Graduate Centre for Europe

The new academic year is upon us, and planning is underway for the first GCfE event of the year! Stay tuned for further announcements, and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date:

In Birmingham tomorrow (1st June)? Institute for German and European Studies - IGES Birmingham's Distinguished Lecture of 2022 will take place on campus at the University of Birmingham! Prof Sabine von Mering (Brandeis) will speak at 5pm in Arts Main Lecture Theatre. She will also lead a workshop on the role of the humanities and social sciences in addressing the challenges of climate change. See below for more information on what promises to be an exciting day!

WORKSHOP: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/historycultures/departments/history/events/2022/climate-change.aspx

LECTURE: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/historycultures/departments/history/events/2022/sabine-von-mering.aspx

What If We Just Went Ahead and Saved the World? Taking Action in the Climate Crisis Or: Why Frank Schätzing should stick to writing Thrillers Professor Sabine von Mering (Brandeis) will deliver this years Distinguished Lecture of the Institute for German and European Studies.

It's conference week! Attached is the programme, and you can register for each day individually below. We can't wait to see you there!

Day 1: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonising-europe-the-visible-and-the-invisible-conference-day-1-tickets-306397141097?fbclid=IwAR1D2qJus5wyxPRcxcDdssgOf3Kz2anlRY01PQ0E8ddDdNnTbAHPRbE8RYs

Day 2: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonising-europe-the-visible-and-the-invisible-conference-day-2-tickets-306405857167?fbclid=IwAR2ZKjTok1qESPyR1d7_B4OsJVTDqEDZ4qsBblS5w2OvlwzeFF71h_EavfM

With just under two weeks to go until our Annual Conference, now is the perfect time to register! Please note that you will have to register separately for each day. Here are the links:

Day 1 (19th May): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonising-europe-the-visible-and-the-invisible-conference-day-1-tickets-306397141097

Day 2 (20th May): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonising-europe-the-visible-and-the-invisible-conference-day-2-tickets-306405857167

After the success of last year's Annual Conference, we couldn't be more excited to share with you the programme for this year's! The Conference, with the title 'Decolonising Europe: The Visible and the Invisible', will take place online on 19th and 20th May. The plan for the two days is attached, and we cannot wait to welcome speakers from universities from several different countries.

REGISTRATION: register via the Eventbrite link below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonising-europe-the-visible-and-the-invisible-conference-day-1-tickets-306397141097

For our April event, we will be welcoming Dr Alison Morgan (University of Warwick). The event, which will take place on Zoom, is called '"Being Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable": Decolonising the Curriculum and Radical Pedagogies'. Dr Morgan will introduce the current educational landscape in relation to the drive to decolonise the curriculum in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020.

The session will also introduce ways in which radical pedagogies can empower both students and teachers to question and critically challenge not only the curriculum, but also wider society. Such questions are vital in order to ensure the continuation of democratic norms which are currently under threat at national and international levels.

Be sure to register for this exciting event via the Eventbrite link below. We look forward to seeing you there!

'Decolonising the Curriculum and Radical Pedagogies' with Dr Alison Morgan The GCfE presents: ‘Being Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable’: Decolonising the Curriculum and Radical Pedagogies with Dr Alison Morgan

Just a reminder of our event this Wednesday (16th March 2022)! 'Writing Home: A Conversation between Olivia Wenzel and Kaoutar Harchi' will take place at 5-6:30pm (GMT) on Zoom. Register via the Eventbrite link below. We look forward to seeing you there!

Writing Home: A Conversation between Olivia Wenzel and Kaoutar Harchi The IGES and GCfE at the University of Birmingham invite you to an online discussion between writers Olivia Wenzel and Kaoutar Harchi.

Along with Institute for German and European Studies - IGES Birmingham, we are very happy to invite you to our next event! Our online discussion, 'Writing Home: A Conversation between Olivia Wenzel and Kaoutar Harchi', will take place at 5pm GMT on Wednesday 16th March 2022. You can register for the event via the Eventbrite link in this post.

We are delighted to be joined by Afro-German novelist and playwright Olivia Wenzel, and French sociologist and writer Kaoutar Harchi. Their discussion will explore how notions of home(land) relate to the themes of inclusion/exclusion in their respective creative and critical works, and how these connect to the intersections of gender and sexuality, race, class, and religious traditions/cultures.

Organisers and hosts: Dr Maria Roca Lizarazu, Dr Mélina Delmas, Franziska Wolf, and Marie Allègre. All are welcome, and we look forward to seeing you on Zoom on Wednesday 16th!

Writing Home: A Conversation between Olivia Wenzel and Kaoutar Harchi The IGES and GCfE at the University of Birmingham invite you to an online discussion between writers Olivia Wenzel and Kaoutar Harchi.

Just a reminder of our event this evening: join us online at 5pm GMT for our roundtable discussion on 'memory wars'! We have a range of exciting speakers lined up. We cannot wait to see you there- register below!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/memory-wars-the-legacies-of-european-colonialism-and-contemporary-politics-tickets-250008771967?fbclid=IwAR1M89197n8UhDwtrnZ4eHmJGnKl4AUZ24CQ2vM_RF9A55ne7RYPFSTmFQo

Memory Wars: The Legacies of European Colonialism and Contemporary Politics The GCfE presents a roundtable discussion on 'Memory Wars: The Legacies of European Colonialism and Contemporary Politics'.

We can't wait to welcome you to our first event of 2022! Register here for our roundtable discussion:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/memory-wars-the-legacies-of-european-colonialism-and-contemporary-politics-tickets-250008771967

When?: Wednesday 2nd February, 5pm GMT.

Where?: online.

What?: "Memory Wars: The Legacies of European Colonialism and Contemporary Politics". A roundtable discussion that seeks to explore ways in which memory is being politicsed, mobilised, and weaponised in current political and public debates surrounding European colonial histories and legacies.

Who?: Dr Itay Lotem (University of Westminster); Dr Berny Sèbe (University of Birmingham); Sara Mechkarini (University of Birmingham); Dr Simon Jackson (University of Birmingham); chaired by our very own Frankie Morgan and Franziska Wolf.

We look forward to seeing you at the discussion next Wednesday!

Memory Wars: The Legacies of European Colonialism and Contemporary Politics The GCfE presents a roundtable discussion on 'Memory Wars: The Legacies of European Colonialism and Contemporary Politics'.

We have extended the deadline for contributions to our conference in May 2022! We look forward to receiving your submissions by the new deadline of 7th January 2022. Don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions ([email protected])!

Free this Thursday, 9th December? Then join us on Zoom at 5pm GMT for a reading and discussion group on Akala's 'Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire' (2018)!

Here is a discussion between Akala and David Olusoga to ease anyone interested into the topic:

https://soundcloud.com/southbankcentre_book_podcast/akala-and-david-olusoga-striking-the-empire

Register for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gcfe-reading-group-on-natives-race-and-class-in-the-ruins-of-empire-tickets-219125790137

We look forward to seeing you this Thursday. All are welcome!

GCfE Reading Group on 'Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire' Join the Graduate Centre for Europe for a reading and discussion group on 'Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire' by Akala (2018).