At the Edges of Europe: Britain, Romania and European Identities

This two day conference, hosted by Martyn Rady at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies welcomes a group of Romanian doctoral and post-doctoral scholars, who will join together in a conference on Europe and on the respective places of Britain and Romania in the larger trends of European history. The discussion will be joined both by established Romanian researchers and by prominent British historians.

The purpose of the conference is to place current research in Romania in the context of European history and to ask questions about whether the Romanian and British historical experiences coincide with what have been understood as the dominant themes in European development. The conflation of European identity with membership of the European Union gives this discussion a particular political importance—not least in view of the impending UK referendum.

Putting Romania and Britain together in this way might seem perverse. Nevertheless, despite their geographical separation, both Britain and Romania may share a peripheral relationship to Europe that has made, and will continue to make, their involvement in the course and future of Europe’s development awkward, ambiguous and potentially antagonistic. In this respect, the larger debate over Britain’s relationship to Europe gives the opportunity to consider more widely the relationship between Europe’s parts and its whole. Romania belongs to this discussion.

Programme Details:

Programme (Word File)