This project is a continuation of the long-term work of the Laboratory of Critical Urbanism on the urban transformations of Visaginas, a former ‘nuclear’ town in eastern Lithuania. LCU has already organized three DAAD Summer Schools exploring the town and elaborating scenarios for its future development (2015, 2016 and 2017), and in 2016 published the book Mapping Visaginas. Sources of Urbanity in a Former Mono-functional Town (Vilnius Academy of Arts Press). These activities have led to a fruitful cooperation with local government, and public and private institutions, as well as with active community members. The focus of the 2018 Summer School, which will take place from August 18 to 31, is the elaboration of a new concept for Visaginas public library both as institution and as infrastructure, in its connection to other institutions and infrastructures of the town. The Summer School’s working formats are lectures, seminars, workshops and supervised fieldwork. It is open to students of urban studies, sociology, geography, political science, architecture, design, urban planning, history, cultural studies, anthropology, and heritage studies with a strong interest in problem-based interdisciplinary research work.
A 5 ECTS certificate will be provided after handing in a final paper. The summer school’s fee is EUR 850 for participants from German institutions, EUR 300 for other external participants, EUR 60 for local participants. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is offering 8 GoEast scholarships for German participants. Costs of study materials, hostel accommodation, joint lunches and dinners in Visaginas, and a weekend excursion to Vilnius are covered.
Detailed information and requirements for participants can be found here.
Applications, including CV, letter of intent, and recommendation, must be submitted by May 31 to urbanism @ ehu.lt.