Talk on Trust and Europe’s Crisis of Representation

Overview

Talk on Trust and Europe’s Crisis of Representation

An interdisciplinary workshop

7-8 December 2017, Woolf Institute, Cambridge (UK)

Convenors: Jan-Jonathan Bock (Woolf Institute), Caroline Humphrey DBE (King’s College, Cambridge), and Jonathan White (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Keynotes

Geoffrey Hosking, UCL
Paul Weller, Coventry University
Chris Bickerton, University of Cambridge

Outline

Across Europe, the economic, political, and social realities established in the aftermath of the Second World War have come under strain. Anti-migration rhetoric and the rejection of multiculturalism, as well as the success of far-right parties and movements, have shocked observers. Globalisation, open markets, diversity, and growing interconnectedness have also given way to publically articulated demands for protection and national isolation. In most debates and analyses, the 'decline of trust' is cited as a key reason for recent challenges and changes in public perception.

This conference explores the talk on trust and what it reveals about social challenges and understandings of democracy, free market capitalism, and living with ethnic, religious, and cultural difference. We examine why 'trust' features so prominently in debates about social change, discontent, and new political orders. We aim to understand the role of trust talk in attempts to explain our current condition and its implications for living with difference and uncertainty in increasingly interconnected and globalising societies.

This conference is the part of the Trust Project, which explored the meaning and practice of solidarity in emergent forms of social action. Download the Trust in Crisis Report here.

Programme

Read the provisional programme here.

Registration details

Registration is now open.

Fees are £35 (full price) or £15 (student concession).

Lunch and refreshments are included in the fee.

• Please see here to book your tickets.

Contact  

Any questions? Email Dr Jan-Jonathan Bock: jjb71@cam.ac.uk.