Archipelago Europe: borders, movements, peoples

What is a people, what is a civilization?

Many public debates about the future of Europe, the West, democracy, and "values" are tainted by a distorted vision of what a "people," a "nation," or a civilization actually is. We continue to view "peoples" as if they were separate entities that, like stones that collide, spark and conflict.

Drawing on an anthropological approach and his field studies in Europe's overseas territories, Adriano Favole will demonstrate the relational nature of every society. The very notion of "West," upon reflection, is itself a relationship: the West implies an East, a North, a South, and a thousand other positions. It makes no sense to talk about "Western values" without asking what relationships have existed throughout history among societies and states that define themselves as Western. Addressing relationships, favoring a vision of Europe as an archipelago rather than a "territory," is not a theoretical question for academics: it is, rather, a matter of placing coexistence rather than identities at the center.
The speaker at the meeting will be Adriano Favole: cultural anthropologist, full professor at the University of Turin, visiting professor at the University of New Caledonia, and author.
The moderator will be Franco Chittolina, founder and vice president of APICEUROPA.