NSSR Europe Declaration
The New School for Social Research– Europe
(NSSR- Europe)
Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it and by the same token save it from that ruin which, except for renewal, except for the coming of the new and young, would be inevitable.
(H. Arendt, The Crisis in Education)
Alarmed by recent political, economic, and bureaucratic threats to democratic principles and academic freedom on both sides of the Atlantic, and mindful that the New School as a scholarly community was founded to defend these principles, we declare the establishment of a new association, to be called The New School for Social Research–Europe (NSSR –Europe). We are a community of scholars who draw our intellectual lineage from studying and teaching at NSSR in the tradition of the University in Exile, the Democracy Seminars, and the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies. We come together to consolidate our energies and experiences through publicly engaged social science and humanities. Building on our existing partnerships, we will work towards these goals by engaging in pedagogical, research, and civic activities such as:
- Protecting and advancing scholarly freedom;
- Identifying and exposing practices of silencing academics;
- Collaborating with scholars from regions affected by conflict and authoritarianism;
- Developing critical research, including studies of social and economic forces endangering the autonomy of scholars and academia;
- Facilitating the bridging of academia and civil society through meetings and public events;
- Exploring and creating alternative sites and ways of conducting research and teaching;
- Developing signature courses and collaborative teaching and research programs;
- Establishing grants and scholarships for students, scholars and activists engaged in work that fosters the goals of NSSR Europe;
- Developing publication projects dedicated to publicly engaged social science;
- Recognizing and honoring courage in public scholarship through awards and fellowships.
In Wroclaw on July 18, 2014
Lukasz Andrzejewski, University of Wroclaw/Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)
Manuela Badilla Rajevic, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Shawn Carrié, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Hana Cervinkova, University of Lower Silesia, Wroclaw, Poland; Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague
Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Irit Dekel, Humboldt University, Bard College, Berlin, Germany
Karolina Follis, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Luca Follis, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Agata Ganiebna, Paula Ollendorff Fundation, Wrocław, Poland
Jeffrey Goldfarb, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Leander Gussmann, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
Yifat Gutman, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Agnes Heller, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Tomasz Kitlinski, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and the University of Brighton
Urszula Kłobuszewska, University of Lower Silesia, Wrocław, Poland
Olga Knizhnik, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Agnieszka Koscianska, University of Warsaw, Poland
Elzbieta Matynia, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Adam Ostolski, University of Warsaw, Poland, USA
Aleksandra Przegalinska, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland
Jan Smolenski, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Csaba Szaló, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Agata Szczesniak, University of Warsaw, Poland
Adrian Totten, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
Michał Vasecka, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Solongo Wandan, New School for Social Research, New York, USA
NSSR Europe Associates and Friends:
Inga Niehaus, Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research, Braunschweig, Germany
Jacek Kucharczyk, President of the Executive Board of the Institute of Public Affairs in Poland, A board member of the National School of Public Administration (KSAP) in Warsaw, and a co-founder and board member of Prague Center for Civil Society
Sonja Licht – President, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, Serbia
Milan Nikolic – Sociologist, Political analyst, Serbia
Delina Fico, Director of Civil Society Programs, East West Management Institute, New York, NY
Iva Šmídová, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Katerina Liskova, Ph.D. Gender Studies Program, Department of Sociology, Office for Population Studies, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Justyna Duriasz-Bulhak, Member of the Board, Rural Development Foundation, Poland
Dr. Hilla dayan, lecturer, Amsterdam University College
