This course addresses PhD candidates who wish to enhance their knowledge of collective identities and identity politics as well as their competence in comparative methods. We include perspectives from various disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Empirically, our focus is directed towards the Nordic countries and east central Europe, including the Baltic Sea region. You are eligible to apply for the course if you are enrolled as a PhD candidate at your home university and have a good command of spoken and written English.
Application deadline
Please send us your application by 31 January 2020, 23.59 CET.
ReNEW Summer University 2020 application form.
Synopsis
Collective identities such as national, ethnic and religious affiliations, lifestyles, or gender and sexual orientation are increasingly politicized. This calls for historical and contemporary analyses of the social processes and political actions that shape and disrupt social cohesion. The ReNEW Summer University offers comparative tools for making sense of how the transformations of the past decades have affected populations and identity construction in the Nordic region and east central Europe. Starting in the Polish city of Gdańsk, moving by ferry across the Baltic Sea, and concluding in the Swedish capital of Stockholm, shifts of perspective and transnational reflection are uniquely incorporated in the course design. Internationally renowned experts from disciplines such as history, political science, and others will explain major trends and problems, demonstrating the application of comparative methods. The course consists of a rich variety of lectures, seminars, and excursions. It requires an active participation from the students, includes the discussion of draft papers by the participants, and the submission of a learning diary after the course meetings.
Credit and assessment
Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be issued a certificate over 8 ECTS credits.
The acceptance of the course for the PhD programme in which you are enrolled is a matter you need to check with your university. Successful completion of the course presupposes the delivery of a draft paper (with some comparative aspect, usually this will be related to your PhD topic) no later than one week before the course start, active classroom participation, and submission of a learning diary no more than one month after the course.
Fee
The subsidized course fee is 550 EUR. For this sum you will get the full academic programme and experience in two countries, accommodation in Gdansk and Stockholm (shared rooms), ferry transfer including cabin space from Poland to Sweden, refreshments during the course, noon and evening social activities including most of the lunches and some other meals. There will be a limited number of fully-funded scholarships for participants from countries that became EU members 2004 or later, or from countries not belonging to the EU.
Courses schedule and location
The course begins Tuesday, 9 June 2019 at 15:00 hours at the University of Gdansk, Poland. On Saturday, 13 June we will go by Ferry to Sweden, where we arrive in the next morning. The course then continues at Södertörn University, Stockholm, where it ends on 18 June, 12:30 hours.
How to apply
Visit ReNEW Summer University 2020 website for more information and application form.