Heritage as Imagination, as Resource, as Conflict
International Summer School in Urban Anthropology, Sozopol, Bulgaria
19-30 June 2012
The tenth edition of the summer school of urban anthropology organized by Sofia University will take place in Sozopol, on the Black sea coast, a town known for its rich cultural history, as well as the dubious developments of tourist industry after ’89. This year’s summer school will focus on the uses and abuses of heritage in the globalized world.
The international team is composed of Bulgarian (Ivaylo Ditchev and colleagues from the MA in Cultural Anthropology, Sofia University), French (Michel Rautenberg, Corine Vedrine), British (Bella Dicks, Ger Duijzings), Italian (Philippo Zerelli and Pietro Saitta) and German (Schamma Schahadat) colleagues, who work on the city from an anthropological perspective.
The summer school of urban anthropology will approach the contemporary city through the lens of cultural heritage perceived not as some fossilized past, but as a juxtaposition of representations, interests and politics.
On one hand, the turbulent age of transition in Eastern Europe brings about permanent reinterpretations of culture, estranges generations, and produces competing media images. On the other, cities ever more actively try to sell their emblems on the global marketplace of identities. Clashes based on ethnicity, religion or political bias grow ever stronger, for conflicts that formerly were expressed in political or social terms now tend to acquire a cultural aura.
The topics of the summer school will be site-specific and will be linked to postcommunism, the imaginary of the nouveau-riches, national, ethnic and touristic appropriations of heritage, etc. After presenting a final paper the students will be granted credits according to the rules of their university.
The summer school is organized by Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" in partnership with:
- The Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Greece
- Jean Monnet University, France
- Cardiff University, UK
- University College London, UK
- University of Cagliari, Italy
- University of Messina, Italy
On the 23rd of June students will be able to attend the international workshop
Globalization through heritage/globalization of heritage?
Field trips will be organized to heritage sites in southern Bulgaria (Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, Perperikon, etc)
We look forward to welcoming you!
