The Network’s activities cover:

• research funding,
• coordination of the undergraduate programme in EU Studies and the Master’s Degree Programme in European Studies,
• doctoral school,
• academic seminars and other corresponding activities
• co-ordinates the participation of the University of Helsinki in the Europaeum association of European universities.

Postgraduate education

Network co-ordinates multidisciplinary field of European studies postgraduate education and offers finance and workspace for various researchers. Networks also have its own positions to postgraduate students.

The European Studies Seminar offers the possibility for the participants to present their own field of research and to discuss about questions related to the life of a PhD student such as financing, guidance etc. and other issues. Those in turn of presenting their work can deliver a few pages beforehand to the other participants and ask also the supervisor to attend.

The seminar is organized about every third week either in Finnish or English depending on the participants.

Research projects and financing

The study of European issues is defined extensively, covering all the disciplines and scientific approaches. The purpose of the Network for European Studies is to connect and support researchers and research groups at the University of Helsinki working with European issues and to strengthen the role and visibility of the University of Helsinki within the field of European Studies.

Network for European Studies finances many scientific research projects with grants distributed every year.

CURRENT PROJECTS:

1. The Political Rhetoric of ‘Isms’: Ideology and Rhetoric in European Comparison

• Funded by Network for European Studies (180 000€ )
• Lead by Pauli Kettunen

The project aims at bringing forth a renewed understanding of political ideologies in which political ‘isms’ are viewed as rhetorical tools in political struggles, conflicts, and negotiations rather than inherently coherent theories or well defined ideational doctrines, and thus help overcome retrospective universalizations in the analysis of ‘isms’. Hence, focus will be put on what sort of political significance talking about ‘isms’ has had in a particular moment. These concepts have for instance been used as terms of abuse or as methods for colonizing a tradition for oneself. The project engages in a comparative study of how ‘isms’ have been used rhetorically in forging these traditions and how ‘isms’ have been rendered in different European political and social contexts from the breakthrough of political ‘isms’ from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to modern times. The primary focal points are the uses of ‘liberalism’, ‘patriotism’, ‘nationalism’ and ‘populism’, but the project itself will invite scholars to more broadly theorize about processes of ‘ismification’ and consequently discusses other ‘isms’ as well.

2. Language, Identity and Authenticity among the Roma in Eastern Europe

• Funded by Network for European Studies (50 000€ )
• Lead by Kimmo Granqvist

The project discusses the Roma living in Romania, Bulgaria, some of ex-Yugoslavian countries, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the Baltic countries and to some extent, Finland. The goal of the project is to study the questions of diaspora, identity and hybridity from the point of view of political sciences, anthropology, migration research, anthropological and general/Romani linguistics.

Study modules

Network is responsible for coordinating EU study module of University of Helsinki and also Master of European Studies (MES) –master program. The master program is entirely taught in English. More info

Europaeum-network

Events

Network for European studies organizes regularly numerous events which many are open to large public.

• Seminar series “European Studies at the University of Helsinki”
• European Studies researcher seminars
• Guest lectures and discussion
• Scientific conferences and seminars