VALEUs SUMMER SCHOOL
Multiple Crises and Contestation of EU Values
August 11-15, 2025
Istanbul, Turkey
Roskilde, Denmark
Guadalajara, Mexico
Roskilde, Denmark
Guadalajara, Mexico
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday January 31, 2025
APPLICATION LINK: HERE
About ValEUs
In recent years, the EU has faced unprecedented challenges to live up to its mission to create a peaceful future based on common values. Despite the incorporation of foundational values into instruments of global governance, societal actors have increasingly opposed both the methods by which the EU propagates its values and the values themselves. ValEUs is an EU funded project, including 20 partner institutions from 17 countries and five continents, which aims to better understand this contestation of the EU values and its implications for EU foreign policy (for details see https://valeus.eu).
A global summer school:
Three summer schools, hosted by partner institutions in Denmark, Turkey and Mexico, will take place simultaneously, offering a distinctive curriculum reflecting local issues and expertise. Participants in all three schools will additionally participate in joint sessions focusing on cross-cutting contestations of EU values and Europe’s multiple crises. The summer schools will also consist of site visits, keynote addresses, and social events for participants. A certificate will be provided to each participant upon successful completion of the program.
Expenses for travel, accommodation and meals paid for by European Studies Center and the Center for Russian, East Eurasian and Eurasian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
HOW TO APPLY:
Summer school is designed for Advanced Bachelor students attending one of the ValEUs partner universities (for details see https://valeus.eu).
To apply send:
- 500 word statement of interest
- A current curriculum vitae
- Your preference of summer school (or order of preferences) ***Note: Students applying for the summer school at University of Guadalajara should include evidence of their capacity to read and understand spoken English and Spanish.
- Transcription of grades
- A Letter of Recommendation.
SUBMIT APPLICATION LINK: ValEUs Summer School
LAST DAY TO SUBMIT: Friday January 31, 2025
For questions: Erica Edwards, Associate Director, European Studies Center, eee36@pitt.edu.
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PROGRAM I: VALEUS-Istanbul Summer School
Migration and Enlargement in the Wake of the War in Ukraine
Istanbul Bilgi University
SantralIstanbul Campus, Türkiye
The VALEUS Summer School in Istanbul will focus on enlargement and migration in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Hosted at Istanbul Bilgi University’s SantralIstanbul Campus on the historic Golden Horn, the program will offer a unique curriculum addressing local issues like the situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as regional concerns such as the war in Ukraine and EU enlargement prospects.
Lectures will cover topics including EU enlargement, mass migration, the externalization of EU migration and asylum policies, and the diffusion and contestation of European norms across the Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasus.
The program will admit 20-25 advanced undergraduate students and will be led by Prof. Ayhan Kaya, Dr. Özge Onursal-Beşgül, Dr. Ozan Kuyumcuoğlu, and Didem Balatlıoğulları from the European Institute at Istanbul Bilgi University.
The program will admit 20-25 advanced undergraduate students and will be led by Prof. Ayhan Kaya, Dr. Özge Onursal-Beşgül, Dr. Ozan Kuyumcuoğlu, and Didem Balatlıoğulları from the European Institute at Istanbul Bilgi University.
Teaching is in English.
PROGRAM II: VALEUs-Roskilde Summer School
Internal contestation of EU Values: Euroscepticism and Populism
Roskilde University, Trekroner Campus
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen, Denmark
The VALEUs Summer School in Roskilde will focus on the rise of populism, Euroscepticism and contestion of European values within the EU itself. The summer school is hosted at Roskilde University’s Trekoner campus, a charming rural setting close to the vibrant city of Copenhagen. The program will address the complex challenges posed by increasingly successful populist parties in Europe, including factors accounting for their increasing success, varying orientations to European integration and where relevant, the implications of ambiguous orientations to liberal democratic values.
Lectures will cover topics including the rise of populism in Europe, populism, Euroscepticism and democracy, populism and regionalism beyond Europe, the EU’s rule of law crisis and responses to populism at home and abroad.
The program will admit 20-25 advanced undergraduate students and will be led by Professor (MSO) Angela Bourne and Dr. Francesco Campo (Roskilde University), Professor Erica Edwards (University of Pittsburgh) and Dr. Sorina Cristina Soare (University of Florence).
Teaching is in English.
PROGRAM III: VALEUs- Guadalajara Summer School
Postcolonialism and Comparative Regionalism
University Center for Social Sciences and Humanities (CUCSH)
University of Guadalajara
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
The ValEUs Summer School at the Universidad de Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, will focus on interregional relations and transnational dynamics between Europe and other world regions, particularly Latin America and the global south, encompassing integration processes, international cooperation and development, global policies, inequalities, as well as human rights issues from a de-colonial perspective.
Lectures will draw attention to the comparative study of regionalism in current geopolitical settings, by focusing on actors, such as social movements and practices of contestation, creating networks that defy traditional territorial orders. Additionally, lectures aim to address the current rise of right-wing populism that rejects and polarizes international cooperation and its geopolitical implications. The program will be let by Ulrike Capdepón, Jaime Preciado and Jorge Quevedo (UdG), Nina Sajić (UNIBL), Mariangela Rueda Fiorentino (UNINORTE), Randal Halle (PITT), among others.
Teaching is in Spanish and English.
Co Sponsored:
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences
Center for Russian, East Eurasian and Eurasian Studies
European Studies Center
University Center for International Studies