London Debates 2010 How does Europe in the 21st century address the legacy of colonialism?

LONDON DEBATES
at the School of Advanced Study
13 – 15 May 2010
CALL FOR PAPERS

The School of Advanced Study at the University of London invites applications for the second of a series of international debates for outstanding young researchers in the humanities and social sciences.
London Debates are discussion workshops at which a subject of broad concern in the humanities and social sciences is debated by a small group of invited senior academics and a selection of early-career researchers. The resulting publication will be published online by the School of Advanced Study.

The competition is open to scholars based in the EU/EEA, who are in their final-year of doctoral study or up to 10 years beyond the award of their doctorate. Successful applicants will be awarded bursaries to cover travel and accommodation.

You are invited to send the following in English by email attachment
• Your curriculum vitae (2000 words maximum);
• the name, address and email address of one referee
• a response of 2000-3000 words on the subject below
to Rosemary Lambeth (rosemary.lambeth@sas.ac.uk), by the closing date of Friday 29 January 2010, with a hard copy sent to reach the Dean, School of Advanced Study, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1 7HU, by Friday 5 February 2010.

The 2010 topic is: How does Europe in the 21st Century address the legacy of colonialism?
We inhabit a world that continues to be shaped by the legacy of European colonial expansion and exploitation. Patterns of migration, trade, investment and even aid reflect that legacy, and it casts a long shadow over diplomatic, military and cultural relationships between Europe and the developing world. In domestic as well as foreign affairs, European policy makers are constantly being reminded that they operate within a historical context of which colonialism was an integral part. In what ways does this shape the domestic and foreign policies of contemporary European states? And how do European citizens address this legacy in their daily lives?

The legacy of Imperialism has also lain behind some of the most impassioned recent debates within academia. It has been suggested that whole branches of supposedly ‘objective’ academic study provided ideological legitimacy for and even materially assisted the colonial project. The ‘Orientalist’ debate of the 1970s and ‘80s, which contributed to the rise of postcolonial studies, has been reinvigorated in the last decade by the ‘War on Terror’ and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Some scholars have been accused of facilitating the path to conflict by producing work that ‘rehabilitates’ the record of European colonialism, or which perpetuates hostile stereotypes of the non-European ‘other’. Not only in the research they do, but over issues such as freedom of speech and the introduction of more inclusive admissions policies, European Universities grapple daily with the legacy of the colonial past.

Your response may include, but is not limited to, the areas under the two headings below.
Please note that preference will be given to papers that have genuine interdisciplinary appeal, and which have important implications for our broader understanding of the legacy of European colonialism.
1. The domestic and foreign policy of European states. What is the relevance of the legacy of the colonialism in the following areas?
• Race Relations
• Language
• Migration, Refugees, Asylum Issues
• Human Rights
• Legal Systems
• Public Services in Europe
• The ideologies of the European Left and Right
• The Commonwealth, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and comparable international organisations
• Trade
• Aid
• Military intervention

2. European culture, leisure and academia. What has been the impact of the legacy of colonialism over the following?
• The novel
• Post-colonialism and Post-Modernism
• Patterns of consumption
• Tourism
• Historical research
• Religion
• Music