XXIV. International Summer University – ”1989-2019: 30 Years After” – Central Europe in a Global Context

XXIV. International Summer University (ISU 2019)

Organized by the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK) and the Institute for Social and European Studies (ISES), in cooperation with the University of Pannonia.

Since 1996 the international summer university has been a great opportunity for experts, activists, practitioners, policy makers, researchers, social scientists and students to meet and discuss contemporary challenges and international cooperation.

The International Summer University will focus on the creation, accumulation and dissemination of new knowledge. Through a multidisciplinary approach, we will engage with the complex relationship between political, ideological, economic and cultural dynamics of integration and disintegration in Europe. Politicians, social scientists, practitioners, cultural heritage experts and artists will ensure an exciting experience for participants. We invite students to apply who are interested in local, national, regional, and transnational processes in a diverse and changing European space.

30 years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall and former communist countries from Central and Eastern Europe took the path to (re)democratization. The process of EU accession began initially with enthusiasm and optimism in the early 1990s, as it was seen as paving the way towards a united, democratic Europe. However, the EU has faced and is facing both internal and external challenges (monetary crisis, unequal economic integration, migration crisis, Brexit) which put into question the very idea of liberal democracy. Some of the leadership of the Visegrad Four are increasingly at odds with EU leadership, and the ghosts of the 1990s haunt the Western Balkans candidate states. Increasing cleavages and conflicts on complex issues (economic convergence, security and migration) have resulted in sharpening divisions between North and South, East and West.

The idea behind this year’s summer university is to reevaluate the achievements and challenges of CEE and Western Balkans in the last 30 years with discussions between senior scholars, who have lived through and researched the transitions in CEE, and young researchers/students who face the current challenges intellectually and existentially. The envisioned outcome is a publication of an edited volume containing essays written by the young scholars as a result of these discussions, containing historical overviews of the developments in the last 30 years and visions of the future in the next 30 years.

Topics:

In addition to daily lectures and discussions with leading figures in academic and public life, students may choose between six interdisciplinary Working Groups for afternoon sessions:

• Narratives and Evaluations of the Transitions (narratives of social transformation, Europeanization and democratization)
• Social Entrepreneurship (grass-roots mobilization before and after 1989, social innovation and integration)
• Memory Politics (a potent mobilization framework in the current CEE context)
• Competing Cultures (migration, pop culture, European values)
• Sustainability and Resilient Societies (environmental policies, urban politics, austerity)
• Citizenship in Europe (transnationalism, sovereignty, European identity)

These working groups will be mentored by field experts who are affiliated with iASK. The purpose of these working groups will be to give collegial feedback to students’ work and to integrate their research into a common edited volume.

Application deadline:

– May 15, 2019 (for applicants who need visa)

– June 15, 2019 (for all other applicants)

Application Form

Participation fee: 250 EUR

(Limited scholarships are available for applicants from Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe.)

The organizers provide:

• educational programme and materials
• special events, excursions
• accommodation with breakfast and lunch

Participants cover:

• travel costs to/from Kőszeg
• participation fee
• visa + insurance costs

Applicants should send the following documents to isu2019@archive.iask.hu :

• completed application form
• 300 word abstract for a research paper, indicating to which of the six working groups it best relates
• CV

Eligibility: Advanced MA and PhD students and young researchers, as well as social entrepreneurs, who have a keen academic or professional interest in the topics.

Kőszeg is called “The Jewel of Pannonia”. This beautiful medieval town borders 5 countries (Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary). This provides a rich cultural and regional added value, and the opportunity for strong cross-border cooperation. In a region where the iron curtain was built, developing a regional knowledge centre is exceptional and contributes to supporting opportunities furthering cooperation in an age of increasing uncertainties.

For more information please contact: isu2019@archive.iask.hu OR call 0036-94-200-520!