About the Author:
Nuri Kurnaz is a Europaeum MA alumnus and current Doctoral student at University of Amsterdam.
Day 1: 26 November
My journey to Oxford began with train strikes in Belgium. Although annoying, it was also a reminder of how much harder travel once was for scholars chasing knowledge across borders. Science has always crossed borders and returning to Oxford as a Europaeum alumnus feels like stepping back into that long scholarly tradition. The Europaeum brings the sharpest minds from all over Europe together to think, question, and challenge each other, and I’m excited to meet those minds tomorrow.
Day 2: 27 November
Today the real action began at Maison Française. After insightful lectures from Oxford professors, I chaired the first panel and presented in the second, where the critical questions felt almost like a friendly mock defense of my PhD. Lunch was thoughtfully adapted to everyone’s complicated dietary needs and dinner kept the conversations going. After dinner I had a long chat with a professor who encouraged me to contribute to a journal he founded. A full, stimulating day.
Day 3: 28 November
We continued the seminar with rich discussions on global history and the future of diplomatic history before heading out to the Ashmolean Museum and the Bodleian Library. There, I saw a stunning map of the Netherlands I’d never seen before. At the Ashmolean, we also got a tutorial of how museum objects are described and interpreted. We had our concluding discussions on the future of the European past in the Ashmolean, a great historical venue to summarize and historicize our conversations and ask ourselves what needs to be done. The seminar and day ended perfectly with dinner at Al Shami.
Day 4: 29 November
Time to say goodbye. Most of the group is heading home – energized and inspired. I’m staying a bit longer for archival research in the Bodleian, carrying the conversations and insights of the past days with me. The future of the European past and the failure or success of creating a European historical consciousness will ultimately be determined by us: historians.
