Istanbul Seminars May 19-24, 2010

Philosophers bridge the Bosphorus
Close encounters across all divides

“Realigning liberalism: pluralism, integration, identities”

Istanbul Seminars ’10 analyzed the politics that sustain democratic integration and dialogue in pluralistic and multicultural societies. What kind of politics contribute to mutual learning processes between different cultures and religions on the basis of reciprocity and equal respect? Which are the cultural and religious foundations of democratic pluralism?

The Seminars dealt with the issue of pluralism and integration in democratic societies and with how to assure equal citizenship under the condition of pluralism. Moreover it analyzed cultural and religious sources of democratic integration. It examined related political questions such as the relationship between Turkey and the European Union and the difficulties of Europe to accommodate pluralism and it addressed the topic of “Divided Memories and Integration”: why is so painful to recognize each other?

Participants:

Irfan Ahmad, Cengiz Aktar, Sadik Al-Azm , Gil Anidjar, Yeşim Arat, Albena Azmanova, Zygmunt Bauman, Seyla Benhabib, Murat Borovali, Giancarlo Bosetti, Giovanna Borradori, Francesco Margiotta Broglio, Emrah Efe Cakmak, Robin Celikates, Maeve Cooke, Fred R. Dallmayr, Alessandro Ferrara, Abdou Filali-Ansary, Nina zu Fürstenberg, Stefan Gosepath, Nilufer Göle Barbara Henry, Ramin Jahanbegloo, Ibrahim Kalin, Volker Kaul, E. Fuat Keyman, Ferda Keskin Matthias Kettner, Dilek Kurban, Sebastiano Maffettone, Stephen Macedo, Susanna Mancini, Soli Özel, Umut Ozkirimili, David Rasmussen, Massimo Rosati, Ulrich Steinvorth, Alfred C. Stepan Roberto Toscano, Alain Touraine.