The Cartography of the Political Novel in Europe

07/10/2026

📚 OPEN CALL: Write a Text Portrait for CAPONEU

Are you a PhD researcher, literary critic, scholar, academic, or student of literature interested in the relationship between literature and politics?

We invite you to contribute to CAPONEU: The Cartography of the Political Novel in Europe by writing a Text Portrait of a political novel.

Text Portraits are short, accessible critical essays that introduce a novel, place it in its historical and social context, and explore what makes it political. We are interested not only in established classics of political fiction, but also in novels that deserve to be rediscovered or reconsidered through a political lens.

🌍 We particularly welcome contributions that will help us expand the linguistic, geographical, historical and thematic diversity of our collection.

✍️ Who can contribute?
PhD and early-career researchers, academics, literary critics and theorists, MA students, advanced undergraduate students.

📖 Length: 700–1,300 words.

💬 Have a novel in mind? Get in touch with us before you start writing so that we can check whether the title is available and send you the template and guidelines.

🔎 Find out more about the Open Call:
https://www.caponeu.eu/news/open-call-contribute-a-text-portrait-to-caponeu

📩 Contact:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Put a novel on the map. Join us in expanding the CAPONEU Cartography of the Political Novel.

12/07/2026

🌍 Day 6 - Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis ⚡
Day 6 took critical theory out into the field, proving that some of the most compelling lessons happen far beyond the classroom. 🚤🌊

⛵ The day began with a boat ride from Cres to Rabac, followed by an excursion through Labin and Raša. Along the way, participants explored the region's rich industrial heritage and the legacy of the Labin Republic—the 1921 miners' uprising, widely recognised as one of the first organised anti-fascist movements in Europe. More than a century later, its history continues to inspire conversations about labour, solidarity, resistance, and social justice. ✊⛏️

📖 The evening shifted from historical struggles to literary ones with The Task of Writing a Political Novel. Craig Jordan-Baker (University of Brighton) discussed his novel Brick Dust in conversation with Mark Devenney (University of Brighton) and Zrinka Božić, reflecting on how fiction can challenge power, engage with history, and imagine political alternatives.

✨ From the legacy of the Labin Republic to contemporary political fiction, Day 6 reminded us that theory doesn't just interpret the world—it travels through it, uncovers its histories, and inspires new ways of imagining its future. 🌍📚

🎓

12/07/2026

📚 Day 5 | Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis 🔥

Day 5 kept the momentum going with thought-provoking discussions, fresh perspectives, and an evening where critical theory met the big screen. 👀

🧠 The morning began with a fascinating exploration of alternative epistemologies and the politics of memory through the works of Sharon Dodua Otoo and Kamila Shamsie, inviting us to rethink whose stories are remembered—and whose are forgotten. 💭

🌈 We then turned to the politics of q***r literature in Poland, examining its development from late socialism to the post-1989 era and reflecting on the intersections of identity, resistance, and social change. ✊📖

🎬 The evening culminated in a pre-screening conversation featuring director Igor Bezinović, alongside Ivan Jeličić, Branimir Janković, and Zvonimir Glavaš, who explored the historical, cultural, and political questions surrounding Fiume o morte! before the audience enjoyed the film itself. 🍿

💥 Another day of questioning assumptions, expanding perspectives, and proving that critical theory is anything but abstract.

🎓✨

10/07/2026

📚⚡ Day 4 | Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis
Can a novel change the way we think politically? 📖
Can reading become a collective act of resistance? 🤝
Can art do more than reflect the world—can it transform it? 🎭
Day four was dedicated to exactly these questions.

🖋️ We opened with "How to Read Political Novels: Natasha Brown's Assembly", where Aurore Peyroles, Ivana Perica, and Patrick Eiden-Offe invited us to read beyond the page, exploring how contemporary fiction challenges power, reshapes political imagination, and compels us to rethink the act of reading itself.

📚 Next came "Reading Groups and the Politics of Literature", led by Vedrana Veličković and German Primera. More than discussions about books, reading groups emerged as spaces of collective learning, solidarity, and democratic practice—where ideas are not only shared but produced together.

🎭 We closed the day with a powerful roundtable, "Politics in Artistic Practice", featuring theatre director Oliver Frljić in conversation with Zrinka Božić and Mirela Dakić Kučeković. The discussion moved beyond whether art is political to ask a more urgent question: what kind of political work can art still do today? Challenging, provocative, and deeply relevant.

💬 Day four reminded us that critical theory is not confined to the classroom. It lives in novels, conversations, reading circles, theatre, and in every space where ideas are tested, contested, and transformed.
✨ One more day to go.

09/07/2026

🎬 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗝𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 & 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗨𝗠

Join us for an evening dedicated to the award-winning film
𝙁𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙚 𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙚!,
directed by 𝗜𝗴𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰́.
The programme begins with a public conversation featuring 𝗜𝗴𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰́, and historians 𝗜𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰̌𝗶𝗰́ (University of Rijeka), 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗰́ (University of Zagreb), and 𝗭𝘃𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗿 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗮𝘀̌ (University of Zagreb). After a short break, the evening continues with the film screening.

📅 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝟭𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
📍 𝗠𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘀

Programme
𝟮𝟬:𝟬𝟬 – 𝟮𝟭:𝟬𝟬 Public forum
𝟮𝟭:𝟬𝟬 – 𝟮𝟭:𝟭𝟱 Break
𝟮𝟭:𝟭𝟱 – 𝟮𝟮:𝟯𝟬 Screening of Fiume o morte!

The Cartography of the Political Novel in Europe Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu Visit Cres Sveučilište u Rijeci / University of Rijeka Grad Cres Sveučilište u Zagrebu

09/07/2026

📚☀️ Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis 2026 – Days 2 & 3 Recap ☀️📚

The second and third days of the CAPONEU Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis brought together scholars and participants for a series of engaging discussions on the political novel, exploring questions of gender, memory, identity, power, and social transformation.

On Day 2, Mark Devenney and Joanna Kellond (University of Brighton) examined the relationship between gender, family, and the contemporary novel, considering how fiction can challenge dominant understandings of kinship, social reproduction, and collective life. Tara Talwar Windsor (University of Leeds) and Miriam Schwarz (University of Cambridge) then explored alternative epistemologies and the politics of memory in the works of Sharon Dodua Otoo and Kamila Shamsie, highlighting how literature can resist dominant narratives of colonialism, war, and the Holocaust by foregrounding marginalized experiences and forms of knowledge.

The day concluded with a thought-provoking plenary lecture by Juan E. De Castro (The New School, New York), who compared the political and aesthetic trajectories of Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa, reflecting on the enduring impact of magical realism and realism on contemporary political fiction.

On Day 3, Błażej Warkocki (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań) introduced participants to the political and cultural history of q***r literature in interwar Poland, exploring the emergence of local discourses of q***rness in relation to broader European developments. Rossita Terzieva-Artemis (University of Nicosia) then examined how Laurent Binet and Antonio Scurati use metafiction, documentary material, and narrative experimentation to rethink truth, history, and political power within the contemporary European political novel.

The evening plenary session, “From Practice to Policy: The Political Novel in Action,” featured Karin Doolan (Institute for Social Research in Zagreb) and Liam Mullally (Autonomy Institute), who presented findings from CAPONEU research on school reading lists and qualitative interviews with teachers. Their analysis formed the basis for policy recommendations on the role of literature in fostering democratic engagement, critical thinking, and social inclusion.

The programme concluded with a presentation by Marko Vuković from Slobodna domena, who introduced the CAPONEU digital platform and opened a stimulating discussion on the opportunities and challenges of creating a cartography of the political novel through digital humanities approaches.

A huge thank you to all speakers and participants for two days filled with insightful discussions, critical reflection, and inspiring intellectual exchange.

07/07/2026

☀️ Summer School in Critical Theory & Praxis

Day 1 Recap 📚✨
A compelling opening to our exploration of Literature and Society. Monday proved that intellectual rigor pairs perfectly with cultural praxis. 🧠🎭

The Morning Sessions:
We began at the deep end. Rossita Terzieva-Artemis guided us through the complex intersections of 'Truth, Metafiction, and Power'—setting a high conceptual bar for 9:00 AM. This was seamlessly followed by Aurore Peyroles and Ivana Perica, who offered sharp, illuminating political readings of Natasha Brown's Assembly. 📖🖋️

The Evening Keynote:
We reconvened for Alan Finlayson’s brilliant Plenary Lecture. His timely dissection of 'Myth, Decadence and Reactionary Digital Politics' provided a necessary, urgent framework for understanding how narrative shapes contemporary power.🦸‍♂️💻

The Evening Praxis:
To close the day, we stepped outside the seminar room for an evening city tour. The softening daylight offered the perfect backdrop to read the local architecture and historical landscape as a living, socio-cultural text. 🏰🚶‍♂️

Swipe through the gallery to see our morning workshops in action, highlights from the keynote, and snapshots from our evening walk through the city. 📸👇

06/07/2026

☀️🧠 Summer, but make it critical.
Last night, we kicked off the first edition of the Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis at Palača Moise - Moise Palace. A week of big ideas, close reading, and conversations that definitely won't fit into a comment section. 💬📖✨

05/07/2026

📚☀️ Books? ✔️ Critical theory? ✔️ Sunshine? ✔️
Today marks the start of the Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis: Literature and Society! 🌊📖
A huge thank you to Palača Moise - Moise Palace and the Centre for Advanced Studies South East Europe for their wonderful hospitality and for making us feel so welcome. 💙
We're all set for thought-provoking discussions, fresh ideas, inspiring conversations, and perhaps one coffee or two more than critical theory strictly requires. 😉
We can't wait to welcome you!

03/07/2026