Racism and White Supremacy in Europe

An international interdisciplinary conference.

Thursday, February 21, 2019
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
California Room, UCLA Faculty Center

The refugee crisis, terrorist attacks, the rise of right-wing populism, the spread of Islamophobia and the emergence of new forms of antisemitism re-interrogate racism, xenophobia and white supremacy. Historical revival or political shift? Developments such as the recent elections in France, Germany, Austria and Italy, the consolidation of the right in Poland or Hungary, and the ongoing struggles in Greece, are outlining a new ideological map that needs to be analyzed in a broader context. This conference will explore the complex connections between racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and populism in Western and Eastern Europe, from their current manifestations and the different cultural and political legacies they exploit to their impact on Europe and beyond. The conference will also address the role of science in shaping ideas about race and the role of these ideas in shaping the politics of difference.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

8:15 – 9:00 Check-in and Breakfast (presenters and attendees)

9:00 – 9:10 Welcome (Laure Murat, Director, UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies)

9:10 – 10:15 Keynote

• "Racial Borders" (E. Tendayi Achiume, UCLA School of Law)

10:15 – 10:30 Coffee Break (presenters and attendees)

10:30 – 12:30 Panel 1: Racial Legacies and Contemporary Forms of Racism

• "Anti-Black Racism, Coalitional Politics and the Long Shadow of European Colonialism" (Fatima El-Tayeb, UCSD Literature and Ethnic Studies)
• "Beyond the Far Right: On the Difficulties of Theorizing Systemic Racism and White Supremacy in France" (Crystal Fleming, Stony Brook University Sociology)
• "Whites, Jews, and Us: Critical Reflections" (Jonathan Judaken, Rhodes College History)
• "The racist violence of 'not racism' and the role of 'contrarian' academics" (Alana Lentin, Western Sydney University Cultural and Social Analysis)
• Moderator: Michael Rothberg, UCLA English and Comparative Literature

12:30 – 2:00 Lunch
(Note: lunch will be provided for presenters only; attendees can pay for lunch at the UCLA Faculty Center, assorted UCLA campus restaurants, or in Westwood)

2:00 – 3:15 Panel 2: Racism and Science

• "Who is the most European of us? Occidentalism, white supremacy and the counter-knowledge on race and genetics" (Claude-Olivier Doron, Université Paris Diderot History and Philosophy)
• "Brexit and Biomedicine" (Amy Hinterberger, King's College London Global Health and Social Medicine)
• Moderator: Aaron Panofsky, UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, Public Policy, and Sociology

3:15 – 3:30 Coffee Break (presenters and attendees)

3:30 – 5:15 Panel 3: Racism and Populism

• "Nationalism, Nativism and Patriotism" (Mabel Berezin, Cornell University Sociology)
• "Normalizing Right-Wing Extremism" (Paula Diehl, Universität Bielefeld History and Sociology)
• "Islamophobia and Other Racisms in the East of the European Union" (Ivan Kalmar, University of Toronto Anthropology)
• Moderator: Anthony Pagden, UCLA History and Political Science

5:30 Reception (presenters and attendees)

Cost : Free and open to the public. RSVP required at above link.

Sponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies, Canadian Studies Program, Center for Near Eastern Studies, Center for Study of International Migration, UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures, Department of History, Political Science, Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin, UCLA Social Sciences Division, UCLA Humanities Division