Opening Conference “Europe as a Global Actor”

The Arqus Alliance invites students and academics worldwide to participate in the Opening Conference of the Arqus Joint Master’s Programme in European Studies. The Conference, titled “Europe as a Global Actor – Exploring Future Perspectives in Teaching and Research”, will be organised in a hybrid format from 9^th to 13^th October 2023.

This multi-sited hybrid conference will not only celebrate the launch of this Programme, but invite for discussions on the type of challenges, which emerge for research and teaching in European Studies in a global age of crisis, on how these are addressed by the partners of the consortium, and which competences students and employers look for when anticipating their role in new global dynamics.

The conference combines a keynote, roundtables and student activities. They are organized locally at the consortium’s partner universities and streamed online across the different study places and the whole Arqus Alliance. We very much welcome interested audience worldwide.

For further information about the Master’s Programme, please visit its website.

Full programme

Monday, 9 October

Roundtable I: On the Challenges of Researching Europe as a Global Actor – Disciplinary and Regional Experiences

• Time: 3.00-4.30 pm
• Format: Online

The plurality of approaches in teaching and research in European Studies are at the centre of this roundtable, which will situate the interdisciplinary program in a larger landscape of debates. How is „Europe“ conceptualized and taught in different academic contexts – both within and beyond the consortium that offers the transnationale Master’s program? Which disciplinary, methodological, thematic and spatial foci are emphasized and why? Which transformations of the field and which new challenges can we identify considering the at times dramatic dynamics of the last years? And how can we think of European Studies not only as a transnational, but also as a transregional project, which addresses „Europe“ as a global actors?

Convenor: Steffi Marung, Leipzig, with Florian Bieber (UGraz), Gediminas Vitkus (U Vilnius), Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco (U Granada).

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Words of Welcome

• Time: 5.30 pm
• Format: Hybrid

Prof. Dorothy Kelly, Coordinator of the Arqus European Universities Alliance, U Granada.

Prof. Ana María García Campaña, (Vice-Rector for PostGraduate Studies and Continuing Education, U Granada).

Univ. Prof. Mireille van Poppel, (Vice-Rector for Internationalization and Equal Opportunities, U Graz).
Prof. Matthias Middell, Vice-Rector for Campus Development: Cooperation and Internationalisation, U Leipzig.
Prof. Thorsten Schneider, Dean of Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy, U Leipzig.
Prof. Dr Margarita Šešelgytė, Director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, U Vilnius.

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Keynote and Reception

• Time: 6.00 pm
• Format: Hybrid

Prof. Madina Tlostanova (Linköping U) Reimagining Europe(s) in the Face of the Complex Political, Enviro-climatic, and Onto-epistemic Challenges

Venues for hybrid sessions:

Leipzig:	Villa Tillmanns, Wächterstraße 30, 04107 Leipzig
Vilnius:	Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University, Vokieciu street 10, Vilnius, Room 102
Granada:	Faculty of Law, Plaza de la Universidad, 1, at the “Sala de Vistas” (first floor)
Graz:	Universität Graz, Universitätsplatz 3, first floor, SZ 01.18.

Tuesday, 10 October

Roundtable II: Europeanisation under the Global Condition

• Time: 3.15-4.45 pm
• Format: Online

The focus of this roundtable will be on how Europe‘s various roles as a global actor and the sometimes diverging ideas and projects of Europe have evolved over time. The role of colonialism and decolonization in the making of Europe, the use and abuse of religions in defining the boundaries of Europe, the narratives about Europe and Europeanisation in different geographic spaces as well as the dilemmas of a changing global economic system will be explored.

Convenor: Florian Bieber (U Graz), with Bilgin Ayata (U Graz), Elena Arigita (U Granada), Ramūnas Vilpišauskas (U Vilnius), Stefan Rohdewald (U Leipzig)

Wednesday, 11 October

Roundtable III: Europe and Law: Foundations, challenges, and future perspectives

• Time: 3.15-4.45 pm
• Format: Online

The roundtable aims to show the potentialities of the law as a tool to confront global challenges (i.e., war vs. human rights; climate change; migrations), with its own impact on the European continent, and to what extent European legal responses can (or cannot) be extrapolated outside the continent.

Convenor: Amelia Díaz Pérez de Madrid (U Granada), with Teresa Fajardo (U Granada), José María Porras (U Granada), Prof. Em. Wolfgang Benedek (UGraz), Prof. Gilad Ben-Nun (ULeipzig)

Thursday, 12 October

[Roundtable cancelled. The event will take place during the winter term (tba)]

Panel: European Studies in a World in Crises? Perspectives from Employers and Stakeholders

• Time: 3.15-4.45 pm
• Format: Online

This roundtable brings together experts, potential future empoyers and stakeholders for whom the graduates of the the transnational Master’s program in European Studies might be interesting partners. What kind of knowledge, skills and competences do they consider most relevant from their perspective? What do they expect from graduates of such a program? Which challenges do they consider as upcoming and pertinent in the near future, that future staff members will have to deal with?

Convenor: Steffi Marung (Leipzig), with N.N.

Friday, 13 October

Student roundtable: Empowering Tomorrow: Youth Engagement in Tackling Europe‘s Global Challenges

• Time: 3.15-4.45 pm
• Format: Online

In this virtual roundtable, students will take center stage as both participants and speakers. They‘ll have the chance to connect with one another and engage in meaningful discussions about Europe‘s role as a global actor. Additionally, they‘ll have the opportunity to propose innovative solutions to address the pressing challenges facing Europe.

Convenor: Ieva Giedraitytė (U Vilnius)

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