Call for papers: Europe and the making of 'the common' Lisbon, 7th-8th May 2009, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Keynote speaker: - Lynn Dobson, University of Edinburgh
Deadlines for abstract submission (max. 500 words): 15th March 2009
The constitution of the European Union as a political body, rather than as a depoliticized space of self-contained states, depends on the creation of a collective bond among individuals assembled around a determinate set of shared political values and ends. The possibility of a European demos requires thus the definition of a sensus communis at the supranational level to legitimize the rule of the communitarian institutions and constitute Europe as an intersubjective "community of destiny" able to permeate the borders of the nation-state.
The conceptualization of this European common space requires clarification as to which values ought to orient European practice towards its citizens, and in particular whether EU institutions should "pedagogically" favour certain conceptions of the good or, conversely, refrain from adopting (and imposing) some form of ethical conception or social model regarded as the most suitable. At stake is the creation of a collective European identity and the choice in terms of values that this involves. In terms of political theory the debate about the ideational foundation of European values leads us generally to the theoretical debate between perfectionists and anti-perfectionists. It also raises more specific theoretical questions: for example, how to characterise the constitution of the European Union within the terms of Rawlsian theory: might it be established in the light of the principles of justice for a domestic society presented in "A Theory of Justice", or must we turn to the framework for a confederation of liberal peoples found in "The Law of Peoples"?
The aim of our conference is therefore to address issues related to the broader question of the nature of Europe and the possibility of an European identity, from the perspective of political philosophy. Areas of investigation may include:
- The idea of Europe - European values - European citizenship - Constitutional Patriotism and the European State - The boundaries of Europe - European integration and enlargements - Europe and multiculturalism - Federalist principles - Nation, state, and sovereignty - Justice, solidarity and the European social policies - European foreign and defence policy - Europe and distributive justice
Abstracts of proposals of a maximum of 500 words in length should be submitted at europemeeting@gmail.comuntil 15th March 2009, the selected papers will be announced at the 31th March.
Please, submit abstracts that allow your topic to be presented in approximately 30 minutes. [Abstracts should be suitable for blind review]. Panels will be arranged on the basis of the papers received according to homogeneity of content.
Selected papers will be published in hard copy.
Enquiries relating to any subject should be sent to the e-mail address indicated above.
Regina Queiroz Instituto de Filosofia da Linguagem
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas Universidade Nova de Lisboa Av. de Berna 26-C 1069-061 Lisboa Portugal
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