PEAK EVENT REPORT: CY Cergy Paris Université Delegation

 Hello ! We are Aude, Ferdaouse, Emma, Lisa and Philippine ! We are first-year Master students from Cergy who took part in the Eutopia Legal History research project in 2024-2025.

 

 
Why did we join?

 

When Mrs. Argyriadis-Kervegan introduced us to the Eutopia legal history research project, we were highly intrigued by the opportunity it presented. It allowed us not only to engage in a substantial research endeavor but also to collaborate with students from various European Union countries.
The theme for this year, “Individual and Collective Rights,” strongly resonated with us and the prospect of exploring how students from other nations perceive this topic motivated us to participate enthusiastically. Although most of us had prior experience with research projects, this was our first time presenting our findings before an audience of students and faculty from outside our university.

 

How did we choose our subjects?

 

Ferdaouse and Aude, students specializing in labor law, promptly chose to focus on the topic of strikes in France, specifically examining the Anzin Strike of 1884 due to its pivotal role in the evolution of strike legislation in the country. Philippine related to the subject based on her interest for ancient books : she thought it would be interesting to study books as a means of expression, and the legal context in which book publishing operated throughout history, navigating the issue of censorship. Emma drew from examples of topics presented by our professor, Mrs. Argyriadis-Kervegan which  included children's rights. This subject interested her because a child has little power to defend himself, and it is what happens in childhood that determines the adult citizen. Lisa was also drawn to one of the topics presented by our professor, choosing to focus on animal rights. This subject interested her because animals on their own are powerless to defend themselves and the rights of animals have been a constantly evolving subject throughout recent history, yet concrete legal initiatives to protect animals remain limited.

 
The Peak Event 

Thursday, March 13

We met at Gare du Nord around 1 PM to catch the Eurostar to London at 3 PM. The journey was smooth and relaxing, offering a perfect start to our trip. Once in London, we quickly made our way to another train that took us to Coventry. Though a bit long, the ride was enjoyable, we got to admire the English countryside through the train windows.

After arriving in Coventry, we checked into our hotel and headed out to meet the delegations from Slovenia, Belgium, and of course the UK, our host country. We all had dinner together at a South American restaurant, which felt like a subtle nod to the host department, History, with many students specializing in Latin American studies.

We ended the evening with a casual drink alongside students from the other delegations, it was a lovely way to start the experience and to get to know everyone.

Friday, March 14

Morning

Friday marked the key event of our program. We visited Warwick University to attend presentations. The venue was an old gymnasium converted into a space for entrepreneurs.
August from the Belgium delegation began the day with a presentation on the impact of collective actions in Belgium. Emma then discussed the politico-legal issues surrounding monastic wealth. Melani spoke about the Catholic appropriation of Fundamental rights in the Belgian Constitution through the battle over Primary schools between the Church and the State, and Ameline covered the development of women's suffrage in Belgium and its advocates. Finally, Blue concluded the tour of the Belgium delegation by addressing the history of feminism in Belgium through the evolution of abortion.
After a break, the Slovenian delegation presented their topics. Kristjan began with the Story of Loški Potok, discussing how a village collectively stood against the reverend parish vicar Lukas Ferdinand Kastainovitz. Luka spoke about the Jerez uprising and the emergence of rights through revolt in Spain. Ajra covered the influence of Slovene Scholars on the Right of Association. Teja explained the Sokol Association in Ljubljana, noting its political engagement rather than its role as a physical education club. Domen discussed the expansion of the Sokol Association in Styrian Ljutomer, and Nives described the diversity of Tabori rallies' movement in Slovene Lands. Benjamin concluded the morning with the history of the Carniola Bar Association.
The various presentations provided significant insights and diverse perspectives. Additionally, the question and discussion periods following each talk were highly informative.

Afternoon

For lunch, we all ate pizza together in the large presentation hall. It was a very friendly moment during which we could discuss the presentations in a less formal setting. We also took the opportunity to get to know the other students we had met the day before.

Then, the presentations resumed with our own talks. Philippine presented "Freedom of Speech and Literary Censorship in France: The Prerevolution Era and the 20th Century", in which she detailed literary censorship and controversial works across two different periods: the Ancien Régime and the 20th century. Aude and Ferdaouse followed with "Strike Stories: (Special Episode) The Strike of Anzin – A Step Towards Better Labour Legislation", where they incorporated a podcast featuring a worker from the Anzin strike to illustrate their topic. The next presentation was Lisa’s, in which she highlighted the adoption of the Grammont Law and animal rights in the 19th century. Emma concluded the presentations on legal history in France with "Children's Rights in the 19th Century: A Struggle for Protection."

A short break around 3 PM allowed us to take a breather together and discuss our different topics with the other students. We had a nice coffee, and then the presentations resumed.

For the rest of the day, students from the University of Warwick presented various topics related to individual and collective rights in Latin America and beyond. Ash chose to present "Printing, Property, and Protection: A Venetian Appropriation of Social Rights Through Patronage in the Renaissance", taking us on a journey to Italy. Mayukha explored "Minority Rights in South Asia", focusing mainly on languages. Christopher and Fred chose to discuss sports in "Sport and Its Impact on Collective and Individual Rights in Latin America." Riaz, Lilly, and Emily focused their project on women's rights with "Abortion and Reproductive Rights in Cuba." Finally, Franky, Will, Sean, and Che presented a more political topic with "The Zapatistas and Agrarian Reform in Mexico."

All these presentations were highly enriching, and it was fascinating to discuss the history of different countries with everyone.

Saturday, March 15

On Saturday, we woke up excited to discover the history of Conventry. Prof. Rosie Doyle took us on a tour of the city’s landmark historical sites. We began by walking to Saint Michael’s cathedral. Upon arriving, we were immediately struck by the building’s original architecture : a mix of modern architecture  blends with the ruins of the former cathedral, which was destroyed during World War II. A tour guide told us all about the history of the two buildings, detailing the moving story of resilience and solidarity which followed the destruction of the church during a bombing. Inside the new cathedral, the guide explained the meticulous craftsmanship which had gone into building the glass frontispice, the stained glass windows and the tapestry, all orchestrated by Basil Spence’s vision. She also gave us some insight into the parish’s current activities and its lasting influence throughout the world through the « Cross of nails » community (the cross of nails is a symbol of the Coventry cathedral, consisting of a cross made out of nails that were found after the bombing).

We took a break to discover more about a collective action going on in Coventry : we walked for a few minutes to an ongoing protest about funding cuts in higher education. There, we heard some of the protesters’ speeches. Afterwards, we walked back to the cathedral to visit a small room where local guild members would meet. After a steep climb, we found ourselves overlooking the ruins from the room’s windows, in a historic atmosphere.

After lunch, some students opted to visit the countryside area nearing Coventry. Others visited the central area, starting with the Godiva statue. The previous day, Prof. Rosie Doyle had told us about her legendary horse ride through Coventry and her importance to the city’s history. The afternoon was spent around the Precinct area in the Coventry city center - it was quite busy as we were visiting on a Saturday afternoon, and it was nice to see the town in such a lively mood.

Sunday, March 16

Sunday morning, after having breakfast at the hotel, we took the train from Coventry station to London. We had a journey of over 2 hours. During the journey, Liverpool supporters gradually gathered. After an internet search, Liverpool were playing Newcastle that day. The supporters were talking about PSG, who had beaten them 5 days earlier, and were making predictions about who would win the Champions League (of course, PSG would win). Once we arrived in London, we saw a lot of Newcastle supporters singing and meeting in bars (update: Newcastle won 2-1). After dropping off our luggage, we went to eat at a restaurant near King's Cross station. Then we split into two groups. Some went to buy souvenirs, others went to visit the British Library. The large rows of books at the British Library impressed us, and we also saw plenty of old documents, such as a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, the Emancipation Proclamation at the end of the American Civil War, and, of course, the Magna Carta. Finally, we went to St. Pancras to take the Eurostar to Paris.

 
Our takeaways

 

Lastly, we'd like to present our main takeaways from this experience.

 

Regarding the topic of individual and collective rights in particular, we were mainly aware of the French legal and historical context in which collective action and individual liberties emerged. It was interesting to discover the Belgian perspective and the importance of the 1831 Constitution and its very liberal nature, comparing it with the successive constitutions in France, especially as many of us discussed the paradigm changes imposed by the French Revolution. We also drew a parallel with the Slovenian delegation’s presentations, especially as they highlighted the link between the right to association and assembly and the right to political expression, something which was also apparent in some of our research. Something of note was also the research methods employed by the Warwick delegation, as in many of their works, the students highlighted the importance of using a research approach that is mindful of cultural specificities to study minority rights: relying on oral history sources, sources from different points of view, and deconstructing implicit biases in historical research. We’ll be having all these interesting takeaways in mind when we pursue legal history research in the future.

 

We'd like to kindly thank Prof. Rosie Doyle of Warwick University and the Warwick delegation for hosting the event and giving us a warm welcome !

The French delegation :
Ferdaousse Abdeljelil
Emma Cornette
Aude Froese
Lisa Gouellain
Philippine Ortiz