Editors’ Introduction

In this issue of Palimpsest, the contours of Europe, European-ness, and Europe on the global stage in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are explored in depth and comparatively. With the emergence of Black European Studies as a particularly fertile field of inquiry, this volume represents a departure from country-centric scholarship, though France still occupies a singular role among European countries due to its broad-scale empire building and fruitful interface with the Americas. Indeed, the Americas and Europe, particularly France, are at the center of this volume, with Poland opening and Germany stitched in between. Black Europe: Subjects, Struggles, and Shifting Perceptions is a volume rich in art, music, and historical and literary analyses.

Jean-Paul Rocchi. Génération, 2002. Collage (paper and tea bags) and mixed media (pastel, oil, Tipp-ex, and coffee) on paper, 100 cm x 70 cm. Photograph: Dominique Cros-Pophillat.

Courtesy of the artist and the photographer.