Josefov Summer School Newsletter 1/2020
Dear friends and colleagues,
Several coinciding events let us to launch the first newsletter of the Josefov Summer School.
First, on the 14th of January 2020, a Czech cultural bi-weekly A2 published a special issue on “War”. It gathers reflection on contemporary wars and growing militarism and their effect on many aspects of life. Mikuláš Černík, one of guests of last edition of the Josefov Summer School, contributed with an essay “Mobilization against climate changes”, where he discusses a metaphor of war in relation to climate crisis.
Mikuláš’s text, and a seminar, led together with Marika Volfová, were key inspirations for our thoughts on the next edition of the Summer School. We are making available the original English version of the essay now.
Secondly, on the 14th of January also took place in Bratislava, Slovakia, a lecture and a debate “What a body can do in times of climate crisis” that focused on performativity of climate movement. The event was organized by Tranzit.sk as part of What a body can do - a series of lectures, workshops and other events focused on collective learning about performance.
Thirdly, on the 23rd of January, a following event in series of meeting “Przed końcem” [Before the End], was held at the Institute of Polish Culture, University of Warsaw. This meeting is specially dedicated to the issue of War, its devastating effects on the environment and on military dimension of climate crisis.
Finally, let us declare the topic of the next Josefov Summer School: Exercises: war and pacifism.
The topic has been with us already for some time. Since the first edition of the Summer School, a elements of military vocabulary, especially “strategy” and “tactic” travelled through our language we have been describing relation between aesthetics and politics, and our experiences in Josefov fortress. Here a project Dictionary of war also inspired our reflections.
We also were re-considering the figure of the Partisan, its political activism and teluric character, as theorized by Carl Schmitt, in frame of rising environmental activism and its methods. Following the last edition of the School, and a question “what does university means today?” we shifted our perspective to militant dimension of knowledge as well as to resistance to war, pacifism, and alternative and emancipatory ways of self-organization in context of academia and culture.
In following edition, we aim [sic!] at collective reflection upon the different, hegemonic and subversive, ways of using military concepts. But we want also to examine anti-war, pacifist practices as a radical alternative, challenging normalisation of militarism, that has become part of our cultural, social and political background.
The next Josefov Summer School will take place in the first half of the July 2020. The date, topic and program will be specified and the call for participation will be announced in the mid-March 2020.
With warm regards Martin Bernátek, Weronika Parfianowicz and Lukáš Kubina
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