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Arrivals/Departures: European harbour cities
Editorial Harbour cities as places of immigration and emigration, inclusion and exclusion, develop distinct modes of being that not only reflect different cultural traditions and political and social self-conceptions, but also contain economic potential and communicate how they see themselves as part of the larger structure that is "Europe". [ more ]
24th European meeting of cultural journals held in Hamburg
Conference report
Eurozine conference Harbour cities as places of movement, immigration and emigration, of inclusion and exclusion: this was the starting point for this year's Eurozine conference, co-organized and hosted by the journal "Mittelweg 36" and the Hamburg Institute for Social Research. [ more ]
A finer Europe
opening speech Opening the 24th European Meeting of Cultural Journals, Jan Philipp Reemtsma recited a text by post-war German writer Arno Schmidt, recalling Europe's "first great cooperative achievement": the observation of the transit of Venus in 1769. [ more ]
Urbanizing non-urban economies
Ports, mines, plantations
keynote speech In this article based on Sassen's speech at the Eurozine conference in 2012, the sociologist explains why and how it is that, far more than in the past, urban space today registers the profitability of non-urban economies. The key is to be found in the rise of intermediate services for firms. [ more ]
Colonial roots and current routes
Migration in the harbour city of Hamburg
mobility Manuel Assner conducted a tour of the Port of Hamburg at the Eurozine conference in 2012, providing a history of migration in the multi-ethnic harbour and surrounding districts. In this article based on the tour, he shows how colonial roots remain intertwined with colonial routes. [ more ]
North Africa: Urbanization and migration in Algiers
North Africa From Ottoman rule through the colonial period, Algiers' function as military and economic power has been interwoven with processes of migration. Saïb Musette surveys this "histoire croisée" and asks where Algeria's international metropolis is heading in the future. [ more ]
Marseille: A community of strangers
marseille Lacking any unified vision of itself, Marseille proves the possibility of a good society based on simple co-presence rather than intimate co-existence. As such, it offers an alternative approach to the diversity of Europe as a whole, argues Joëlle Zask. [ more ]
Disconnected port
Recycling Gothenburg's maritime heritage
gothenburg From the 18th century until the 1960s, Gothenburg served as an industrial centre for the region and point of arrival and departure for migrants of all nationalities. This social-economic history is all but absent in the "harbour identity" promoted today, writes Britta Söderqvist. [ more ]
Harbour cities without harbours
bremerhaven From economic powerhouse to cultural destination: like harbour cites throughout the north, Bremerhaven's former docks have been reinvented as a centre for scientific research and symbolic universe dedicated to the local maritime tradition, writes Helmuth Berking. [ more ]
Decadence or renewal?
Deciding the future of the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Regeneration of the Mediterranean region must draw on its legacy of cosmopolitan democracy while offering prospects for ecological, scientific and energy-political development. The Mediterranean may then re-enter the European consciousness as the "Mare nostrum". [ more ]
Glocal democracy in embryo
On the pioneering role of European harbour cities
citzenship The globalization of the harbour workforce challenges the democratic political culture typical of traditional port cities. As prime examples of the convergence of economics and multi-culture, European harbour cities can lead the way in revitalizing forms of urban citizenship. [ more ]
Next stop sell-out city
Urban activism in Hamburg
protest Is it chance or social class that determines where one gets on and off the bus? "Right to the City" activist Nicole Vrenegor takes the number 3 from Hamburg's outskirts to the new HafenCity development, stopping along the way to talk to people who oppose the sell out of the city. [ more ]
Mega-ports
On the new geography of containerization
velocity Ports as junctures in the globalized transport network, operating mechanisms of access and arrest; the oceans remapped by containerization, cargo-shipping setting the pace of world commerce; harbours as decontextualized zones, nautical memories recycled for heritage. [ more ]
What greatness had not floated on the ebb of that river
London London's relationship to water and to the sea remains central to its role in the global economy and vital to a gamble in which the Olympics play a part, argues Anthony Iles. On the connections between shipping, logistics and the hi-speed, only apparently immaterial world of finance. [ more ]
Porous cities
On four European ports
harbour culture Walter Benjamin's description of Naples as a "porous city" absorbent of heterogeneity applies equally to other harbour cities, write Jude Bloomfield and Franco Bianchini. On cultural hybridity, economies of informality and strategies of creativity in four European ports. [ more ]
Ghosts on the waterfront
An interview with Marcus Rediker
slavery Historian Marcus Rediker describes the sailing ship as linchpin of the emergent transatlantic economic order and instrument of terror for slaves transported from Africa, going on to discuss European harbour cities' role in the slave trade and their responsibilities in reckoning with its moral legacy. [ more ]
The simple Gothenburger
Colonial elisions in the Swedish self-image
memory The re-launch of an historical merchant ship was supposed to promote Sweden's image as reliable trading partner. But the failure to acknowledge the colonial involvements of the ship's former owner suggests a less flattering story, writes Mikela Lundahl. [ more ]
Traces of ignominy
Gothenburg's French block and Sweden's hunt for colonies
memory Gothenburg's Franska tomten neighbourhood takes its name from a French warehouse established in the eighteenth century through a colonial trade-off between the French and Swedish crowns. Today, the name's origins are largely forgotten, writes Klas Rönnbäck. [ more ]
Piratical transgressions, political transgressions
Re-reading Carl Schmitt's "Theory of the partisan"
piracy Recent historiography emphasizing the egalitarian-democratic character of eighteenth-century piracy undermines Carl Schmitt's quasi-legal distinction between partisan and pirate and reinstates the pirate as political actor within the emergent maritime state order. [ more ]
The contained
precariat The container is the universal unit of the global commodity society, facilitating the swift exchange of all kinds of product. Precarity, likewise, connotes a basic form of labour that submissively and flexibly adjusts to any form of employment and system of production. [Ukrainian version added] [ more ]
More focal points
The EU: Broken or just broke?
Brought on by the global economic recession, the eurocrisis has been exacerbated by serious faults built into the institutional structure of the monetary union. The non-existence of centralized political control over the European economy combined with lack of democratic legitimacy sets in motion processes that are undermining European solidarity. [ more ]
European histories (2): Concord and conflict
In recent years, the possibility of a "grand narrative" that includes both East and West in a common European story has been discussed intensely. In a new Focal Point, Eurozine seeks to broaden the question beyond the East-West historical divide. How are contested interpretations of historical and recent events made active in the present, both uniting and dividing European societies? [ more ]
Changing media – Media in change
Media-technological developments are causing a fundamental re-structuring of the newspaper and book publishing sectors. Yet media change is about more than just the "newspaper crisis" and the iPad: property law, privacy, free speech and the functioning of the public sphere are all affected. [ more ]
Media landscapes: Western Europe
Despite the Internet's growing significance as vehicle of freedom of expression, public service broadcasting and the press will remain for some time the visible face of the watchdog on power. In western Europe, the traditional media need to prove they are still capable of performing this role. [ more ]
The bonfire of the universities
The uni's burning! The slogan was everywhere in the German-speaking space in 2008, as the protests at the University of Vienna set off a wave of similar strikes, first at Austrian universities, then beyond: in Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Zürich... 2009/10 saw further protests at universities in Athens, Zagreb, Marseilles and London. Eurozine surveys a debate enflaming (not only) Europe. [ more ]
Climate of change?
Social agreement about the necessity of radical ecological change may be unprecedented, yet rhetoric and reality go their separate ways. As ambitions for a legally-binding agreement at the Copenhagen recede, serious doubts arise about the efficacy of multilateral climate deals and the assumptions behind cap-and-trade.[ more ]
Dilemma 89
Twenty years after 1989, most former communist states in central and eastern Europe are members of the EU. Yet the transition from closed to open societies is far from "complete". '89 not only historic moment of liberation, but also political and social dilemma for the present day. [ more ]
Media landscapes: Central and Eastern Europe
Those in central and eastern Europe who in '89 took the commitment to free expression seriously, who saw the media as the handmaiden of democracy and the conventional watchdog on political and commercial power, today have become targets for new and subtler forms of censorship. [ more ]
The malady of infinite aspiration?
Sound in principle or sick at heart? Articles on the financial crisis, compiled under Durkheim's memorable phrase. Including: Jacques Rupnik, Ralf Dahrendorf, Daniel Daianu, Mircea Vasilescu, Heiner Flassbeck, Olivier Mongin. [ more ]
Olympic indifference
The Beijing Olympics 2008 are unusual insofar as not one country has boycotted them. This, despite the fact that the political dimension of the Games has seldom been more controversial. Are we seeing a new kind of "Olympic indifference"? With this in mind, Eurozine compiles articles on sport, politics, and protest. [ more ]
Shared space, divided society
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. [ more ]
1968: Beyond soixante-huite
Forty years on, the differences between the 1968 uprisings in western and eastern Europe move into ever sharper focus. "In retrospect, the great event of '68 in Europe was not Paris, but Prague. But we were unable to see this at the time." Including articles on '68 in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, France and West Germany. [ more ]
Illiberal Europe?
Parliament or the soapbox? Populist politics are enjoying renewed success in Europe, above all in the former socialist countries. Ivan Krastev, G.M.Tamas, Ralf Dahrendorf, Jacques Rupnik and others investigate the rise of "democratic illiberalism". [ more ]
Cultural citizenship
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. Contributors include Gerard Delanty, Axel Honneth, Rainer Bauböck, Ivaylo Ditchev, Charles Taylor, Rada Ivekovic, António Sousa Ribeiro. [ more ]
Decentring Europe
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, i.e. absorbing the full critical impact of alternative approaches may be a key element in the rethinking – and unthinking – of "Europe".[ more ]
The future of war
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 ]
The city as stage for social upheaval
From the western European city to the Third World megacity, one is able to observe how a single principle asserts itself in the social structure of the urban space. That principle – privatization – is geared towards the concentration of wealth and assets on an increasingly global scale, a manoeuvre its beneficiaries seek to naturalize. [ more ]
Big Brother goes global
Post 9/11, governments are increasingly tailoring "international standards" to ratify domestic policies that intrude on civil liberties. Welcome to the phenomenon of "policy laundering". [ more ]
Changing Europe
As political Europe turns 50, the questions about its future are as open as ever. A special focus featuring some of Eurozine's most outstanding contributions on the European project: From analyses of the current crisis to a hilarious parody of Brussels' literary ambitions. [ more ]
Europe talks to Europe: Towards a 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? [ more ]
Politics of border making and (cross-)border identities
Have borders become irrelevant with the project of a united Europe? No, just the opposite. On the dilemmas of border building and cross-border cooperation in the EU and its neighbourhood. [ more ]
Documenta 12 magazines
Eurozine is participating in the Documenta 12 magazines project, which links over 90 print and on-line periodicals worldwide. Read Eurozine's contributions to the documenta leitmotifs "Modernity" and "Bare Life" here.[ more ]
Freedom of speech and the Danish cartoon controversy
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 today is as much about the translation of cultural, political, and historical contexts and concepts as it is about language. [ more ]
Conferences
Changing media
The 23rd European Meeting of Cultural Journals
Linz, 13-16 May 2011
The 23rd Eurozine conference in Linz, Austria, brought fresh insights to debates on the future of journalism, intellectual property and free speech. [ more ]
European histories
The 22nd European Meeting of Cultural Journals
Vilnius, 8-11 May 2009
Under the heading "European Histories", the 22nd European Meeting of Cultural Journals explored the role of history and memory in forming new identities in a Europe in change. [ more ]
crosswords X mots croisés
21st European Meeting of Cultural Journals
Paris, 26-29 September 2008
The 21st European Meeting of Cultural Journals 2008 in Paris explored the theme of multilingualism in Europe in terms of language policies, migration, translation and the European public sphere. Read the conference texts here. [ more ]
Changing places (What's normal anyway?)
The 20th European Meeting of Cultural Journals
Sibiu, 21-24 October 2007
Under the heading "Changing places (What's normal anyway?)", the Eurozine network conference 2007 in Sibiu, Romania, addressed the challenges facing societies, literature, and the media as the need for change meets the urge for normality. Read the conference texts here. [ more ]
Friend and foe. Shared space, divided society
The 19th European Meeting of Cultural Journals
London, 27-30 October 2006
Speakers at the 19th European Meeting of Cultural Journals opened up the discussion on cultural diversity in two directions: first, as it is experienced in the physical urban space, and second, as it is reflected in the mirror of the media. [ more ]
Neighbourhoods
The 18th European Meeting of Cultural Journals
Istanbul, 4-7 November 2005
Contributions on the notion of neighbourhood and the Turkey-Europe question from a range of intellectual and geographic perspectives. [ more ]
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