Like the social season in 19 C. London –with its formal balls, high teas and fox hunting parties– the European conference season relies on key (dis)organizing rituals for identity and coherence. And this year was no exception. Whether it is projectors that don’t work in Madrid, potato salad gala dinner in Goteborg, or imperceptible air conditioning in Naples, there is no mistaking that one is in the European academic circuit. The redeeming quality is of course intellectual: the discussions were truly fascinating. And today I want to report on a mini-conference that managed to be rigorous, relevant and genuinely original.
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