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The 鈥疢eaning鈥痮f鈥疌entral鈥疎urope鈥痠n Today's World by Timothy Garton Ash
03 October 2024, 5:00 pm鈥�7:00 pm
V谩clav Havel Dialogues and the launch of the the new Research Centre for the Study of Places, Identities, and Memories (PIMs)
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
SSEES
Location
-
Masaryk room乱伦秀 School of Slavonic and East European Studies16 Taviton streetLondonWC1H 0BW
Join us for a special collaborative event hosted by SSEES and the Czech Center London, marking the launch of the new Research Center for the Study of Places, Identities, and Memories (PIMs). This event celebrates the inauguration of PIMs and serves as part of the annual V谩clav Havel European Dialogues, a global series of discussions inspired by Havel鈥檚 enduring legacy.
The event will feature a keynote address by听Timothy Garton Ash (University of Oxford),听who will explore the evolving meanings of Central Europe鈥攁 theme that resonates deeply with V谩clav Havel鈥檚 intellectual legacy. Where does Central Europe stand in the contemporary world and politics, and what does it represent today? Garton Ash will delve into the diverse interpretations of Central Europe throughout history and culture, its varied and debates uses and its constant search for its 鈥渙ther鈥�. He will also reflect on Central Europe鈥檚 significance in today鈥檚 increasingly polarized global landscape, with particular emphasis on the impact of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This discussion promises to offer profound insights into identities of a diverse region and its role in shaping the future of Europe and beyond.
The event will be moderated by听Jessie Barton Hrone拧ov谩听and will feature an esteemed panel of speakers, including听Richard Mole, director of SSEES, and a word of welcome by听P艡emysl Pela, the director of the Czech Center in London as well as听Pawel Bukowski, co-director of the new Research Center for the Study of Places, Identities, and Memories (PIMs).
Image credit: Czech Centre London
About the Speakers
Timothy Garton Ash
is a distinguished British historian, political writer, and commentator, celebrated for his extensive work on the contemporary history of Europe in general and Central and Eastern Europe in particular. He has authored eleven influential books on the 鈥榟istory of the present鈥� which document the profound transformations across Europe since 1989. Notable among these are听The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague听(1990),听In Europe鈥檚 Name: Germany and the Divided Continent听(1993),听The File: A Personal History听(1997),听History of the Present: Essays, Sketches and Despatches from Europe in the 1990s听(2000),听Free World听(2004),听Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World听(2016), and his most recent work,听Homelands: A Personal History of Europe听鈥� now translated into 24 languages. These works have become essential reading for anyone interested in European history and politics. He is currently a Professor Emeritus of European Studies at the University of Oxford and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A prolific contributor to leading international publications like听The Guardian听and听The New York Review of Books, his work continues to shape debates on European identity, democracy, and the challenges posed by authoritarianism in today's world. He also runs his substack with weekly essays called听.
Richard Mole
is a Professor in Political Sociology and the Director of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at 乱伦秀. His research focuses on the interplay between identity and power, with particular reference to nationalism, populism, sexualities and migration. He is particularly interested in the ways that powerful social and political actors discursively construct identities to create in-groups/out-groups and social and moral hierarchies in a bid to legitimise certain actors, groups and beliefs and delegitimise others. From 2018-22, he was Principal Investigator of the Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Innovative Training Network 'Delayed Transformational Fatigue in Central and Eastern Europe: Responding to the Rise of Populism' and from 2019-23 he was the Director of Research of the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme 'Populist rebellion against modernity in 21st-century Eastern Europe: neo-traditionalism and neofeudalism鈥�. He is the author of听The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union : identity, discourse and power in the post-Communist transition of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania听(2012),听and editor of Discursive constructions of identity in European politics听(2007),听Soviet and post-Soviet sexualities听(2019),听and Queer migration and asylum in Europe听(2021).
Jessie Barton Hrone拧ov谩
is a Lecturer in Political Sociology at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, 乱伦秀, and Co-Director of the Centre for Study of Places, Identities and Memories. In her work, she focuses on victimhood narratives, the politics of memory, transitional justice and dealing with the past in Central and Southeast Europe. She is particularly interested in the political uses of emotionally charged and traumatic memories as well as how victims and survivors navigate politics. She is the author of听The Struggle of Redress: Victim Capital in Bosnia and Herzegovina听(2020) and听Post-War Ethno-National Identities of Young People in Bosnia and Herzegovina听(2012) and co-editor of听The Nexus between Democracy, Collective Identity Formation, and EU Enlargement (2011). From 2019 to 2021 she was the ESRC Postdoctoral research Fellow at the University of Oxford and then a Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie Fellow at UNC Chapel Hill and Ca' Foscari. Outside of academia, she is a frequent policy advisor and consultant in international development in Central and Southeast Europe.
Pawel Bukowski
is a Lecturer in Economics at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, 乱伦秀, and Polish Academy of Sciences, and Co-Director of the Centre for Study of Places, Identities and Memories at 乱伦秀. He is also affiliated with London School of Economics. His research consists of two inter-related streams. The first considers labour market inequalities, in particular, the role of firms in wage determination, worker power and gender discrimination. The second focuses on understanding the evolution of national and sub-national economic inequalities, with particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe. He has played a reading role as both principal and co-investigator on competitive funding bids including Open Research Area, ESRC Rebuilding Macroeconomics, or LSE Research and Impact Fund. He has founded an expert group 鈥撎�Dobrobyt na Pokolenia听(Prosperity for Generations), and is a member of Concilium Civitas. He is the author of听Nier贸wno艣ci po Polsku听鈥� the first comprehensive book on inequalities in Poland (2024).
P艡emysl Pela
is the director of the Czech Centre London and worked, among others, for the Charles University's CERGE-EI Institute and the Czech Academy of Sciences. In the private sector, he held various top managerial roles. He also headed the Strategy and Innovation Department at the Czech Centre's HQ in Prague, and developed an innovative project presenting achievements in science in a unique interactive and novel format. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin and Ostrava's University, the New York University, Michigan University and the Civil Management College in London.