National culture and cosmopolitism

This debate – which comes under the auspices of the work on common projects the CCCB began with Albanian institutions in 2002 – aims to approach the question of national culture and cosmopolitanism. What does “national culture” mean? How has this term been abused in the past – under dictatorships, both of communism in Albania and the Franco regime in Spain – and what are its recent uses and abuses? What are the cultural challenges for once-closed countries now faced with globalisation? What possibilities exist for a cosmopolitan culture? 


10 – 11-30 a.m.

National Culture – Uses and Abuses of the Term

Speakers:
Jordi Puntí, writer and columnist for El País
Piro Misha, Albanian essayist, Director of the Tirana Institute for Dialogue and Communication
Bashkim Shehu, Albanian-born writer

Moderator: Obrad Savic, Serbian philosopher, University of Leeds

  
11.45 a.m. – 1.15 p.m.

What Is the Relationship between National Culture and Cosmopolitanism?

Speakers:
Fernando Vallespín, philosopher, professor of Political Science at the Autonomous University of Madrid
Obrad Savic, Serbian philosopher, University of Leeds
Besnik Mustafaj, Albanian writer

Moderator: Remzi Lani, Albanian journalist, Director of the Albanian Media Institute.

Simultaneous translation into Albanian and English is offered