Europeanisations from the Bottom and from the Margins. Actors, Representations, and Experiences (late 19th-early 21st centuries)

The aim of this conference is to contribute to the current renewal of the history of European integration in the 19th and 20th centuries. Following on from the important congress about Europeanisation in the social sciences held ten years ago at the German Historical Institute (IHA) and inspired by it, we want to contribute to a dialogue on the European scale through different lenses, and benefit from recent contributions to historiography, whether in terms of gender, postcolonial or environmental approaches. On the basis of recent empirical research, the contributors will seek to clarify the very concept of Europeanisation. The aim is to examine two major historiographical issues: the origins, motivations and temporalities of Europeanisation beyond the history of the political and institutional development of the European Union and its territorial borders, as well as local receptions, alternative visions, opposing currents, such as anti-Europeanism, and phenomena of de-Europeanisation. Therefore the congress will include specialists of European history who focus on a variety of fields: history, media sociology, sport, the environment, technology, art, education, etc. Last but not least, through this conference, we want to encourage studies on European integration in the field of social sciences in Switzerland.

The conference will be held in person at the University of Lausanne from Wednesday afternoon (27.11) to Friday afternoon (29.11). The working languages are English and French. It will be composed of 7 sessions each containing between 3 and 4 papers. Each panel also includes a chair (a specialist in the topics presented) who will comment on each contribution, ask a few questions as well as lead the following discussion with the audience.

Prof. Kiran Klaus Patel (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich), who has worked extensively on the concept of Europeanisation from a historical perspective, will give the opening lecture “Europeanisation is dead! Long live Europeanisation!” to set the frame for the discussions.

We are also holding a public lecture on Thursday evening with Prof. Emeritus Christophe Charle (University Paris 1 Panthéon–Sorbonne), who has been working on the transnational history of European culture for nearly three decades. He will be talking about his latest book : L’Europe des intellectuels. Figures et configurations XIXe-XXe siècle, CNRS Editions 2024. -->  Registration for the public conference :  https://form.jotform.com/242975130314351 

Finally, we have scheduled a presentation and guided tours of the Archives of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe on the campus of the University of Lausanne on Thursday evening. This extremely rich collection of documents is a valuable resource for researchers working on the history of European cooperation.

Organisers:

• Raphaëlle Ruppen Coutaz (Lettres, Section d’histoire)
• Philippe Vonnard (ISSUL)
• Carmen Crozier (Lettres, Section d’histoire)

With the support of :

• History Department, Faculty of Arts | Unil
• Institute of Sports Sciences at the University of Lausanne (ISSUL)  | Unil
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
• Atelier des Histoires | Unil
• Centre of International History and Political Studies of Globalization (CRHIM) | Unil
• Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe
• International Association for Contemporary History of Europe (IACHE)