Tom Hashimoto was found in Bath!



This is a bit old story, but I attended the UACES 48th Annual Conference in Bath, UK (2-5 September). UACES stands for the 'University Association for Contemporary European Studies' and it is one of the leading organisation for academics, students, and policymakers. It publishes the highly-ranked Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS) and the open access Journal of Contemporary European Research (JCER). It also coordinates the Contemporary European Studies Series by Routledge. So, this annual conference is important for networking as well.

I hosted two sessions dedicated to teaching and assessments in European Studies. I also presented a paper in which I argued that Euroscepticism today is like a Christmas tree on which everyone hung their favourite ornaments (policy objectives).

Inevitably, the so-called Brexit dominated the conference. It would be sad to see if organisations like UACES are cut from research fundings and opportunities in continental Europe... (It is double sad that the British Prime Minister May is from the same department where I currently study... Being a Geographer may not necessarily lead to appreciate the neighbours...)

The conference dinner was held in the Roman bath remains (hence, the name of the city). It was beautiful - pity that it was quickly becoming too dark for nice photos!

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