Atelier Spring Lecture 4: Béatrice von Hirschhausen

This spring, our department continues the lecture series in which, at the invitation of the Atelier, visiting professors from foreign universities present their recent books and research at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE.

2026.04. 20.: Béatrice von Hirschhausen (CNRS, EHESS)

• 10.00: From « Relict boundaries » to « Phantom borders »: a look back at the origins and implications of two metaphors
• 14.00: Phantom borders in Central and Eastern Europe: spatiality of cultures and geographical imagination

From « Relict boundaries » to « Phantom borders »: a look back at the origins and implications of two metaphors

The use of metaphors in the humanities and social sciences is not insignificant. When examined, they reveal the implicit mechanisms of a “poetics of knowledge” that distils different effects of truth. Using the example of Poland, we will return to the definition of ‘relic borders’ proposed by the American geographer Richard Hartshorne in 1933, then to that of ‘phantom borders’, explaining their epistemological implications.

Phantom borders in Central and Eastern Europe: spatiality of cultures and geographical imagination

Phantom borders are traces left in contemporary societies and territories by former political borders that no longer exist. They can be identified on electoral maps or on maps showing everyday social practices. They are particularly common in Central and Eastern Europe, a region that experienced numerous border changes during the 19th and 20th centuries. Like ghosts, they are manifestations of the past; like ghosts, they also engage the imagination. Using several examples, this presentation will seek to define and understand them.