Research seminar information
Time: Friday, 7.2.2025, 13:00 - 14:00 (UTC +2)
Place: Room 247 (2nd floor), Unioninkatu 33 (inner courtyard), you can also join in by Zoom, Passcode: 791038
"Rethinking co-existence in contemporary Europe"
Abstract
How do we live together? Between growing diversity and rising inequalities, this simple question has turned into a challenge for many European societies. Against the backdrop of contemporary debates proclaiming the destabilizing impact of migration on social cohesion, this presentation proposes to rethink the nexus between difference, migration, and societal change from an alternative standpoint. To do so, it chooses to focus on what joins people together and separates them from one another in the course of their everyday existence. Giving prominence to what arises in-between people, thinking in terms of everyday co-existence shifts the attention away from categorical identity thinking towards the inherently open and ambivalent existential space between the self and others.
Bruno Lefort is an Academy research fellow in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oulu. This presentation builds on his on-going project "Rethinking co-existence from the margins (Co-Imagine)", funded by the Research Council of Finland (2023-2027).
About this seminar series
The Spring 2025 Research Seminar Series by the Centre of Excellence in Law, Identity and the European Narratives at the University of Helsinki explores the concept of "the Other" in relation to Europe, examining the historical, cultural, economic, and political dynamics that have shaped European identity and its relationship with those perceived as outsiders. Delving into the notion of "Europe and its Others," the speakers include scholars, activists, and policymakers discussing how Europe has defined itself through contrasts with non-European cultures and ideologies as well as the "Others" within Europe.
The invited speakers in the series will explore how non-European regions have often reacted critically to Europe’s self-understanding as a bastion of democracy, rule of law and human rights. Through colonial legacies, economic inequalities, and political tensions, many regions have challenged Europe’s moral authority, bringing into question its universal claims of fairness and governance. The Research Seminar Series aims to challenge existing narratives, fostering dialogue on inclusion, exclusion, and the evolving understanding of belonging in a globalized world.