Modernity and the European Mind, University of Portsmouth, 25-26 June

Please find below an announcement for Modernity and the European Mind: an International, Interdisciplinary Colloquium

The colloquium is hosted by the Centre for Studies in Literature, University of Portsmouth, and will take place on 25-26 June 2015.

Speakers include: Jean-Michel Rabaté (University of Pennsylvania), Catherine Bernard (Univ Paris-VII), Mary Ann Caws (City University of New York), Joanna Hodge (Manchester Metropolitan), Tone Selboe (University of Oslo), Doug Haynes (University of Sussex), Sissy Helff (Goethe-University, Frankfurt), Monika Pietrzak-Franger (University of Hamburg), Monika Szuba (University of Gdansk)

Where does Modernity begin, how is it defined, and how does it define itself? What does it mean to be European, or to think in terms of Europe and / or non-Europe? How does Europe understand itself in relation to all that perceives as ‘not-Europe?’ How do those who are not gathered into the ontology of ‘the European’ see or represent themselves against the notion of a European identity, or address the question of ‘Europe’? And in what ways do ‘modernity’ and ‘European thought’ determine, and define one another?  Modernity is a fraught, often contested term in the Humanities and Social Sciences. There is little agreement as to its parameters, its definition, its starting point, or the understanding of its epoch. Similarly, the notion of Europe is equally contested, unavailable to a final consensus, irreducible to a single epistemological, historical or ontological determination.

For information on registration, contact: Julian Wolfreys, Director, CSL, julian.wolfreys@port.ac.uk