Belarus and the Russian Invasion in Ukraine

2nd session of “CEFRES Webinars for Ukraine” organized in partnership with the GDR Connaissance de l’Europe médiane

Date: Wednesday 20th April 2022, 12:00-13:30
Location: online (to register, write at the address cefres@cefres.cz)
Language: English

Convenor and moderation: Ronan Hervouet (CEFRES / University of Bordeaux)

With the participation of

Milàn Czerny, Belarus Observatory, Oxford University
Belarus, Still a Sovereign State?
Yauheni Kryzhanouski, Sciences Po Strasbourg
The Ukrainian Conflict Seen by the Belarusian Society
Anna Talarionok, Charles University
Belarusian Exiles Caught in the Ukrainian Conflict

A complete presentation of the seminar is available and downloadable here.

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How to study Romanian conservative intellectuals?

How to study Romanian conservative intellectuals in transnational perspective?

5th session of CEFRES Seminar

When: Wednesday 6 April 2022, 4:30 pm
Where: CEFRES and online (to register please contact claire(@)cefres.cz)
Language: English
Host: Anemona Constantin (CEFRES/Charles University)

Abstract:

“Populist,” “illiberal,” “nationalist,” or “conservative”: these are some common ways to refer nowadays to political actors, social movements, or intellectuals who criticize liberalism. These overused, worn-out, and often abused labels have been reinvented despite some obvious theoretical flaws and methodological biases. Perhaps, because these terms are fulfilling a vital social and political function – naming and shaming what appears to be at the climax of the ideological undesirability – they continue to be widely used in the media and by social scientists. A few questions emerge naturally: how to engage with a research field undermined by so many negative preconceptions? How to study an object labeled in such a derogatory way? Which research methods would allow us to break with the common beliefs and approach the conservative mobilizations more reflexively?

To answer these questions, the presentation examines a specific case: the Romanian conservative intellectuals and their contribution to the political debates that have challenged since 2007 the “liberal consensus” established in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after the demise of state- socialism. By “liberal consensus,” I understand discourses that have accepted and promoted human rights (including minority rights and tolerance towards cultural, religious, and gender diversity), the market economy, the rule of law, and the European integration. By “conservative” intellectuals, I understand public figures who define themselves as such.

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The Philosophical Horizon as a Singularity of French Anthropology

6th 2022 Session of CEFRES Seminar

When: Wednesday 20 April 2022, 4:30–6:30 pm
Where: At CEFRES and online (to register, please contact claire(@)cefres.cz)
Language: English

Host: Emmanuel Désveaux (EHESS)

Abstract
From Durkheim to Descola, via Mauss, Lévi-Strauss, Clastres and Godelier, and even Alban Bensa, a constancy is observed in French anthropology: the quest for universals in the gift, the exchange of women, the nature of government, or even the perception of nature and the significance of power relations. Continue reading The Philosophical Horizon as a Singularity of French Anthropology →