Chișinău, Moldova
12-19 Jul 2026
Deadline for applications – 1 April 2026
Organizers:
Center for the Interethnic Relations Research in Eastern Europe, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Center for Governance and Culture in Europe, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland,
Research Centre Ukraine / Max Weber Foundation, Lviv, Ukraine
National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar, Ukraine
Program Description:
The Black Sea region constitutes a dynamic space shaped by interconnected societal, economic, cultural, and political transformations. Rather than being geographically self-evident, the region has been historically constructed and repeatedly reimagined by policymakers, scholars, and local communities. The region has been conceptualised in varying ways: in some interpretations, it refers only to the immediate coastal areas; in others, to a broader geopolitical and cultural formation encompassing the entire Black Sea basin. The complexity of description encourages researchers to seek approaches to examining regional communities.
The summer school invites postgraduate students, early-career scholars, and practitioners to engage with the analytical frameworks of diversity and marginality as tools for interpreting and rethinking the region. The program focuses on the transformations experienced by the region’s communities from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, ranging from political transitions between empires and nation-states to profound demographic and social changes. Bringing together leading experts on the Black Sea region, the summer school introduces participants to the cutting-edge scholarly perspectives and approaches to studying the region.
The summer school addresses diversity and marginality not as peripheral or isolated phenomena, but as a critical lens for examining broader societal transformations. Our speakers aim to investigate the lived experiences of various communities, contextualising their actions, interactions, and strategies without resorting to binary or reductive narratives. By focusing on how individuals and groups navigated societal structures through resistance, cooperation, cooptation, and adaptation, the program aims to provide tools and methods for a comprehensive analysis of these processes informed by perspectives from history, cultural studies, and social sciences.
The core course of the summer school examines the diversity of the region – from the Ukrainian lands to the Caucasus – through a transimperial approach grounded in social history. Particular attention will be devoted to imperiality and to the discursive frameworks through which metropolitan centres sought to define, categorise, and govern their peripheries. Along the borderlands of imperial spatial orders, communities and individuals articulated complex, layered, and situational identities which both engaged with and exceeded imperial classifications.
The guest lecture module will focus on questions of marginality, including marginalised social groups, cultures, and ideas. It will examine how imperial and national imaginaries attempted to reshape and claim space by symbolically and materially appropriating land and water, though many of these projects remained unrealised. Amid the region’s pronounced social, national, and religious diversity, marginality often emerged not as a locally embraced identity, but as a designation imposed by external actors and political regimes.
The summer school aims to provide participants with a comprehensive educational experience, fostering networking opportunities and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. The format combines lectures, research seminars, discussions, study visits, and study tours.
Among lecturers and invited speakers of the summer school: Masha Cerovic, EHESS / CERCEC, France; Constantin Ardeleanu, New Europe College, Romania; Mišo Kapetanović, Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria; Ioulia Shukan, EHESS / CERCEC, France; Iryna Klymenko, Research Centre Ukraine / Max Weber Foundation, Ukraine.
Requirements for participants:
The summer school is open to postgraduate students, early career scholars, and practitioners. The working language is English. The level of English proficiency should be sufficient to read academic literature, follow lectures, actively participate in discussions, and present your own projects.
Application should include the following documents:
– Academic CV (max. 3 pages)
– Description of a research, educational or cultural project related to the Black Sea region’s countries, topics of marginality and diversity (max. 500 words)
– Motivation letter (max. 500 words)
Please send your application as a single PDF file to: [email protected] by April 1, 2026. Please note that all application documents must be in English.
Participant costs:
Participation in the summer school is free of charge. The organisers will provide accommodation, lunches, and refreshments, and will offer travel grants to selected participants.
Contact information: [email protected]
Contact Email: [email protected]
