Small nations and states during the 19th and 20th centuries often perceived themselves as peripheries which were struggling to secure or maintain their cultural and political autonomy in the concert of nations. These balancing acts contained various forms of national strategies, but also seeking contacts and reference points in a larger European context. The seminar will explore strategies to overcome cultural hierarchies and asymmetrical power relations as well as to investigate entanglements, transfers, and relations particularly between the Nordic and central European semi-peripheries.

The international seminar Central Europe and the Nordics: bilateral relations and views on Europe from semi-peripheries is co-organized by the Centre for Nordic Studies (University of Helsinki), the Department of Germanic Studies, and the Institute of World History (Faculty of Arts, Charles University) and will be held 17th – 18th October 2024.

For more information please contact Jana Lainto (jana.lainto@helsinki.fi) and Tomáš Masař (tomas.masar@ff.cuni.cz).
The event is funded by ReNEW research hub.