Between Giants: Local Responses to Global Power Dynamics. Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia.

The primary objective of the “Between Giants” summer school is to discuss the long-term and hidden social, cultural, historical, and political consequences affecting societies situated between empires. The school will bring together students in social sciences and humanities from Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. We aim to explore the subjectivity of individuals and communities inhabiting these in-between spaces or imperial peripheries from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives, while also examining their agency both within and against imperial structures. How have they used the available cultural repertoire? How have they shaped their sense of identity and understanding of the world around them? In what ways have they taken advantage of the opportunities that come with being part of an empire? We will also discuss the impact of major political transformations of the 20th century on local communities and individuals, as well as analyse the effects of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine on communities bordering the Russian Federation.

The key goals of the summer school include:

• Analysing regional and global interactions from global, glocal and local perspectives;
• Understanding discourses of historical appropriation and reinterpretation in public spaces;
• Examining models and concrete forms of self-conception and self-imagination;
• Decolonizing knowledge on historical, social, political and cultural processes taking place in between the empires.

Confirmed Keynote Speakers:

• Timur Dadabaev (University of Tsukuba, Japan)
• Iwona Kaliszewska (University of Warsaw, Poland)
• Ivan Peshkov (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland)
• Andrii Portnov (European University Viadrina, Germany)
• Tomasz Zarycki (University of Warsaw, Poland)

Format:

Invited international experts will present keynote lectures in their respective fields on Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and their historical and anthropological connections to the wider world, including the rival imperial powers to Russia. A two-day field trip to Podlasie and Kurpie, located in the northeastern part of Poland, will serve as a practical "laboratory" for discussing the core themes of the summer school. The choice of these regions reflects their rich historical ties to diverse and sometimes distant areas, as evidenced by their complex ethnic composition. Finally, students will each give a 20-minute talk, relevant to the theme of the summer school, based on their ongoing research. Each panel will be discussed by an expert in the field of their work, who will provide detailed feedback on the papers and moderate an extended Q&A session. Participants are expected to pre-circulate their paper to the other members of their panel and the organizers and should be present for the entire duration of the summer school.

Practical Information:

• Organisers The summer school is part of the project “Global history – non-European contexts of the Modern Word,” which has received funding in the framework of the Excellence Initiative Research University programme, no. I.3.13.
• Where? The summer school takes place in Warsaw and Białystok in Poland.
• When? Monday September 8, 2025, 9.30 a.m. – Saturday September 13, 2025, 9.00 p.m.
• Costs The summer school is free of charge. Organisers cover travel expenses, accommodation and part board during the summer school.
• Requirements for participants
• Level: MA and Ph.D.
• Language: English.
• Students are required to prepare a full paper in English (maximum 10 pages, to be submitted by June 15, 2025) and a 20-minute presentation in English, based on their paper. Presentations will be delivered during the student panels and followed by a discussion with instructors and fellow participants. Prior to the summer school, students will be assigned compulsory readings in English.
• Applications: Please send your extended abstract of 1000 words together with a short biographical statement (300 words) by March 1, 2025. Abstracts will be selected by the academic committee. We will notify you about the acceptance of your proposal by March 15, 2025. You will be expected to send your final papers by June 15, 2025. Applicants are required to submit an abstract and a biographical statement here: ONLINE APPLICATION
• The deadline for applications is March 1, 2025
• In case you have any questions, please contact the summer school convenors:
  • Zuzanna Bogumił (Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Warsaw) – z.bogumil@uw.edu.pl
  • Natalia Królikowska–Jedlińska (Faculty of History, University of Warsaw) – nkrolikowska@uw.edu.pl
  • For more information: Between_Giants_Local_Responses_to_Global