02.11.2012-04.11.2012
Location: Freie Universität Berlin, Rostlaube, Room KL 32/202

The youth are in great demand, for they symbolize the future of society, and that future is constantly up for debate. The political potential of young people became apparent once again during the revolutions in the Arab world and the latest protests in Russia, all of which were significantly shaped by young activists. As a result, we are witnessing a repeat of the scenario familiar from the uprisings that occurred throughout Eastern Europe during the last decade. The so called “colour revolutions” led to a debate about the social-political role of young people. The trajectory of the discussion reveals both a social need to project collective wishes onto youth activism and societies’ obvious helplessness when it comes to critically reflecting on the disappointment stemming from the exaggerated expectations. The conference aims to initiate an unbiased discussion of quintessential developments, results and discourses that are central to the youth cultures in Eastern European countries.

Programme Abstracts Biographies Directions

Organizers:

• Institute for East-European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin

• Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas (GWZO), Leipzig

Funding:

The conference is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Institute for East-European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Geisteswissenschaftliches Zentrum Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas in Leipzig (GWZO) and Heinrich Böll Stiftung.

Conception:

• Matthias Schwartz, Dr. des. (seit 2014 Mitarbeiter des Zentrums für Literatur- und Kulturforschung Berlin (ZfL))

• Heike Winkel, Dr. des. 

For further information and to register please contact the organizers per mail. 

Assistance:

Constanze Aka, Georg Dickmann, Roman Kowert, Eva Murašov, Georg Smirnov