From the beginning of the
nineties,
The advancing process of European
integration produced however major changes in the situation of the two countries,
which reached a critical point at the beginning of the new millennium, when most
of the previously agreed concepts and approaches seemed to fell apart. The fact that
Recognizing this need, the two
Sociology departments located at the two sides of the border, but nevertheless geographically
and spiritually so close to each other, decided to hold discussions in order to
see what kind of educational response would be most adequate for the challenges
posed by the different pace of EU
enlargement in the two countries. Both our day to day teaching experience and
the outcome of our joined or mutually supervised research projects focusing on
various aspects of cross-border cooperation (funded, among other international
donors by Open Society Institute and the Carpathian Foundation) indicated an increasing
distance and differentiation in the way of thinking and the emerging of distinct
approaches to the integration process in the case of various population segments
living in the two countries, including members of the emerging youth professional
elite. We found that this differentiation originates mainly in the differences
of perceptions caused by differences of economic development, political culture
and the mentality of people, which are only amplified by the different EU
integration calendar of the two states.
Thus the major question posed
for us as university educators was how to integrate this diversity of thinking
and perceptions into a new, superior unity of shared theoretical and
methodological vision. We needed to find
the optimal framework in order to be able to discuss with our students
concerning their views, both in term of similarity and difference. We aimed our
students to better understand the roots of their diverse or contradictory
perceptions, become aware of the social significance both of their own and of each
other’s approaches, so as to be able to overcome the obstacles and identify viable
solutions of acting together effectively and efficiently.
Another important conclusion drawn from our shared
research projects and discussions pointed to the fact that a coherent and unitary
concept of regional development would require the implementation of an interdisciplinary
approach to the study of relevant economic, social, political and cultural
phenomena. During recent years new
social problems emerged, which, in a globalizing world, need to be analyzed in
their mutual influence, rather than separately, if we are to achieve any significant
success in dealing with them.
Taking into account the above
considerations, we agreed that our most urgent common task would be to propose
to our students a shared understanding of the concept of regionalism and an
adequate theoretical and methodological framework of teaching and research in
the field of regional studies. The
major course topics which resulted from our discussions were carefully selected
so as to reflect as much as possible the structure of contemporary scholarship,
as well as of the intellectual and political debates concerning the roles and
functions of regions, regionalism and regional policies in the emerging united
In the same time, our aim also was to design a
course which can adequately reflect the complexity of global/local dynamics, which
is especially demanding
in case of East European countries, currently facing
the process of integration into the European Union. In particular, taking into
account the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural character of our region, we
regarded important to introduce topics related to the institutional and
political frameworks in which the respect of (ethnic, national, religious,
local, regional) identities represents the source of integration and
co-operation rather than the ideological motive for divisions.