European worlds from the microscope

• Max Weber Programme for Postdoctoral Studies

This event features a presentation by Annalisa Pelizza (University of Bologna), Maxime Béhar (Université de Strasbourg) and Hans-Joerg Trenz (Scuola Normale Superiore).

Interpretative methods and epistemologies are increasingly recognised and practised across a range of subfields in the social sciences. Yet, these scholars are often dispersed across subfields and face challenges—ranging from field access to finding appropriate translations across literature—that can hinder their work from achieving its full potential. Indeed, by focusing on the social worlds in which people live and their everyday practices, interpretative methods and epistemologies have the capacity to capture meaning in European societies that are marked by multiple crises and uncertainties and appear more fragmented and polarised than ever.

This workshop, sponsored by the Max Weber Programme, builds on the extensive work already done to cultivate a ‘bottom-up’ perspective on European societies, policies, and institutions, and further develops its analytical toolkit through a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from history, law, political science, and sociology. By bringing together scholars from diverse disciplines who share common theoretical foundations but seldom have the opportunity to collaborate, the workshop aims to cultivate a shared analytical perspective that can more effectively capture the complexity of actor networks and the social practices shaping European politics. Topics of discussion will include, for example, EU asylum policies, the politics of knowledge in and about Eastern Europe, crisis management actors, parliamentary practices, and the regulation and use of digital technologies.

Main issues to be addressed:

1. Data collection and analysis in Europe: How to map processes, identify key discourses and texts, and examine how individuals assess and respond their own actions and those of others in daily life?
2. From micro to macro and back: How can we compare in-depth case studies, capture social structures 'from below', and engage with other methodological approaches? What are the challenges and potential value of creating multi- and mixed-method strategies, such as quantitative studies, text analysis, and experiments?
3. The role of self-reflexivity and normative evaluations: What place should we assign to self-reflexive assessments and normative evaluations produced by actors in relation to their practices?