European Tandem
Public Event on January 22, 2019, Franco-German Day, at Freie Universität's Center for French Studies / Discussion by Historians Etienne François and Olaf B. Rader
№ 010/2018 from Jan 19, 2018
To mark the Franco-German Friendship Day on January 22, 2018, historians Etienne François from Freie Universität Berlin and Olaf B. Rader from the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities will address Europe and German-French history in a discussion at Freie Universität. As part of a book presentation, they will explain the concept of the extensive and ambitious project and describe its genesis and reception in France. The event is being held on the occasion of the 55th signing of the Franco-German Friendship Treaty – the Elysée Treaty – on January 22, 1963. The discussion will be moderated by Uwe Puschner (Friedrich Meinecke Institute, Freie Universität Berlin). It was organized jointly by the Center for French Studies and the Centre Marc Bloch. The event is public, and admission is free.
The two historians will give presentations based on an anthology that they edited and which was recently published in France entitled Europa – notre histoire. L’héritage européen depuis Homère (Les Arènes, 2017). The book consists of chapters on European history that were written by more than 100 international historians as well as representatives of other disciplines. Its general theme is the search for a common European identity and memory. The authors address issues such as the following: Do we have a common cultural heritage, common European places of remembrance, or rather a space of remembrance that unites memories with different connotations? Who are we anyway? Describing Europe is to talk about myths and utopias, demons or black holes, and to shed light on the past to understand the present. The authors of this volume describe Europe apart from national identities and the bureaucracy in Brussels. They characterize Europe as something that cannot be thought of as a single homogenous unit, but rather as something that is diverse and will remain so in the future.
Time and Location
- Monday, January 22, 2018, 6:15 p.m.
- Seminar Center, Freie Universität, Room L 115, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin.
Contact
Marie Jacquier, Academic Coordinator, Center for French Studies, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-52598, Email: marie.jacquier@fu-berlin.de