Summer school: Technology, society and the future
***No more applications are accepted***
News from Nowhere is a utopian novel written in 1890 by William Morris. Morris imagined a world in which human happiness and economic activity coincide. He reminds us that there needs to be a point to labour beyond making ends meet. Capitalism, he explains, locks the capitalist into a horrible life, which leads nowhere but the grave. Morris’s utopian society has no government nor a monetary system. Craftwork has made “wage slavery” obsolete, and an elite version of parliamentary democracy has given way to new forms of cooperation. The means of production are democratically controlled, and people find pleasure in sharing their interests, goals and resources. Is now the utopian vision of Morris within reach?
When
The summer school includes four full days: 20/07, 21/07, 22/07, 23/07 in 2022. It will start at 09:30 am on 20/07.
Where
The summer school will take place in Kalentzi (GR), a village at the Municipality of North Tzoumerka, 30km away from Ioannina, as well as in Frasta, a village 15km away from Kalentzi. The access to Kalentzi from Ioannina is through the provincial road Ioannina-Pramanta. Kalentzi is 20km away from the 2 big highways, which lead either to Athens or Thessaloniki, and 35 km from Ioannina’s King Pyrros airport. Here you may find more info about travelling and staying in the region.
Summer school coordinator and organiser
The coordinator is Prof. Vasilis Kostakis. The summer school is organised by the P2P Lab of Tallinn University of Technology. It is also supported by the FinEst Centre.
Target group
The summer school is open to local and international PhD students from all disciplines with an interest in technology and societal issues. Master students who have accomplished the first year of their studies at their home university could also be enrolled in the programme. Excellent command of the English language is necessary.
Scope and aim
The summer school will use Morris’s News from Nowhere as a starting point of a spellbinding tour on what technology is and the alternative trajectories of techno-social development. We will discuss techno-determinism, using classical technology critiques to understand, and see the power of, techno-development. We will address ICT as a form of technology, debate some specific fields of media, gaming, and fashion, and look at the struggle between and against low-, mid- and hi-tech over the last century and a half. Finally, we will explore how to create a sustainable economy through the commons, discussing the phenomenon of “cosmolocalism”.
Facilitators
The summer school is a theoretical and hands-on exploration of alternative techno-social trajectories. The theoretical exploration will be facilitated by Prof. Wolfgang Drechsler, Prof. Vasilis Kostakis and Dr. Christina Priavolou. The hands-on exploration will be facilitated by Boulouki and will include a workshop on traditional tar production technology and its potential implications for the commons.
Fee
There is no fee.
Application
Due to an overwhelming amount of excellent applications, the submission process has ended.
More about the region
Here you may find more info about travelling and staying in the region.
Acknowledgments
The summer school is financially supported by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 802512). Wolfgang Drechsler’s participation is made possible with funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant agreement No 856602), see also www.finestcentre.eu. The seminars and the workshops will take place in facilities and buildings kindly provided by the Municipality of Northern Tzoumerka, the Cultural Society of Kalentzi and the Municipality of Central Tzoumerka. We thank them deeply.
Questions
Contact: nikiforos.tsiouris AT taltech.ee. The programme of the school will be announced once the students’ cohort is finalised.