University in Ruins. Scaffolding Futures

Frankfurt (Oder), 15 – 28 August 2022

 

Viadrinicum is an annual summer school at European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder), devoted to the countries of the Eastern Partnership, and the larger context of Central and Eastern Europe. Overshadowed by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this year’s edition will be devoted to the role of university as a societal actor, especially in times of war, with an emphasis on its capacity to provide social imaginaries for better futures. 

 

The project is designed to give students, civil society activists and cultural workers an opportunity to reflect in practical and theoretical terms on the questions of rebuilding Ukrainian cities and thus to counteract the common feeling of futurelessness created by the war. In this regard, the image of a university in ruins is simultaneously a part of a concrete war reality -  partner university in Kharkiv has been partially destroyed by the missile attacks of the Russian army - and a metaphor of an institution that might have lost one of its foundational functions as a crucible for social universality. 

 

A combination of academic and non-academic formats will allow the participants of the school to actively explore the possibilities for a dialogue between different kinds of knowledge from academia, civil society and the arts. On a more practical level, the school will offer opportunities for applied experimentation in the setting of a participatory urban intervention in the heart of the German-Polish twin city Frankfurt (Oder)-Słubice, engaging local communities.

 

This will happen in the frame of three lab.workshops (Doc.Lab, Makers.Lab, Planners.Lab), where the participants will be able to develop their own small (team) projects with the assistance of facilitators from the respective fields.

 

Besides that, there will be round tables with researchers from the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS, Berlin), film screenings, public events, and Open Space sessions, where participants will have a chance to discuss their own scientific or cultural work.

 

Participants of the school will be able to receive a travel scholarship. Accommodation costs will be covered by the organizers. 

 

You can apply if you meet the following requirements:

- You are a student, a PhD candidate, an NGO activist or an artist up to 35 y/o.

- You have a genuine interest in transsectoral and interdisciplinary approaches to the topics of the school.

- Your knowledge of English is sufficient to take an active part in discussions.

 

The summer school is organized in cooperation with the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS, Berlin) and the Center for Urban Studies (CUS, Kyiv).

 

More detailed information, including updates in the program of the school, can be found at www.viadrinicum.blog

 

In case of any questions, feel free to contact  viadrinicum@europa-uni.de

 

Apply here