Discourses on Intellectual Europe
-
Edited by:
Antonio Loprieno
In times of crisis and rising skepticism towards the idea of European integration, the ALLEA book series Discourses on Intellectual Europe represents an effort from the scientific community in tackling these challenges for society's commitment to Europe as an enduring cultural and intellectual region. Due to their long-standing tradition of preserving, securing and making available the cultural heritage of Europe, academies of sciences and humanities are in a special position to show and promote Europe's deep-rooted intellectual and cultural richness. This series of essay collections forms part of a wider set of ALLEA activities directed towards these objectives. The volumes are edited by eminent fellows of ALLEA member academies and appear in a bilingual format that seeks to underline Europe's cultural diversity. Ultimately, the ALLEA book series seeks to explore the question of an intrinsic or quintessential European identity, its roots, and other crucial pan-European issues in an effort to contribute to the intellectual discourse that will shape Europe's future.
The volume examines the lives and achievements of women who played determining roles in the history of European academies and in the development of modern science in Europe. These persevering personalities either had a key influence in the establishment of academies ("Patronae Scientiarum") or were pioneering scientists who made major contributions to the progress of science ("path-breakers"). In both cases, their stories provide unique testimonies on the scientific institutions of their time and the systemic barriers female scientists were facing.
Conceptualized as a transversal series of biographical portraits, the contributions focus particularly on each personalities’ role in (or relation to) European academies, ensuring both a geographical and disciplinary balance. The co-editors of the volume are Professor Ute Frevert (Co-Director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development), Professor Ernst Osterkamp (President of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung) and Professor Günter Stock (former ALLEA President).
The volume focuses on music during the process of European integration since the Second World War. Often music in Europe is defined by its relation to the concept of Occidentalism (Musik im Abendland; western music). The emphasis here turns rather to recent manifestations of its evolvement in ensembles, events, musical organisations and ideas; questions of unity and diversity from Bergen to Tel Aviv, from Lisbon to Baku; and deals with the tension between local, regional and national music within the larger confluence of European music. The status of classical and avante-garde music, and to a degree rock and pop, during Europe's development the past sixty years are also reviewed within the context of eurocentrism – the domination of European music within world music, a term propagated by anthropologists and ethnomusicologists several decades ago and based on multiculturalism. Conversely, the search for a musical European identity and the ways in which this search has in turn been influenced by multiculturalism is an ongoing, dynamic process.
