The future of European studies: teaching, research and international collaboration

Conference at Europa Universität Flensburg (EUF), November 30th - December 1st, 2023  

Programme organisation: Professor Uwe Puetter, EUF, uwe.puetter-PleaseRemoveIncludingDashes-@uni-flensburg.de  

This international conference provides an opportunity for faculty and students at Europa Universität Flensburg (EUF) to debate together with internationally renowned scholars, the future of European studies as a field of inter-disciplinary teaching, research and international collaboration. Our external guests come from other universities with experience in delivering European studies degree programmes and research, including guest from the EUF partner institutions in Catania and Limerick.

The conference is structured around debates on key questions which determine the scope and ambition of European studies: What constitutes the field of European studies? Can we integrate different notions of Europe (cultural, political, historical, economic, legal) in meaningful ways? How do we deal with inter- and multi-disciplinarity in teaching and research? Is there a market for academic degree programs in European studies? How can we adapt and reconfigure our existing academic offerings alone and in partnership?

Four conference panels, which are all open to faculty, researchers, and students from EUF, will debate these questions. Each panel provides input from the panellists who will share their own professional experiences and thoughts about future pathways. Each discussion is opened up for contributions from the audience.

+++ The conference is open to the entire EUF community. We welcome colleagues and students to attend and participate. The event is financially supported by the Europaausschuss, the Fördergesellschaft der Universität Flensburg e.V. and the Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (ICES). +++

Program

Day 1 – European studies as a field of research and university education

venue: Senate room, building Tallin, ground floor, TAL 007

14.45-15.15 hrs

Registration

coffee and tea

15.00-15.15 hrs

Welcome

Ulrich Glassmann, Vice-President for European and International Affairs EUF

15.15-15.30 hrs

Lead questions

Uwe Puetter, Professor of European Integration and European Politics

15.30 -17.00 hrs

Panel 1: The future of university education in the field of European studies:  degree programs and student audiences

-          experiences in leading European studies degree programs

-          diversity vs. uniformity – adaptations to the offerings of European studies degree programmes

-          as Europe has integrated further, student interest in European studies has kept fluctuating

-          student mobility in Europe

-          career pathways

Chair: Anna-Katharina Mangold, Professor of European Law, Head of Studies, MA European Studies, EUF

Panellists:

Stefano Braghiroli, Associate Professor of European Studies, Director of the Master’s Programmes in European Studies and European Union-Russia Studies, University of Tartu

Frank Häge, Associate Professor in Politics and Director, Master European Studies, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick

Marcello Carammia, Associate Professor in Political Science, Director GLOPEM Master Course, Università di Catania

Anne Reichold, Professor of Philosophy and Head of Studies, BA European Cultures and Societies, EUF
 

17.00 -17.20 hrs

Break

17.20 -18.50 hrs

Panel 2: The notion of Europe in our disciplinary traditions: common ground or restated divergence?

-          Europe as an elusive concept which has assumed more specific connotations in different disciplinary traditions

-          the impact of European political and economic integration on scientific notions of Europe

-          talking past each other or with each other?

Chair: Christof Roos, Professor of European and Global Governance, EUF

Panellists:

Ulrich Glassmann, Professor of Comparative Economy and Vice President for European and International Affairs

Anna-Katharina Mangold, Professor of European Law, Head of Studies, MA European Studies, EUF

Uwe Puetter, Professor of European Integration and European Politics, EUF

Christiane Reinecke, Professor of Contemporary European History, EUF
 

Day 2 – The university practice of European studies: multi-disciplinarity and inter-institutional cooperation

venue: Senate room, building Tallin, ground floor, TAL 007

08.30-09.00 hrs

Coffee and tea

venue: Senate room, TAL

09.00-10.45 hrs

Panel 3: Broadening or refocussing? The social sciences and the humanities. Managing inter- and multi-disciplinarity in teaching, research and inter-institutional cooperation

-          experiences with combining or separating disciplinary perspectives, which are informed by either a social science or humanities approach to European studies

-          integrating content in meaningful ways

-          are there ‘default’ components of European studies programs?

-          examples of ‘pure’ social sciences or humanities-based European studies programs

-          the provision of institutional support structures for inter- and multi-disciplinary teaching and research

-          international cooperation in the delivery of degree programs

-          the role of professional organisations in shaping European studies and relations between disciplines

Chair: Michelle Witen, Junior Professor of English and Irish Literature and Director, Centre for Irish Studies, EUF

Panellists:

Matthias Bauer, Professor of Contemporary German Literature, EUF

Margot Brink, Professor of French Literature and Cultural Studies and Head of Studies, BA Transcultural European Studies, EUF

Ulrich Glassmann, Professor of Comparative Economy and Vice President for European and International Affairs, EUF

Claudius Gräbner-Radkowitsch, Junior Professor of Pluralist Economics, Convenor Research School, Interdisciplinary Centre for European Studies (ICES), EUF

Frank Häge, Associate Professor in Politics and Director, Master European Studies, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick

10.30-10.45 hrs

Break