----------------------------------------------------------- EUROZINE NEWSLETTER 1.2008 -----------------------------------------------------------
1. Article of the month: Return to babel 2. Changing places (what's normal anyway?) 3. Slovenia into the EU limelight 4. New articles 5. ... and: Happy New Year!
----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: RETURN TO BABEL -----------------------------------------------------------------
Each nation establishes its borders, sometimes defines itself, certainly organises itself, and always affirms itself around its language. Any misuse of the official means of communication becomes a breach of the law that binds together people, language and destiny. In France, this monolithic conception of language has been challenged by successive waves of immigration, writes Marc Hatzfeld in an article originally published in "Multitudes".
"There are still the occasional uptight schoolteachers and ingratiating social workers who earnestly encourage parents to 'speak French at home' with their children [...]. But more and more parents from Black Africa and North Africa have the self-confidence to treat this linguistic narrow-mindedness dressed up as a moral good with derision."
On France's housing estates, language is liberated from the burden of written convention and academic constraint; here, the dig ("la vane"), sparring ("la joute"), and slam are used to show off intellectual and rhetorical prowess. "Verlan", a complex slang whose name is derived from "vers-l'en", a reversal of the syllables of the word "l'envers", is an antidote to "the guides to Correct Usage and the swords of nonagenarian members of the French Academy".
"In these estates," writes Hatzfeld, "the multiplicity fostered by a real enjoyment of diversity can be seen at work; it is here that misunderstanding provides a framework for people to approach one another and strangeness becomes the basis for them to get to know one another."
This article is available in : http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-21-hatzfeld-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-21-hatzfeld-fr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. CHANGING PLACES (WHAT'S NORMAL ANYWAY?) -----------------------------------------------------------------
The concept of "Normality" has been close to the hearts of eastern Europeans during transition. Yet, as Alexander Kiossev demonstrates in a comparative history of the concept, "normality" has meanings that are multiple, changeable, even oxymoronic. (http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2008-01-04-kiossev-en.html)
For eastern Europeans, the myth of a free and prosperous West, of western normality, has been replaced by the observation of normalities, said Mircea Vasilescu in his opening address "Normality or normalities? From one transition to the next". Also: the closing speech by Slavenka Drakulic, "Bathroom tales. How we mistook normality for paradise".
Read all the contributions to the 2007 Eurozine conference in Sibiu: http://www.eurozine.com/comp/focalpoints/normal.html
----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. SLOVENIA INTO THE EU LIMELIGHT -----------------------------------------------------------------
Slovenia is the first former communist country to take charge of the EU. It will face a tough test with the question of Kosovo's independence as the biggest challenge. But what country could be better suited to handle this crisis than a former Yugoslav republic with a deep understanding of the situation in the region? Slovenia is the most developed of the former Yugoslav republics, a member of the Eurozone and the Schengen area -- and of NATO. It is in most respects an insider. But the country is more than a European success story. In a selection of articles painting a broad picture of the life of a nation, Eurozine offers an often critical insight into Slovenian culture and politics.
Slovenia in focus: http://www.eurozine.com/comp/focalpoints/slovenia.html
----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. NEW ARTICLES -----------------------------------------------------------------
Alexander Kiossev THE OXYMORON OF NORMALITY "Normality" has been close to the hearts of eastern Europeans during transition. Yet a comparative history of the concept in eastern and western Europe reveals meanings that are multiple, changeable, even oxymoronic. 04.01.2008
This article is available in English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2008-01-04-kiossev-en.html
Mircea Vasilescu NORMALITY OR NORMALITIES? FROM ONE TRANSITION TO THE NEXT For eastern Europeans, the myth of a free and prosperous West, of western normality, has been replaced by the observation of normalities, writes Mircea Vasilescu. Having joined the EU, Romanians are discovering that the West has problems by no means as exotic as they once believed. 04.01.2008
This article is now available in English and Turkish: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-10-04-vasilescu-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2008-01-04-vasilescu-tr.html
Slavenka Drakulic BATHROOM TALES HOW WE MISTOOK NORMALITY FOR PARADISE The shortage of toilet paper alone may not have brought down communism, but it's an apt metaphor for a system unable to fulfill people's basic needs. Although Slavenka Drakulic's bathroom is better stocked these days, she's still prone to doubt. Was the normality she and her fellow eastern Europeans longed for just another false paradise? 03.01.2008
This article is now available in English, Lithuanian, and Turkish: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-10-04-drakulic-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-11-26-drakulic-lt.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2008-01-03-drakulic-tr.html
Bruno Preisendörfer PERSONS OF NO CONSEQUENCE THE RETURN OF CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS AS PREJUDICE The collapse of the welfare state shows that the working class has disappeared but not the people who once counted to it. All face various degrees of class-based disadvantage, from concealed discrimination to open stigmatization. 02.01.2008
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2008-01-02-preisendorfer-de.html
Marc Hatzfeld FRANCE: RETURN TO BABEL The French banlieues are home to a shimmering diversity of cultural and linguistic imports. Resisting the norms of an over-regulated language is absolutely crucial, writes Marc Hatzfeld in a celebration of Babel and the true value of linguistic diversity: creative misunderstandings. 21.12.2007
This article is available in English and French: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-21-hatzfeld-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-21-hatzfeld-fr.html
Gerard Delanty PERIPHERIES AND BORDERS IN A POST-WESTERN EUROPE Europe is taking not just a post-national but also a post-western shape. The relation between the inside and the outside is complex and ambivalent; while often exclusionary, the periphery can also be viewed as the site of cosmopolitan forms of negotiation. 20.12.2007
This article is now available in English and Slovenian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-08-29-delanty-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-20-delanty-sl.html
Niels Kadritzke HEADSCARVES, GENERALS, AND TURKISH DEMOCRACY The ongoing debate on a new Turkish constitution has the potential to decide the future of the country. It could make the democratic process irreversible and dramatically increase Turkey's chances of becoming a member of the EU. 19.12.2007
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-19-kadritzke-de.html
János Salamon THE AFTERNOON OF A PRAGMATIST FAUN RICHARD RORTY (1931-2007) In a non-philosophical age, Richard Rorty offered a fast and easy solution to a fundamental philosophical question. Rorty's critique of universalism constituted a liberation but left no alternative to moral ethnocentrism. 18.12.2007
This article is now available in English and Slovenian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-08-07-salamon-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-18-salamon-sl.html
Richard Rorty DEMOCRACY AND PHILOSOPHY Moral insight "is a matter of imagining a better future, and observing the results of attempts to bring that future into existence". Richard Rorty, who died on June 8, was one of the most public of public intellectuals. In the recent ten-year anniversary edition of "Kritika & Kontext", he outlined the anti-foundationalist premise of his philosophy. 18.12.2007
This article is now available in English, German, Italian, Belarusian, Slovakian, and Slovenian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-06-11-rorty-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-07-06-rorty-de.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-07-06-rorty-it.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-10-03-rorty-be.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-06-11-rorty-sk.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-18-rorty-sl.html
Tommi Laitio SUPERLOCAL IDENTITIES THE EUROPEAN IN THE YOUTH EXPERIENCE European youth culture voices local concerns while simultaneously connecting to global trends. Two-way interests have developed between brands and artists, leaving politics and mainstream media, after years of indifference, with a lot of catching up to do. 13.12.2007
This article is available in English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-13-laitio-en.html
Jesper Gulddal A HEAVY PRELUDE TO CHAOS ASPECTS OF LITERARY ANTI-AMERICANISM IN THE INTERWAR YEARS Interwar European literature represented the US as the quintessence of unbridled modernity that prefigured the destruction of Europe. Jesper Gulddal surveys the uncharted territory of literary anti-Americanism. 20.03.2007
This article is now available in English, Danish, and Czech: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-03-20-gulddal-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2006-08-02-gulddal-da.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-12-gulddal-cs.html
Wolfgang Kemp THE SCIENCE OF OTHERS LAYMEN'S PUBLICATIONS OBSERVED CRITICALLY AND WITH ONLY SLIGHT IRRITATION The venerable sub-academic institution of laymen's publications has found a huge new platform in blogs. Is this cause for celebration or concern? 11.12.2007
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-11-kemp-de.html
Eurozine Review JUST ANOTHER CRACK IN THE WALL? "Varlik" joins the normality debate; "Arena" sees Europe's self-image crack; "Magyar Lettre Internationale" reports on a Bosniak renaissance; "Le Monde diplomatique" (Oslo) discovers hope in Bosnia; "Merkur" examines how cultural exports sold despotism to the West; "Arche" meets the Belarusian generation 2.0; "Host" defends Kundera against the enemies of success; and "Vikerkaar" bravos 400 years of opera. 11.12.2007
This article is available in English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-11-eurozinerev-en.html
Catalin Avramescu ABNORMALS OF ALL NATIONS, UNITE! ON THE EXCEPTIONALITY OF POLITICAL LIBERTY Can democratic constitutions be called "normal"? Not according to political philosophers from the classical period to the nineteenth century. Today, the ubiquitous misuse of democratic institutions renders the exemplary constitution as abnormal as ever. 10.12.2007
This article is available in English: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-10-avramescu-en.html
Laurent Dubois, Michel Giraud, Marc-Olivier Padis, Lilian Thuram, Patrick Weil A HISTORY TO BE HANDED DOWN INTERVIEW WITH LILIAN THURAM The Caribbean-born French footballer Lilian Thuram talks about his longstanding interest in the history of slavery, about how sport can teach mutual respect, and why he still believes in the French model of integration. 04.04.2007
This article is available in English and French: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-07-thuram-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-04-04-thuram-fr.html
Monique Selim AN ANTHROPOLOGIST BETWEEN "BANLIEUES" AND GLOBALIZED WORLD In the 1970s, taboos on acknowledging working-class racism hindered urban research. Today, both academic and media discourse has become ethnicized; this can have both positive and negative consequences, says Monique Selim. [more] 06.12.2007
This article is available in English and French: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-06-selim-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-06-selim-fr.html
Mykola Riabchuk PLURALISM BY DEFAULT COMMUNICATING VESSELS IN UKRAINE Like liquid levels in communicating vessels, the attitudes of government and people will remain level as long as they are connected by regular elections. Mykola Riabchuk on Ukraine's democratic development since the early 1990s and the future of the new coalition government. 05.12.2007
This article is available in German: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-05-riabchuk-de.html
Elemér Hankiss TRANSITION OR TRANSITIONS? THE TRANSFORMATION OF EASTERN CENTRAL EUROPE 1989-2007 "Incomplete regime change", "interrupted revolution", "geo-political paradigm shift"... Accounts of the transition in eastern central Europe have tended to emphasize particular features to the exclusion of others. Elemér Hankiss pieces together a mosaic of interpretations of transition. 04.12.2007
This article is now available in English, Hungarian, and Lithuanian: http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-07-26-hankiss-en.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-07-26-hankiss-hu.htmlhttp://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-12-04-hankiss-lt.html
----------------------------------------------------------------- 5. ... AND: HAPPY NEW YEAR! -----------------------------------------------------------------
To all readers a happy, peaceful, yet exciting new year! In 2008, Eurozine will mark its tenth anniversary as a legal entity, founded in Vienna in 1998. We will continue to provide a Europe-wide overview of current themes and discussions, presenting the best articles from our partners in translation, as well as original texts on all aspects of culture and politics.
Just to give you a few examples of what lies ahead:
Focuses on contemporary writing in Spain, Austria, Sweden, and Turkey will set forth the Literary perspectives series. Written by renowned literary critics and authors based in these countries, the essays will represent different critical traditions and practices, thus contributing to the re-transnationalization of literary criticism.
The European Union has officially declared 2008 the year of intercultural dialogue. Since that is what Eurozine has been involved in every single day for the last ten years, 2008 will not be very different for us. However, the special section on cultural diversity launched last year, together with the European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam, will remain one of our main focuses.
And finally, the annual Eurozine conference, meanwhile attracting some hundred editors, writers, and intellectuals from all over Europe, will take place in Paris this autumn. The focus: multilingualism.
Watch this space for more information about this event and all other Eurozine activities.
(http://www.eurozine.com/chronology.html) (http://www.eurozine.com/comp/literaryperspectives.html) (http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2007-07-04-fredriksson-en.html) (http://www.eurozine.com/comp/focalpoints/culturaldiv.html) http://www.eurozine.com/comp/focalpoints/normal.html
If you have questions or comments, please write to us: comments.newsletter@eurozine.com To unsubscribe, follow this link, or visit the Eurozine Newsletter page: www.eurozine.com/newsletter.html.
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