CfP: TWILIGHT’S LONG SHADOWS – 2nd Critico-Juridical Symposium; Jagiellonian University, Kraków 29-30 March 2019

Twilight makes things cast the longest shadows, claimed Nietzsche. Contemporary Europe, especially its Central-Eastern part, seems to linger now in a transitory state─between a nostalgic half-conscious return to its authoritarian past, permanently resuscitated liberalism and a hope for a new upheaval, perhaps lost in advance. Guiding theories, sense of history and options for organising a concerted action are in eclipse. The painstaking process of transformation of political and juridical paradigms hasn’t yet given us clues as to where we are actually heading.

In this time of twilight, the past returns as a distorted misrepresentation. We know what Fascism was as much as we fear what current nationalism and authoritarianism might develop into, but we cannot dare a clear diagnosis. We know what the Left aspired to, we see how much it is needed now, but we hardly know how to revive it. We seem to recognise where the Left failed, but we are often more tempted to praise the socialist history. The past is to us nothing but a shadow─one more elements in postmodern play of puzzles─even if this shadow is very long and makes us suffocate under outdated categories.

In twilight times, the law is a crucial battlefield of liberalism and right-wing authoritarianism. It not only carries the burden of the past, but also supports the almost-ancien régime by withholding the boiling upheaval. At the same time, it contributes to distorting history by misrepresenting the socialist legacy. In these uneasy times we invite critical legal scholars to the second symposium which aims to provide a Central-Eastern European perspective on contemporary law and politics.

We would like to encourage you to think about the following topics:

 the nature, character and future of the current transformations of law and politics
 new social riots (e.g. “gilets jaunes”) from a legal perspective
 perspectives of the legal critique and of the Left
 what’s the difference between the red and the brown, especially in law?
 possibilities and impossibilities of the Revolution from the legal perspective
 past failures of the Left and what can be learned from them
 contemporary nationalisms, authoritarianisms and the law
 legacy of the Enlightenment and shared values of the Left and liberalism
 role of the past in contemporary law
 hope and the law

Abstracts up to 300 words together with short biographical notes should be sent to the address: twilights.long.shadows@gmail.com until 15 February 2019.
The symposium will consist of maximum 30 participants. We hope to continue and expand our collective think tank. Selected participants will be notified about their acceptation until 20 February 2019.

We strongly encourage submissions by women and other groups underrepresented at the academy.

There is no conference fee.

Should you have any questions, please write to: twilights.long.shadows@gmail.com.