Summer Institute of Civic Studies 2018 in Munich, Germany

Published by rosica

Deadline: 1 March 2018
Open to: applicants from Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine
Scholarship: all participants will be paid for their travel costs, accommodations, meals and full event access

Description

Summer Institute of Civic Studies will take place in Herrsching near Munich, Germany, from July 15 th to July 28 th 2018. The Summer Institute of Civic Studies is organized by a team from the University of Maryland (Prof. Karol Sołtan) and the Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt/University of Augsburg (Prof. Tetyana Kloubert) with Tufts University’s Prof. Peter Levine, who will join for two days, and Dmytro Potekhin of the Nonviolent Solutions Agency, who will join for a week.

The Summer Institute of Civic Studies is an intensive, two-week, interdisciplinary seminar bringing together advanced graduate students, faculty, and practitioners from diverse fields of study. It is part of an effort to build a new inter-disciplinary field of civic studies, aiming to develop ideas helpful to citizens. The notions of civic ideals, civic competence, civic society, civic culture and nonviolent resistance all capture in various ways the perspective of this emerging field.

Summer Institutes of Civic Studies have been annually organized by Peter Levine and Karol Sołtan at Tufts University since 2009. Readabout the summer institutes and check out their programs. Have a look at the 2017 syllabus.

The Tufts Summer Institutes has been organized around the theme of the interaction of theory and practice. They have aimed above all to establish civic studies as a theoretically serious field.

Civic Studies draws on examples from the practices of multiple civic society initiatives. Often the key question is strategic: What was practically possible and under what circumstances? For this purpose, examples from different international contexts are helpful, as they illuminate the possibilities and limitations of the establishment of civic perspectives. They seek to identify country-specific civic society projects, to search for a link between science and practice in the regional and international context and to promote intercultural encounters and intercultural learning.

The Summer Institute of Civic Studies deals with issues of development of civil society, the role of an individual/citizen in society, the role of education and the role of institutions in supporting, promoting and deepening democracy, and questions related to the ethical foundation of civic issues in a (democratic) society. These topics will be examined in international and comparative perspectives, considering European (especially German) and US-American civic traditions.

International examples will be discussed in the context of consolidation of democracy in Eastern Europe, and in the context of the recent challenges of populism.

The Summer Institute of Civic Studies engages participants in challenging discussions such as:

  • What kinds of citizens (if any) do good regimes need?
  • What should such citizens know, believe, and do?
  • Should we reformulate the project of democracy in response to the challenge of populism, and if so, how?
  • What ought to be the relationships among empirical evidence, ethics, and strategy?

Eligibility

The total number of participants will be limited to 20. SICS will consider applications from Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. Applicants who have a long-term interest in developing the civic potential of the region.

The working language of the Summer Institute will be English. Your mastery of the English language must be sufficient to read and understand complex texts from multiple disciplines and to take part in a lively discussion.

Scholarship

  • The Summer Institute of Civic Studies is being funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service);
  • All participants will be paid for their travel costs, accommodations, meals and full event access.

How to apply?

All application materials must be submitted in English. The application must include the following:

  • A cover letter telling us why you want to participate in the summer institute and what you would contribute (maximum 2 pages);
  • A curriculum vitae.

All application material can be sent online or as an email attachment in DOC or PDF format to tetyana.kloubert@ku.de
Decisions will be announced in April 2018.

For more information please visit the official website.