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Modes of philosophizing
A round table debate
philosophy Should philosophy have something to say to non-philosophers? Should
it be pursued only by those trained in philosophy? And should
analytic philosophy reject continental philosophy or recognize it as another
"mode of philosophizing"? [ more ]
May '68: a contested history
1968 Despite the tendency of decennial commemorations to cement the "official version" of May '68, important questions remain unanswered. Chris Reynolds points out some blind spots in the increasingly stereotyped interpretation of the events in France forty years ago. [ more ]
"If I don't say what I think, what's the point of being mad?"
A conversation with Catalan philosopher Xavier Rubert de Ventós
philosophy "If my philosophy has been of any use to me, it's been to situate my monstrous condition within an order of general discourse." The Catalan philosopher and former MEP explains why he finds reactionaries more interesting than liberals and what he means by the "non-Fichtean ego". [ more ]
The politics of the global movement
global justice In an extract from his new book "Social Movement", Swedish sociologist Magnus Wennerhag argues that the global justice movement differs from the '68 protests in being more political and aimed at international institutions and a globalized democracy. [ more ]
A look into the latest issues
The centre is everywhere
Journals digest "Arche" looks warily at the Belarusian thaw; "Magyar Lettre" gets to the heart of the central European city; "Kulturos barai" criticizes the culture of groceries; "Fronesis" takes counsel on the "unhappy marriage" between feminism and the Left; "A Prior" looks at monuments that won't melt into air; "Revista Crítica" sees the political potential of bio-art; "Critique & Humanism" analyzes neophilia and neophobia; "Dialogi" lashes out at the Slovenian press; and "Glänta" is missing links. [ more ]
No maths and no water in Stolipinovo
The jobs boom in Bulgaria has left the Roma behind
poverty Roma in southeastern Europe are caught in the vicious cycle of discrimination and exclusion. While there is general agreement that socio-economic integration of Roma is desirable, neither the EU commission nor national governments appear willing to implement the necessary strategies. [ more ]
Lithuanian intellectual Bronys Savukynas dies at 78
Obituary Bronys Savukynas, renowned Lithuanian linguist, translator, and editor-in-chief of "Kulturos barai", died on Saturday 20 April in Vilnius. He was 78. Savukynas's contribution to Lithuanian intellectual culture was considerable. [ more ]
Citizen Victim
The migrant youth, the RAF terrorist, and the German feuilletons
violence The German media's reaction to a recent spate of migrant youth violence
bore striking similarities to last year's controversy over the release of Red Army Faction prisoners. In both cases, an ostensibly apolitical identification with the "victim" was nothing of the sort. [ more ]
Global museums in the twenty-first century
The Guggenheim foundation and the rhetoric of cultural planning in Vilnius
global culture The fact that a Guggenheim museum is being planned for Vilnius is indicative of the conviction that "de-provincialization" can only be achieved by taking part in global projects. Meanwhile, the cultural demands of the local population go unheeded. Vilnius is not Bilbao! [ more ]
Literature
"Water is more dangerous than the rise of Islam..."
Interview with Dutch writer Margriet de Moor
Literature and "real life" Although often using female heroines in her novels, Margriet de Moor finds pigeonholing literature into male and female categories is a pointless exercise. "The social issue of women suffering under a male dominance – no, I don't find it terribly interesting." [ more ]
Literary criticism Read Literary perspectives, Eurozine's series of essays providing an overview of diverse literary landscapes in Europe. [ more ]
The dialectic of secularization
Religion and politics The opposition between "multiculturalism" and "Enlightenment fundamentalism" is misconceived, argues Jürgen Habermas. "The universalist claim of the political Enlightenment does not contradict the particularist sensibilities of a correctly understood multiculturalism." [ more ]
Read also Is religion a public or a private matter? Can there be such a thing as a European Islam? Eurozine's Focal Point Post-secular Europe? [ more ]
A lesson in Dylan appreciation
Interview When Christopher Ricks, author of critical works on Milton, Keats, and Eliot, turned his attention to Bob Dylan, critics grumbled that he could talk one into believing that even a phone book is poetry. Now that Dylan has won the Pulitzer Prize, they may have to reconsider. [ more ]
Captain America died last year
Kulturkritik Whoever doesn't read comics won't have gathered that the long-serving American superhero met his end last year. But who cares? And isn't that the problem? What are fans of US popular culture throughout the rest of the world to make of this new introspection? [ more ]
Schengen blues
Borders Hungary's entry into the Schengen Zone in December 2007, along with eight other countries, brought a further relaxation of historical borders. While many communities have benefited, the process has not been without its absurdities, writes Gábor Miklósi. [ more ]
Read also Living in visa territory by Nelly Bekus. [ more ]
The rebirth of religion and enchanting materialism
"Soft" Atheism While Europe is the exception in the global de-secularization of politics, theoretical interest in theological issues has been rising. Sven-Eric Liedman places "soft naturalism" against militant atheism and makes a plea for a "matérialisme enchanté". [ more ]
The deep slumber of decided opinions
Rowan Williams and the Sharia controversy
Islam in Europe When Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Church, suggested that the British public consider "some accommodation" to Islamic law, the response was one of outrage. Yet in most cases his words were wildly misinterpreted, writes Stephen Jones. [ more ]
From "big character posters" to blogs
Facets of independent self-expression in China
China Despite predictions to the contrary, the Internet has not brought about abrupt political change in China and is not likely to do so anytime soon. Its significance and implications for Chinese society lie elsewhere, writes Martin Hala. [German version added] [ more ]
BEHIND THE HEADLINES 1
A journey without maps
Zimbabwe Despite electoral defeat, Robert Mugabe is refusing to relinquish control of Zimbabwe. Poet, novelist, and journalist Chenjerai Hove has been one of the many opponents to fall foul of the Mugabe regime. Here he recalls two incidents typical of the censorship that forced him into internal exile; and how, in exile outside his home country, he discovered new perspectives. [ more ]
Read also: Augusta Conchiglia, Mugabe's iron hand (de); and Doris Lessing, Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwean tragedy (de).
Behind the headlines 2
Cartoon controversy redux
free speech The Danish cartoon controversy has flared up again after police foiled a murder attempt on one of the cartoonists. This prompted Danish and international newspapers to republish the offending image, arguing that free speech is a fundamental human right and a central tenet of democracy. Yet there are strong divergences among liberals about what the right to free speech entails, as reactions to the initial controversy in 2006 revealed. Read on for Eurozine's take on the debate the last time around. [ more ]
External links "35 Pakistani Clerics Urge OIC to Declare Economic Boycott of Denmark" (MEMRI); "Threats close embassies in Kabul" (BBC)
External links Timothy Garton Ash: "Intimidation and censorship are no answer to this inflammatory film" (Guardian); "West and Muslims Clash on Free Speech" (AP); "Controversial cartoon cut from Dutch MP's film on Islam" (Guardian); "Website withdraws Dutch MP's anti-Islam film after threats" (AFP); "Cartoonist to sue over Islam film" (BBC); "'The Cartoon Must Not Be Used Against Muslims as a Whole'" (Spiegel Online)
External links "Bin Laden Slams EU Over Prophet Cartoons" (AP); "New 'bin Laden tape' threatens EU" (BBC)
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"The trauma must remain inaccessible to memory"
Part III
serial In the final part of Harald Weilnböck's essay on poststructuralist borrowing of the concept of psycho-trauma, the author draws some troubling conclusions from Dr Goodheart's excursus into poststructuralist trauma theory. Could an interest in ensuring that "the trauma remains inaccessible to memory" be affiliated to institutional structures of power, control, and exclusion? [ more ]
Read also Part one of Harald Weilnböck's essay, in which Dr Goodheart analyzes a "hermeneutical assault" on Hitchcock's "Marnie"; and part two, in which he is confronted with an example of "trauma-therapy bashing".
Not an island
Europe and the Middle East
Neighbourhoods Europe can play a major role in averting conflict in the Middle East, says Joschka Fischer. But does it have the instruments and institutions to do so? Given the urgency of the situation, can Europeans afford the luxury of being against Europe? [ more ]
The Spine
privacy and health The introduction of a national health database in the UK is being carried out by a typically wasteful private finance initiative. Total data transparency may be good for corporations and security obsessed governments, but what does it mean for the recipients of "joined-up care"? [ more ]
This Bud's for you
US politics Ronald Reagan's ability to get working men to vote for policies clearly not in their interests casts a long shadow over US politics post 9/11. In the US presidential race, winning the masculinity battle will be crucial, writes Katrine Kielos. [ more ]
What does Nietzsche mean to philosophers today?
Philosophy Excessively sensitive, anti-liberal, and irrelevant, or radical, prescient, and misunderstood? Six philosophers answer Kritika&Kontext's questions on Nietzsche. Their responses make one thing clear: Nietzsche still divides opinion. [Lithuanian version added, part I of III] [ more ]
Gallery for Cultural Journals at the Alte Schmiede, Vienna
news item Cultural journals have always been a central part of the programme at the Alte Schmiede (Old Smithy) in Vienna. Now, a broad selection of Austrian and European cultural journals, among them numerous Eurozine partner journals, can be read in their Gallery for Cultural Journals that opened on 11 February at Schönlaterngasse 7 in Vienna. [ more ]
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In Focus
Shared space, divided society
Focal point: Cultural diversity Migration is part of modern society, meaning more and more people of different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds live together in Europe. The multitude of perspectives and experiences represents an enormous resource, but as cultural conflicts inherent in today's urban societies become visible, doubts are also raised about the value of diversity. In cooperation with the European Cultural Foundation, Eurozine presents a broad take on the issue that goes beyond the common dichotomy between multicultural segregation and the forceful assimilation of the "melting pot".
[ more ]
Eurozine conference
Changing places (What's normal, anyway?)
The "revolution to normality" was a crucial metaphor of 1989 and beyond. Yet, as speakers at the 2007 Eurozine conference pointed out, the slogan bears more emotive force than conceptual clarity. Today's eastern Europe is a changing place; traditionally, too, it has produced émigré writers who "changed place". Where better than Sibiu, Romania, to discuss "writing in exile?" [ more ]
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Editors' Choice
Headscarves, generals, and Turkish democracy
Turkey The Turkish government's move to lift the ban on headscarves in universities is part of an ongoing discussion on a new constitution that has the potential to decide the country's future. It could dramatically increase Turkey's chances of becoming a member of the EU. [ more ]
Unacknowledged, unseen, unmentioned
Poverty in Europe
Poverty Impoverished German children dream of the US; one Greek person in four is in arrears with their most basic bills; sixty per cent of the poor in Romania have outdoor toilets. Cracks are appearing in Europe's beloved image of itself as the egalitarian alternative to the United States. [ more ]
Controlling words
publishing Press and publishing concentration in France is exceptionally high yet there is barely any protest from within the sector itself. Media monopolization is by no means only a French issue, however: throughout Europe and the US, profit has become publishing's bottom line. [Lithuanian version added] [ more ]
What makes a biopolitical space?
A discussion with Toni Negri
Urban space The city, says Toni Negri, is where the "political diagonal" intersects the "biopolitical diagram". Yet "soft" forms of activism that create collectivities on micro, neighbourhood levels only go so far, says Negri, who favours rupture and revolution over accumulation and gradual change. [ more ]
A history to be handed down
Interview with Lilian Thuram
"I'm not black, I'm French" The Caribbean-born French footballer Lilian Thuram talks about his longstanding interest in the history of slavery, about how sport can teach mutual respect, and why he still believes in the French model of integration. [ more ]
You've got to swing your hips!
A conversation with Feridun Zaimoglu
Interview "This whole ethnic crap gets on my nerves!" Forthright as ever, Feridun Zaimoglu explains why the discourse on integration and multiculturalism serves conservative interests and demonizes young Muslims. [ more ]
No coffee
Bourgeoisie What is it about coffee – and coffeehouses – that makes it so agreeable to the bourgeoisie? asks Jakob Norberg in a brief social history of the dark, rich brew. And of the bourgeois public sphere. [ more ]
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Eurozine Focal Points
Illiberal Europe?
Focal point: The new populism Parliament or the soapbox? Populist politics are enjoying renewed success in Europe, above all in the former socialist countries. Ivan Krastev, G.M.Tamás, Ralf Dahrendorf, Jacques Rupnik and others investigate the rise of "democratic illiberalism". [ more ]
The city as stage for social upheaval
Focal Point From the western European city to the Third World megacity, it can be observed how the principle of privatization asserts itself in the urban social structure. With Swapan Chakravorty, Filip De Boeck, Ilija Trojanow, Ivaylo Ditchev, Robert Misik...[ more ]
Decentring Europe
Focal point Contemporary European discourse on Europe is often self-centred and provides one more link in a long chain of ideological or mythological constructions. Any reinvention of the concept of Europe that takes into account the complexities inherent in Europe's place in a globalized world must contain a critique of Eurocentrism. Learning from the South may be a key element in the rethinking – and unthinking – of "Europe".
[ more ]
Cultural citizenship
Focal Point The concept of cultural citizenship responds to the multicultural context of contemporary societies, in which the concern with equality is increasingly being complemented with a concern with difference. Eurozine groups together texts articulating issues central to the concept. Including contributions by Gerard Delanty, Rainer Bauböck, Ivaylo Ditchev, Charles Taylor, Rada Ivekovic, António Sousa Ribeiro, and Axel Honneth. [ more ]
Changing Europe: 50 years of European integration
) "Signing of the Treaty of Rome, 25 March 1957")
Focal point As political Europe turns 50, the questions about its future are as open as ever. Eurozine compiles a selection of articles on the European project: from analyses by Jacques Rupnik and Jan-Werner Müller of the current European crisis, to enquiries by Slavenka Drakulic and Ales Debeljak into transnational identity building; from Göran Rosenberg's federalist arguments, to György Spiró's hilarious parody of Brussels' bureaucratic literary ambitions. [ more ]
Post-secular Europe?
Religion and Politics
Has the rapid and drastic process of secularization in western Europe come to an end? In a new Focal Point, Eurozine looks at different aspects of this question: Is religion a public or a private matter? Can there be such a thing as a European Islam? If so, what characterizes it? What role can religion – or religions – play when it comes to the emergence of a European solidarity? [ more ]
The future of war
Focal Point Are wars that are fought between nations a thing of the past, and are the future challenges more a case of ethnic strife, break-up of failed states, secession and civil wars? In a special focal point, Eurozine analyzes the changing face of warfare in the twenty-first century, in which terrorism and new security threats have profoundly transformed the way wars are conducted. [ more ]
Politics of border making and (cross-)border identities
Border making Have borders become irrelevant with the project of a united Europe which is supposed to overcome the historical divisions of the continent and the political isolation of its East? No, just the opposite. In a focal point guest-edited by Tatiana Zhurzhenko, essayists and researchers look at the dilemmas of border building and cross-border cooperation in the EU and its neighbourhood. [ more ]
European histories: Towards a grand narrative?
European histories In order for there to be solidarity within the enlarged EU, it will be necessary to develop a broader historical consciousness that accommodates the experiences of the new members. And if Russia's relations with its neighbours are to be harmonious, the taboos surrounding the Great Victory will need to be addressed. Read on for analyses from both sides of a historical divide. [ more ]
Europe talks to Europe: Towards a European public sphere?
EUROPEAN PUBLIC SPHERE The European integration project has made the discussion about transnational spaces for cultural and political debate acute. Can there at all be a common Europe without a pan-European public sphere, where potentially common values and ideas can be formed and transnational political institutions can find their legitimacy? [ more ]
Freedom of speech and the Danish cartoon controversy
Free speech Free speech is a fundamental human right and a central tenet of democracy. Or is it? Reactions to the Danish cartoon controversy show that liberals are re-evaluating what the right to free speech entails. [ more ]
Politics of translation
Translation Our understanding of the field of translation studies has in recent years taken on many more meanings and now encompasses spheres beyond the usual textual dimension: Translation today is as much about the translation of cultural, political, and historical contexts and concepts as it is about language. [ more ]
The Eurozine network at a glance
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