PLURIEX writing retreats are designed as collaborative scholarly environments where researchers come together to develop innovative research on European politics, EU governance, and Europe’s global relations through the lens of epistemic pluriversality. By bringing together scholars from diverse disciplinary, institutional, and epistemic backgrounds, the retreats create space for critical dialogue, collective reflection, and new approaches to studying Europe beyond conventional frameworks.
Organised annually throughout the three-year duration of the PLURIEX project, the retreats provide participants with dedicated time for focused writing, peer feedback, and intellectual exchange away from everyday academic demands. Through structured writing sessions, paired discussions, and collaborative feedback, participants refine their research questions, strengthen theoretical frameworks, and advance their work toward high-quality publications.
A central objective of these retreats is to foster interdisciplinary exchange and expand the intellectual horizons of EU Studies. Scholars working in fields such as political science, sociology, economics, law, cultural studies, public policy, and related disciplines are invited to contribute perspectives that enrich the study of Europe and its global entanglements.
Each year, the retreat will take place in a different location, creating opportunities for both intellectual engagement and community-building within the PLURIEX network. The first retreat is planned in Kazdağları, Türkiye, providing a reflective natural setting for intensive writing and collaboration. Subsequent retreats are planned in Skopje and Malaga, extending the network across different European contexts and strengthening international scholarly exchange.
Over the course of the project, these retreats will serve as key milestones for mentoring, knowledge-sharing, and collaborative research development. Some of the outputs developed during the retreats may contribute to collective publication initiatives, while others will evolve into independent scholarly work. Together, these activities aim to strengthen BAU’s role as a hub for innovative, interdisciplinary, and globally engaged EU research while advancing the broader PLURIEX mission of promoting pluriversal perspectives in EU Studies.
Dr. Rahime Süleymanoğlu Kürüm (Jean Monnet Chair, PLURIEX Director), Dr. Selin Türkeş-Kılıç (PLURIEX Centre Co-Director), Dr. Damla Bayraktar Aksel (Deputy Director for Research & Policy Impact), Dr. Atakan Yılmaz (Deputy Director for Teaching & Curriculum Development), Dr. Yüksel Alper Ecevit (Senior Fellow for EU Policy & Institutional Engagement), Prof. Dr. Selcen Öner (Communications & Knowledge Dissemination Lead), Dr. Zekeriya Tüzen (Research & Outreach Coordinator), Dr. Özge Zihnioğlu (Academic Consultant).
Event Description The pre-engagement workshop brought together contributors working on the project Re-thinking EU Studies through Epistemic Pluriversality within the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence PLURIEX – Pluriversal Excellence in EU Studies. The meeting served as an initial intellectual exchange where participants shared the preliminary ideas, research questions, and empirical directions of their planned contributions. The workshop created space for discussing how different papers might collectively engage with the broader theme of epistemic pluriversality and how these perspectives could contribute to rethinking established assumptions within EU Studies. During the discussions, contributors reflected on how their work connects to wider debates on epistemic hierarchies, plural ways of knowing Europe, and the role of diverse disciplinary and geographical perspectives in the study of European governance and politics. The meeting allowed participants to identify conceptual overlaps, potential synergies between papers, and ways to develop a coherent thematic dialogue across the planned contributions.
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