[MGSA-L] Social sciences grad students summer school: cultures, migrations, borders, Mytilene, Greece, 28 June-10 July, 2012

[Roland Moore]

Summer School
Cultures, Migrations, Borders
Lesbos, Greece
June 28 – July 10, 2012

For Master and Ph.D. students in the social sciences

The University of the Aegean and the University of Amsterdam welcome applications for their multi-disciplinary Summer School ‘Cultures, Migrations, Borders’ that will take place
on the island of Lesbos from June 28 to July 10, 2012. 

The larger socioeconomic transformations in Africa and Asia have resulted in increased migration flows to Greece and to Europe in general. Greece and the Aegean Sea have served as one of the entry “gates” of Europe, as its geographical position is at the crossroads of populations and cultures. These border crossings have become hot debates especially under the current crisis as they are intertwined with issues of culture and identity formation, the European Union and state policy, and constructions of Otherness. Borders can be approached through their physical and more abstract dimensions, in their making and remaking, and in relation to their cultural, social, political and economic aspects. Cultures can be viewed with a keen eye for the simultaneity of tacit overlap, covert cultural intimacy and overt strategic essentialisms. By drawing on an increasing interest in the study of cultures, migrations and borders, our summer course examines how
 migrations shape and are shaped by processes of boundary formation in a variety of cultural encounters.
The programme of the course is structured around four thematic axes:
a. Theoretical and methodological issues in the study of migration and borders
b. Institutional and political aspects of the migratory condition
c. People on the move, immigrant groups, refugees and host communities
d. Cross cultural encounters across borders and interactions of host/immigrant on the border

Through seminar sessions and workshops a variety of topics will be addressed, such as political, institutional and state conceptualizations and policies, including asylum and refugee management, the production of locality or translocal spatiality in relation to boundaries and their materiality, national belonging and the deportation regimes as well as other forms of political control and power, immigrant homemaking in relation to hospitality and the negotiation of difference, and others.

In addition, fieldtrips will form the basis for project preparation and presentation. Students will be able to visit and study a reception centre for refugees, experience border life and the reality of border crossing from Greece to Turkey, and learn about the cultural heritage of Lesbos. They will gain practical experience, develop research skills, and learn how to place their findings within wider local and global processes, while they acquaint themselves with life on an Aegean island. Ph.D. students will have the opportunity to present their work at a seminar designed for their needs.

The list of lecturers includes: 
Dr. Bakalaki Alexandra (Social Anthropology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) 
Dr. Bampilis Tryfon (Cultural Anthropology, University of Leiden) 
Dr. Bellas Christos (Economics, University of the Aegean)
Prof. Cowan Jane (Social Anthropology, University of Sussex) 
Dr. Dimova Rozita (Social Anthropology, Humboldt University) 
Prof. Green Sarah (Social Anthropology, University of  Manchester)
Dr. Kalir Barak (Sociology/Social Anthropology, University of Amsterdam) 
Dr. Lindo Flip (Sociology/Social Anthropology, University of Amsterdam)
Dr. Myrivili Lenio (Cultural Technology, University of the Aegean) 
Dr. Moutafi Vassiliki (Social Anthropology, University of the Aegean)
Prof. Papataxiarchis Evthymios (Social Anthropology, University of the Aegean)
Dr. Petrakou Electra (Political Geography, University of the Aegean)
Dr. Petridou Elia (Social Anthropology, University of the Aegean)
Dr. Plexousaki Effie (Social Anthropology, University of the Aegean) 
Dr. Rozakou Katerina (Social Anthropology, University of the Aegean)
Dr. Trubeta Sevasti (Sociology, University of the Aegean) 
 
Additional information on the programme, costs, accommodation and the application form can be found at http://migbord2012.pns.aegean.gr 

Deadline for applications: May 31, 2012. 

For enquiries pls contact e.petridou at sa.aegean.gr