The many, messy histories
Journals digest "New Humanist" sees no humanitarian solutions to political crises; "Fronesis" asks who the People are; "Osteuropa" examines the gaffe-prone politics of European identity; "Dilema veche" says leaving Romania is the most effective form of protest; "L'Homme" revisits 19th-century arguments for the abolition of prostitution; "Arena" questions the impact of the Swedish Sex Purchase Act; "Le Monde diplomatique" (Oslo) avoids another story of western selflessnes; and "Studija" welcomes a timely exhibition of Soviet-era painting. [ more ]
The populist radical Right: A pathological normalcy
populism According to the conventional view, the far-Right in Europe is antithetical to the values of liberal democracy. New research showing that far-Right ideology is a radicalization of mainstream values has a major impact on how rightwing populism is understood, writes Cas Mudde. [ more ]
Great pretender
women in the church Feminist icon, anti-Catholic fabrication – or just a woman battling in a man's world? The German film "Die Päpstin" has already been written off by the Italian Bishops' Conference as a hoax. Sally Feldman explores reasons for the power and tenacity of the myth of Pope Joan. [ more ]
Look at my dress
gender equality When I was 22 I wanted to find a different way of writing about being a man, says Norwegian novelist Geir Gulliksen. It should be possible to be as gentle as a boy or as reckless as a girl. But gender stereotypes have not changed as radically as we think. [ more ]
Rape as the trope of a failed process of coming to terms with the past
sexual violence As a tropes that stand for two different but equally failed forms of coming to terms with the past, the rapes portrayed in two contemporary German novels serve as keys to understanding the postwar history of Eastern and Western Germany. [ more ]
Art and science: An interdisciplinary approach
science and art Not only artists but also scientists work with images, symbols and metaphors, draw on their intuition and make use of coincidence. How the humanities can inform a non-classical and non-reductionist approach to cancer research and living systems as a whole. [ more ]
The bonfire of the universities
New focal point The uni's burning! Die Uni brennt! The slogan was everywhere in the German-speaking space last winter, as the protests at the University of Vienna set off a wave of similar strikes, first at Austrian universities, then beyond: in Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Marburg, Zürich... 2009/10 saw further protests at universities in Athens, Zagreb, Marseilles and London. The Bologna Process, one of the main points of contention, also marked its ten-year anniversary on 12 March this year by officially inaugurating the European Higher Education Area. Eurozine surveys a debate enflaming (not only) Europe. [ more ]
Loving the enemy: Al-Qaeda's vision of the West
terrorism 9/11 organizer Khalid Sheikh Mohammed exploited his trial to remind the court of its human rights obligations, while Osama bin Laden's statements include appeals to religious pluralism. Al-Qaeda's use of liberal categories is central to its rhetoric, writes Faisal Devji. [German version added] [ more ]
Will the book enter the digital age?
An interview with Pascal Fouché
the future of the book The digitization of the book has brought a new balance of power in the trade, with established publishers locked in struggle with the new digital distributors. Pascal Fouché discusses whether publishers are prepared for the dematerialization of the printed word. [ more ]
Russia's rules of engagement
media "The fact that peole who were working freely in the 1990s now work in a way that is no longer free is the result of fear." Alexei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of independent Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy, tells Maria Eismont about dealing with death threats, censorship and the Kremlin. [ more ]
The listeners
cultural theory Primo Levi, radioman Studs Terkel and literary traveller Flemming Rřgilds animate an alternative way to live, achieved through two people hearing each other, writes Les Back. Active listening can create another set of social relations and ultimately a new kind of society. [ more ]
New Eurozine associate: ICORN
Network News ICORN joins Eurozine as an associate. Run from Stavanger, Norway, ICORN invites persecuted writers to dwell in a safe haven in one of more than 30 member cities where they can express themselves freely, without fear of being censored or silenced. [ more ]
Three chapters for a future of the unplanned
gallery In cooperation with "dérive", the Eurozine Gallery presents Barbara Holub. Her drawings create an opportunity to reassess habitual ways of seeing, and tell us: there are no innocent images; the images are already in us, writes Ines Gebetsroither. [ more ]
Dilemma '89: My father was a communist
Debate The Slovak author and journalist Martin M. Simecka and Hungarian architect and former samizdat publisher László Rajk are not only former dissidents of the younger generation, but also the sons of well-known persecuted communists. In the first debate in the Eurozine series "Europe talks to Europe", they discussed the still unanswered questions surrounding the involvement of their fathers' generation in post-war communism. A candid and riveting exchange. [Romanian version added] [ more ]
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