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Announcing the ‘Parliament Buildings’ Conference: Call for Papers

5 May 2020

Submissions are open for this November’s conference, supported by UCL European Institute, examining the architecture of power, accountability and democracy in Europe.

General view of the interior of The Commons Chamber at the Houses of Parliament in central London. Photograph by Justin Tallis. 

‘Parliament Buildings’ is a one-day conference and a book exploring the architecture of power, accountability and democracy in Europe. It will take place virtually on 12 November 2020. 

The conference is being led by Professor Sophia Psarra, The Bartlett School of Architecture, and Dr Claudia Sternberg, UCL European Institute. It is funded by UCL Grand Challenges of Cultural Understanding.

In the face of ongoing political change, confidence in democracy is waning – calling upon us to rethink our political institutions and the buildings in which they are accommodated.

– Professor Sophia Psarra, The Bartlett School of Architecture

Call for papers

The organisers invite contributions from architecture, political science and political theory, history, law, geography and associated disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. The conference seeks to engage parliament buildings in Europe, shifting attention from their monumental expression to the spatial construction of political practices and traditions. 

Issues to be discussed in the conference will include: how parliament buildings in Europe shape concepts of their political selves and of the body politic; how they relate to broader political culture and ideology; how they can shape collective identities, national narratives and the future of Europe; and how performance art could be used to re-imagine political debate in contemporary society. 

The organisers will publish an edited volume based on contributions to the conference. 

Deadline for abstracts: 15 June 2020. 
Send your proposal summary (500 min – 700 max words, including title and references) to: s.psarra@ucl.ac.uk, c.sternberg@ucl.ac.uk


More information


Image: General view of the interior of The Commons Chamber at the Houses of Parliament in central London. Photograph by Justin Tallis.