*Special* Summer School of Interdisciplinary Polish and German Studies 2019 “Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe 1989.” August 5-August 23, 2019.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies (ZIP) will hold its the sixth annual Summer School of Interdisciplinary Polish and German Studies from August 5 – August 23, 2019. This program is designed for up to 15 university-level (post-doctoral, doctoral, graduate or advanced undergraduate) researchers interested in Central European studies broadly defined. In contrast to previous years, this year’s summer school will offer graduate level seminars on Central European studies, as well as a two-week excursion along the “path of freedom” from former East Germany to the Hungarian-Austrian border. 

The Summer School is designed for academically driven students in the advanced phases of their research (advanced BA, MA, and PhD students, as well as Post-Docs). In previous years, we have had students from four continents and from the best international universities spend six weeks in Frankfurt/Oder and Słubice. This year, we will spend one week in Frankfurt Oder and Słubice, and then travel through Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria retracing the path of refugees who escaped communism 30 years ago, in the summer of 1989.

Thanks to the generous support of private donors, the Summer School will be offered at reduced costs to up to 15 students. 

The focus of this year’s Summer School is “Carnival of Revolution: Central Europe 1989.” In the late 1980s, no one expected the collapse of communism, nor did they think the transition would be peaceful. Now, thirty years after the fall of state socialism in Europe, academics are still debating the reasons for its sudden demise. Was Gorbachev the decisive figure, or was it economic stagnation? Did Polish religiosity and Slovak environmentalism bring the regimes to their knees, or was it a handful of imprisoned dissidents? Why did all of the governments fall at roughly the same time? In this summer school, we will analyze the events of 1989. Using a vast variety of sources—from mass media to eyewitnesses and punk music—we will explore the politics, economics, and cultural history of the fall of European state socialism.

The Summer School is made up of three main parts: an advanced research seminar in Frankfurt Oder/Słubice, a two-week excursion, and specialist lectures.