 
EUROSPHERE International Project Conference
Towards a Diverse European Public Sphere? Theoretical Puzzles and Empirical Evidences
Date: 13 - 14 November 2009
Host: Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS)
Location: University of Osnabrück, Germany
Organiser: Prof. Dr. Michael Bommes
The Project
Eurosphere is a research project situated in the EU Framework 6 programme involving researchers from different disciplines
and 16 countries and coordinated by the University of Bergen (Norway). The main objective of the project is to create
innovative perspectives on the European public spheres and to identify the conditions that enable or undermine the
articulation of inclusive European Public Spheres. In each participating country, researchers analyse political
parties, social movements, think tanks and media with the aim to create a knowledge base on how organisations
contribute to the articulation of different types of public spheres in contexts of complex diversity. After the
periods of theoretical and methodological elaboration, followed by the data collection activities, the project
will be able to present its first results in autumn.
Aim of the conference
Having reached this point in the project, the first international conference in November 2009 aims to face up
Eurosphere’s theoretical and empirical approaches to criticism of external experts. The central research topics of
Eurosphere will be addressed here contrasting Eurosphere research and its first results with critical views in theoretical
and empirical terms.
For this purpose, the conference will focus on two major thematic issues:
Does a European Public Sphere (EPS) exist and how can it be approached?
The tension between diversity and unity in the EU as a challenge for a EPS – which are the structural consequences of diversity
for EPS (and vice versa)?
All interested persons are kindly invited to participate in the conference.
For further information please contact
Karin Mackevics
IMIS - Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies
Neuer Graben 19/21, D-49069 Osnabrück
Tel: +49 (0)541 969 4917
Fax: +49 (0)541 969 4380
E-mail: kamackev@uni-osnabrueck.de
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