International Workshop „Neverending History: How did we get to 2019 from 1989?“

Teilnahme/Participation Markus Meckel!

The 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is approaching, offering us an opportunity to get together to reflect on a number of key issues that have occupied academic and public debates, as well as the people who had lived on either side of the „Iron Curtain“ and who became active or passive participants in the establishment of a ’new‘ European and global „post-communist“ East. While the global dimensions and significance of 1989 will be considered, this conference addresses legacies of continuity and change in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic in politics, economics, and culture.

Topics to consider include:

• Successes and failures of liberal democracy and market economy in former Communist/Socialist countries.
• The European Union and Eastern Europe, 1989-2019.
• “Aufarbeitung” and “Ostalgie”: Evaluations and reevaluations of the Communist/Socialist past.
• Visions of citizenship and nationality.
• The impact of the transitions on women and minority groups.

• Mobility/Immobility and the politics of borders and migration.

• Media, arts and culture in post-Communist societies.
• Resurgence (or continuity) of authoritarianism and nationalism.
• Corruption in politics and economy.

• Changing concepts of grassroots democracy/social movements in an age of populism and social media.

Key note speaker will be Professor Larry Wolff (New York University).