Details of the program (lectures, workshop papers, etc) will be found in the upcoming ASE Newsletter 59. A full list of workshops and speakers can be found in ASE 59, see http://www.eaas.eu/publications.htm

A link to the online registration form is on the web: see http://www.eaas.eu/events/oslo08.htm

The motto “E Pluribus Unum” mostly subsumes an institutional and political will. But, from all historical data and possibly even more from contemporary dissensions, it appears that the social and cultural realities of America might well illustrate the possibility for an "E Pluribus Plura" version of the formula.  How does the United States negotiate the inner tensions that, because of its constitutive diversity, might threaten its unity?  How do traditions (political, artistic, literary…), modes of consensus building (from myth to national icons and patriotic assertions of exceptionalism), the feeling of a wished-for common good counteract potential strife and the tensions of particular interests and particular groups, make up for the aporias of nationhood and communitarian feeling, of ideological consensus and a tradition of dissent? Could it be that there are indeed several “Americas”? Is being an American necessarily being in many ways double? Can the politically unifying, centripetal power of the State, hidden under the neutral Unum, accommodate the centrifugal forces that might generate a societal and cultural “plura” out of the hallowed political and territorial “pluribus”? Do diversities imply, for their survival and development, a “middle ground”, a “mainstream”, a “tradition” – some kind of American norm? Seen in light of the various subdisciplines of our fields, these are some of the questions that might generate the wished-for contributions to this Conference.

Conference Schedule (Tentative), EAAS ) Oslo 2008

FRIDAY, May 9

10.00                                   registration desk opens (Blindern Campus)

12.00-14.00                        Sightseeing/walk, downtown Oslo

14.00-14.45                        Meeting of workshop chairs (*Law school, downtown)

15.00-16.30                        General Meeting (University Aula, Law School, downtown)

17.15-17.45                        Conference Opening (Aula)

17.45-18.45                        Plenary Lecture I, Keynote (Aula)

19.30-21.00                        Mayor’s Reception, City Hall (a 10-minute walk)

SATURDAY, May 10 (All events at the Blindern campus)

09.00-10.00                        Parallel Lectures (3)

10.00-10.30                        Coffee Break

10.30-12.30                        Workshops (15)

12.30-14.30                        Lunch

14.30-15.30                        Parallel lectures (3)

15.30-16.00                        Coffee Break

16.00-18.00                        Workshops II (15)

19.30-21.00                        Reception (Garden Party), American Ambassador’s Residence; busses from the hotels to the reception

SUNDAY, May 11 (All events at the Blindern campus)

09.00-10.00                        Plenary Lecture II

10.00-10.30                        Coffee Break

10.30-12.30                        Workshops III (15)

12.30-14.30                        Lunch

14.30-16.30                        Workshops IV (10)

16.30-17.30                        Back to hotel to get ready for sightseeing &  cruise; busses for sightseeing and cruise from the hotels

16.00-19.30                       Sightseeing by coach (The Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Viking Ship Museum)

19.30-23.00                       Cruise/Banquet on the Oslo Fjord (embarking at dock near the Viking Ship Museum) 400kr EAAS members; 300 kr students

MONDAY, May 12 (Blindern Campus)

09.00-10.00                        Parallel Lectures (3)

10.00-10.30                        Coffee Break

10.30-11.30                        Shoptalks and Special Fora

11.45-12.45                        Plenary Lecture III

13.00-13.30                        Conference Closing

*The Law School is located a ten-minute walk from Oslo Central Station. (3 minutes by subway) The Blindern Campus is a 7-minute subway ride from Oslo Central Station (same lines—3,4,5—stop: “Blindern”). Hotels are located downtown, a short walk from subway stations; there is a tram line (numbers 17 & 18) serving the Blindern Campus (20-25 minutes from downtown; stop: “Blindern”)

Both workshop members and chairs should consult the Guidelines for Workshops on the EAAS site. For further specifications of workshop themes or individual papers contact the respective chairs or the speaker(s) in question. See the ASE Newsletter for further information about topics and speakers.

There is a remarkable wealth of opportunities for intellectual stimulation here. Do peruse the 27 workshop topics and the papers in each. LET YOURSELF BE CONVINCED that you cannot miss coming to the EAAS in Oslo 2008 and register through the links available on the EAAS website.