The aim of this panel/mini-symposium is to shed light on the way Europe, as a historical object, has been defined and construed. The timespan is, roughly, from the eighteenth century to the present day. 

Argument

A.J.P. Taylor once remarked, rather trenchantly, that "European history is whatever the historian wants it to be". He highlighted the difficulties of defining what European history actually is, when it starts and what its boundaries are. These are issues that have troubled and still keep troubling historians today. Richard Evans, for instance, has made similar remarks and J.G.A. Pocock shares, in part at least, such views. The complexity and indeterminacy of European self-representations and discourses about Europe have led to a plethora of diverse, multifarious and precarious narratives. As a consequence, one could question the very existence of a European history, a history that is capable of downplaying centuries of religious wars, national clashes and ideological struggles, and of offering a coherent narrative that ties the peoples of Europe together. The aim of this panel/mini-symposium is to shed light on the way Europe, as a historical object, has been defined and construed. The timespan is, roughly, from the eighteenth century to the present day. Topics relevant to this conference may include, but are by no means limited to, the following issues:

• How have narratives/histories of Europe been construed?
• How do historical notions – such as ‘antiquity’, ‘modernity’, ‘revolution’ – influence the shaping of European identity(ies)?
• How do historical and geographical notions of Europe interact?
• How do national and European narratives interact?

Submission guidelines

We welcome submissions from intellectual, cultural, social and other historians and from scholars from neighbouring disciplines (history of art, literary criticism, international relations, historical sociology and philosophy, amongst others) that might be interested in this topic. We also encourage a variety of methodological approaches and the submission of theoretical papers.

If you are interested in presenting a 15-minute paper for this panel/mini-symposium, part of the XXII International Conference of Europeanists, please send a title, an abstract of no more than 350 words and a short bio to Dr. Matthew D’Auria (m.dauria@uea.ac.uk).

The deadline for submission is Friday 1 October 2014.

The panel will take place at Sciences Po – Paris, on 8-10th July 2015

Organizing and scientific committee

• Dr. Matthew D’Auria (University of East Anglia)
• Dr. Jan Vermeiren (University of East Anglia)
• Prof. Giuseppe Foscari (University of Salerno)
• Prof. Vittorio Dini (University of Salerno)