech cuisine restaurant as optional program for the willing participants. The social dinner will be held based on participant’s confirmation and it costs around 15 Euro to be covered individually by participants.

 

Publication:

Selected papers will be published in an electronic volume with ISBN after the confirmation of the authors and a double peer-review process based on an agreed publication schedule. All the papers selected for publication should be original and must have not been priory published elsewhere. All participants to the conference will receive a copy of the volume.

Important Dates
15 December 2013 Deadline for Submitting Panel Proposals
15 January 2014 300 words abstracts and details of affiliation
16 January 2014 Latest notification of acceptance
18 January 2014 Sending the Registration Form
20 January 2014 Payment of the conference fee
5th of February 2014 Sending the draft paper to be uploaded on the web site of the conference
10th of February 2014 Publication of the conference program and uploading the draft papers on the website
21st of February 2014 The conference commences at 9.30 am

Venue and Directions

 

The conference will take place in the conference premises of the exclusive 4 stars deluxe design Grand Majestic Plaza Hotel, centrally located in the heart of Prague, easily accessible from the historic center and within a walking distance from all the major tourist attractions: just few steps away from the famous Municipal House, Gothic Powder Gate, significant Republic Square and the most attractive shopping centre Palladium.

 

Hotel Grand Majestic Plaza, Prague

Truhlářská 16, 110 00 Prague 1

Czech Republic

Tel.: +420 211 159 100

Fax: +420 211 159 159

E-mail: [email protected]



 

Prague is a wonderful European city with a very rich history and a vivid passionate intellectual life; a place full of various and inspiring cultural events, sightseeing opportunities, great food, exquisite architecture and of course the city that brings easily to your mind Jan Hus, Franz Kafka, Jan Palach, the Prague Spring, and Milan Kundera. After all these, the unique atmosphere gives anyone a chance for personal memories and reveries. Prague is a city of beautiful moments!

See full information about the conference Location & Map:

HERE

Conference participants are responsible for arranging the accommodation and travel. However, discounted rates for a limited number of rooms in the hotel where the conference takes place can be arranged by organizers and announced to selected participants upon request.

Theory and Praxis: Bridging the Gap in Critical Theory

(Chair: Dana Domsodi, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy)

 

Political Economy and Critical Re-Thinking of Mode(l)s of Capitalism

(Chair: Emanuel Crudu, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy)

  • After Socialism, Capitalism Stumbles Over the Same Paradigms. A Case for a Third Way: Plea for Sustainable Economy and Open Democratic Societies
    Gerhard Eichweber, Value Group, Switzerland
    After Socialism, Capitalism Stumbles Over the Same Paradigms. A Case for a Third Way: Plea for Sustainable Economy and Open Democratic Societies With Hans Domizlaff's skepticism in mind as a warning typically turning optimists into realists, the paper shows ways out of crisis and towards lasting democracies. In doing so, it explains the role of values and value diversity (as opposed to merely quantitative criteria) and the ability to sense, express and realise qualitative diversity as an important trait of sustainable society and its economy. With finance returning to its correct role at the service of economy and individual successes serving society.

    Continue reading 

  • The Myth of Egalitarianism’ in the Consumption Society
    Amirpasha Tavakkoli, University Paris 8, France
    The Myth of Egalitarianism’ in the Consumption Society In this paper, we are going to analyze the new modalities of social inequality and new social segregations related to consumerism, by the key concept of exchange value.

    Continue reading 

  • Against Precarity, Towards Real Democracy. Kaleckian  Perspective on Basic Income
    Maciej Szlinder, Institute of Philosophy, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
    Against Precarity, Towards Real Democracy. Kaleckian Perspective on Basic Income The paper investigates the potential influence of universal basic income on national Gross Domestic Product and the level of income inequalities. It uses Michał Kalecki's equations that show relations between fundamental macroeconomic factors in the national economy (like GDP, wage/profit share, budget deficit, private investment, etc.) to verify and refute some of the common objections to basic income.

    Continue reading 

  • Theory and Praxis of Romantic Anti-Capitalism
    Matthias István Köhler, Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. Germany
    Theory and Praxis of Romantic Anti-Capitalism In my paper I would like to argue that the moral critique of capitalist society based on romantic conceptions is leading us nowhere; actually, as Georg Lukács points out, it is working as “indirect apologetics”. Taking the example of romantic anti-capitalism I would like to show that praxis is always based on theoretical assumptions, even if those are not conscious.

    Continue reading 

 

Performing Identity: The Relationship between Identity and Performance in Literature, Music, Theatre and the Performing Arts – Section One

(Chair: Panayiota Chrysochou, The University of Cyprus)

 

Critical Applied Politics: Understanding Social Realities and Ways to Transform Them

(Chair: Gerhard K. Eichweber, Value Group, Switzerland)

 

(En)Gendering Identity: Gender in Culture, Educations and Society

(Chair: Panayiota Chrysochou, The University of Cyprus)

 

Marxism Reloaded or Philosophy in Times of Poverty

(Chair: Davide Bradanini, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy)

 

Critical Theory: From Meta-Narratives to Social Beliefs

(Chair: Emanuel Crudu, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy)

 

Performing Identity: The Relationship between Identity and Performance in Literature, Music, Theatre and the Performing Arts – Section Two

(Chair: Panayiota Chrysochou, The University of Cyprus)

  • The Unbearable Lightness of Persepolis: The Allegorical Register of Melancholy and Nostalgia
    Eleftheria Rania Kosmidou, HII Research Associate, UCD
    Kate Corbin, University of Salford, UK
    The Unbearable Lightness of Persepolis: The Allegorical Register of Melancholy and Nostalgia This paper argues that the film presents a nostalgic, yet melancholic version of the past that does not seek to be didactic; it does not strive to give history lessons, but trigger critical response.

    Continue reading 

  • The Audacity of Place
    Nkule Mabaso, OnCurating.org, Zürich, Switzerland
    The Audacity of Place This paper reflects on the performance and commodification of blackness and the translation of ‘cultural identity’ into currency. I propose to speak about 10 works of emerging South African artists whose work is neither placeless nor place bound and explores the trans-national reach of globalization, yet facilitate the stereotypic of black bodies in the harsh laws of spacing that reduce their narrative into fixed and static identities.

    Continue reading 

  • The Racial and Ethnical Camp of Želimir Žilnik’s “Kenedi” Trilogy
    Milisava Petković, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Germany
    The Racial and Ethnical Camp of Želimir Žilnik’s “Kenedi” Trilogy Žilnik’s artistic strategy consists of fictional additions to the documentary material, through which he highlights the ethnical travesty and shifting of gender roles as survival strategies.

    Continue reading 

  • Performing Disabled Sensorial Extension and Subversion
    Amanda Cachia, Visual Arts Department, University of California, San Diego, CA
    Performing Disabled Sensorial Extension and Subversion What imaginative and metaphorical opportunities can be affixed to current standardized usages of the prosthesis within contemporary art practices if we consider the prosthesis as a sensorial extension in disabled artists’ performances? How do artists with impairments use material and ephemeral body extensions in embodied, performative acts?

    Continue reading 

 

  • Grand Majestic Plaza Hotel

     

    Truhlarska 16, 110 00 Prague 1 Czech Republic CONFERENCE Room: Grand II
  • Conference program

     

    • February 21, 2014
      • 09:30 - 10:00Registration
      • 09:30 - 10:30Opening Workshop Asking Big Questions Again: The Role of Criticism Today
      • 10:30 - 11:00Coffee Break and Snacks (Foyer)
      • 11:00 - 13:00Panel 1 – Theory and Praxis: Bridging the Gap in Critical Theory (Chair: Dana Domsodi, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy)
      • 13:00 - 14:00Lunch (Grand Majestic Plaza Restaurant)
      • 14:00 - 16:00Panel 2 – Political Economy and Critical Re-Thinking of Mode(l)s of Capitalism (Chair: Emanuel Crudu, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy)
      • 16:00 - 16:30Coffee Break and Snacks (Foyer)
      • 16:30 - 18:00Panel 3 – Performing Identity: The Relationship between Identity and Performance in Literature, Music, Theatre and the Performing Arts (Section One) (Chair: Chrysochou Panayiota, The University of Cyprus)
      • 18:00 - 19:30Panel 4 – Critical Applied Politics: Understanding Social Realities and Ways to Transform Them Chair: Gerhard K. Eichweber (Value Group, Switzerland )
      • 19:30 - 20:00Welcome Drink and Snack (Grand Majestic Plaza - Atrium)
      • 20:00 - 22:00Optional Social Dinner at a Czech Cuisine Restaurant
    • February 22, 2014
      • 09:00 - 11:00Panel 5 – (En)Gendering Identity: Gender in Culture, Educations and Society (Chair: Chrysochou Panayiota, The University of Cyprus)
      • 11:00 - 11:30Coffee Break and Snacks (Foyer)
      • 11:30 - 13:00Panel 6 – Marxism Reloaded or Philosophy in Times of Poverty (Chair: Davide Bradanini, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy)
      • 13:00 - 14:00Lunch (Grand Majestic Plaza Restaurant)
      • 14:00 - 16:00Panel 7 – Performing Identity: The Relationship between Identity and Performance in Literature, Music, Theatre and the Performing Arts (Section Two) (Chair: Chrysochou Panayiota, The University of Cyprus)
      • 16:00 - 16:30Coffee Break and Snacks (Foyer)
      • 16:30 - 18:30Panel 8 – Critical Theory: From Meta-Narratives to Social Beliefs (Chair: Emanuel Crudu, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy)
      • 18:30 - 19:00Closing Session: Concluding Remarks
      • 19:00 - 21:00Optional Social Dinner at a Czech Cuisine Restaurant