The colloquium on “European materialities” aims to foster dialogue between works from a variety of disciplines and approaches concerning the material dimensions of European integration and Europeanization. While European studies most often focus on the processes through which institutions, frameworks of reference, or intellectual and professional networks are constructed, they tend to overlook other, more “physical” manifestations of European integration. Yet technical standards, networks of concrete and steel infrastructures, the circulation of flows of people, goods, and monetary or financial values all shape forms of Europe that do not necessarily coincide with the European Union (EU).

These study days therefore seek to bring together thematic and disciplinary perspectives on Europe as understood through its materialities, particularly around three complementary lines of inquiry: how can the materialities of European integration be studied, and through which key concepts? What kind of Europe is shaped by European policies (especially those of the EU), and how are these policies in turn conditioned by tangible factors such as territories, resources, and networks? Finally, can alternative European constructions to that of the EU be identified by following value chains, spaces defined by technical standards, or cultural practices that delineate “other” continental spaces?

PROGRAM