Summer school: Life after Growth

Deadline for applications: 2024, 5th May

After decades of dogmatising economic growth as a measure and necessity of progress and well-being, the implications for the planet and societies are increasingly becoming hard to ignore. Public discourse in research and policy are progressively embracing post-growth perspectives. But in the meantime, the fable of unlimited growth has expanded across all domains of human activity. Beyond economic and political priorities, the growth mantra has shaped our collective imagination of what life is about, shaping the quintessence of business, community, influence and audience. Εven growing as persons. If stopping the growth madness poses a financial and identity crisis, not stopping it poses an existential one. To grow or not to grow? To emancipate ourselves from this rugged dilemma, we turn to the commons to demystify stories of growth and replace them with ones that define our collective affairs in harmony with the human and planetary condition. The commons, including the wealth we inherit and create together as societies, constitutes a vital sector of the economy generating value that is often taken for granted. Can the commons guide us in making sense of work, technology, organisation – and life! – in a post-growth society?

When

The summer school includes four full days: 01/09, 02/09, 03/09, and 04/09 in 2024. We start at 09:30 am on 01/09.

Where

The summer school will take place in Kalentzi (GR), a small village tucked away in one of the most scenic mountain ranges of Greece, at the Municipality of North Tzoumerka, 30km away from Ioannina. 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.

Who is it for

The summer school is open to local and international PhD students from all disciplines interested in political ecology, organisational studies, and/or technology and society studies. Master students who have completed their first year of studies at their home university could also be enrolled in the programme. We also wholeheartedly welcome practitioners with similar interests and work, while undergraduate students with an explicit interest in degrowth, post-growth and/or the commons may also be accepted upon availability of places. Very good command of the English language is necessary.

What is it about

We need to take a leap of faith off the imminent trainwreck of unlimited growth. In this summer school, we will seek to re-establish how we value, care for, and nurture our collective affairs through the commons, across: the production of things and covering of social needs; organisation and coordination of knowledge, technology, skills, and capabilities; the social reproduction of our lives and nature; and the relation to our emotions and our own body, our time, effort, and affect beyond economic production. Due to the cross-disciplinarity and complexity of these matters, the commons provides a pervasive framework, functioning as the fabric that can bring together diverse perspectives from both theory and practice. Facilitators and students will co-create a mutual learning community to explore and reflect upon commons-based ways of understanding, acting, and being.

Organisers and facilitators

The summer school is a theoretical and hands-on exploration of alternative trajectories in technology, society, and organisation. The organising and facilitation team, composed by Alex Pazaitis, Sofia Adam, and Maro Pantazidou, curate theoretical investigations around the themes of, respectively, value, social needs, and time, blending formal and non-formal education techniques, providing insights from both scholarly and practitioner experiences. Researchers and activists from the P2P Lab community contribute with reflexive and experiential learning practices. More details on facilitators will be announced in due time. Local commons-based initiatives and organisations will engage with students and participants for hands-on exploration of the various themes discussed. A provisional list of the participating organisations includes the Tzoumakers community makerspace; Nea Guinea, a community initiative dedicated to tools and practices that promote self-reliance and resilience educate for regenerative transitions; The High Mountains, a social coop supporting mountainous development and rehabilitation; and the Commonen energy community. The final list will be updated, according to the participants’ selection process one month in advance.

The summer school is organised by the P2P Lab of Tallinn University of Technology, the Post-Growth Innovation Lab of the University of Vigo, and the Department of Social Policy of Democritus University of Thrace.

Fee

There is no fee.

Application

For applications send a CV and one-page long motivation letter to alex.pazaitis AT gmail.com. Deadline: May 5th, 2024.

Travel information

Here you may find more info about travelling and staying in the region.

Acknowledgments

The summer school is financially supported by the Estonian Research Council (Contract No. PUTJD1204) and the European Union (Project No. 101059118). The seminars and the workshops will take place in facilities and buildings kindly provided by the Municipality of Northern Tzoumerka and the Cultural Society of Kalentzi. We thank them deeply.

Questions

For any queries contact Alex Pazaitis, summer school coordinator, at: alex.pazaitis AT gmail.com. The programme of the school will be announced once the students’ cohort is finalised.

More information on this page.