This international summer school is part of the Project ALICE – Strange Mirrors, Unsuspected Lessons: Leading Europe to a new way of sharing the world experiences and will be taught by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The objective of the course, with seminars in  Portuguese, English and Spanish, is to develop new theoretical and political paradigms of social transformation. This course aims to present and discuss the critical thinking of Boaventura de Sousa Santos, in the light of his theoretical and political proposals towards social transformation.

Epistemologies of the South, a term coined by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, seek to embody the knowledge and experiences of the global South, as a metaphor of exclusion, silencing and destruction of peoples and knowledges. This proposal is underlined by a diversity of places of enunciation, in which methodological and reflexive assumptions, in dialogue, oppose proposals of ethnocentric nature.
At the core of the Epistemologies of the South, is the idea that within the global North looms a sense of intellectual and political exhaustion which translates as failure to address, in an innovative way, the various challenges the world faces in these early decades of the twenty-first century: social, environmental, inter generational justice, cultural, historical and cognitive. Contrarily, the global South, in all its diversity, appears today as a broad field of economic, social, cultural and political innovation, a space that aims to increase demodiversity,  in which dialogues between knowledges translate into conditions of pluriversality.

By reviewing the various possibilities described as Epistemologies of the South, this course aims to go beyond (theoretically and methodologically) the modern eurocentric thinking, namely, abyssal thinking. Abyssal thinking divides the world through an imaginary line, between those “on this side of the line”, and those “on the other side of the line”. To Boaventura de Sousa Santos, the division is such that the other end of the line "vanishes as reality, becomes nonexistent, and is actually produced as nonexistent. Epistemologies of the South, by challenging the hegemonic centrality of the modern project of Eurocentric modernity, wager on a radical proposal of thought that promotes social, political and institutional change, from a South-South dialogue, whose epistemic assumptions challenge colonial, capitalist and patriarchal latencies.

The main assumptions of the Epistemologies of the South are:
- That the understanding of the world is much broader than the  Western understanding of the world;
- That alternatives are not lacking in the world. What is indeed missing is an alternative thinking of alternatives;
- That the epistemic diversity of the world is infinite and no general theory can hope to understand it;
- That the alternative to a general theory is the promotion of an ecology of knowledges combined with intercultural translation.

Epistemologies of the South denounce, on the one hand, the epistemological interventions that led to the suppression of knowledges over the past centuries, due to the imposition of the dominant epistemological standard; on the other hand, they value the knowledges that successfully resisted and the reflections they have produced and explore the conditions for a horizontal dialogue between knowledges. Boaventura de Sousa Santos calls this  dialogue between knowledges ecologies of knowledges.

These dialogues, and teachings they contain, reflect the innovations that occur in countries and regions of the global South. A demanding wager, surely, that assumes availability for mutual recognition, intercultural understanding, political and ideological convergence, respect for identity and celebration of diversity, conditions for a more democratic dialogue between the global South.

By putting students in touch with Boaventura de Sousa Santos (with his reflective critical thinking), the course will be a privileged space for the discussion of possibilities for social, political and institutional transformation, in the light of the Global South.

ALICE Summer School stems from the Epistemologies of the South, an epistemological proposal based on the struggle against the waste of experience, consequence of the epistemic domination lettering as irrelevant what does not fit in the narrow canon of modern knowledge. Bred from the challenge of dialogue between knowledges, it is part of the ambitious project of building a more emancipatory cartography, where there is a place for spoken languages, histories, policy options, resistances and struggles excluded from the official narratives or classified as inferior and irrelevant.

We propose diversity and unity. On the one hand, we recognize the extraordinary differences that make up the global South, on a macro and micro level, and we are aware that stressing the singular means continuously adjourning deference to the epistemological diversity of the world. We bring experience and knowledges from Africa, from Latin America, from Asia.  On the other hand, we believe that the common colonial experience allows the establishment of a global South, where the post-colonial condition is increasingly imposed in the analysis and characterization of specific political circumstances.

This Summer School will run as an active social laboratory where scholars, students and activists would seek answers through the emergent struggles. By interrogating people, and through them, about their ideas and projects that seek to challenge the world; this summer course aims to broaden critically, the discussions and perspectives, in the spirit of exchange and mutual aid. The special significance laid herein will be on narratives, reflective of diversity within the Epistemologies of the South thus enhancing ecology of knowledges.

The epistemological imaginary present in this Summer School goes beyond the conventional scientific record. Recognizing the existence of knowledge beyond the walls of academia, it is intended that the artistic production challenge the political imagination and thus leading to subversive creativity, seeking to enhance the senses of the world. Accordingly, this course is also made up of art and the experiences of flavours. The moments outside of the conventional classroom spaces are as important as the seminars. The challenge is great: to learn how to collectively dream and explore the unsettling alchemy of art and social justice.

We propose ten days of collective construction, composed by different moments, which include seminars, workshops, screenings, informal conversations, leisure moments, and gustatory challenges, all of them relevant to the collective construction of a more plural and inclusive knowledge, with  social justice as a goal.
 

The intensive course will be structured around five core themes:

1. Theoretical challenges posed by Epistemologies of the South;
2. Methodological challenges brought by Epistemologies of the South;
3. New constitutionalisms and the possibilities advanced towards refounding the state and expanding citizenship;
4. Conditions and possibilities towards democratising democracy;
5. Other economies apart from developmental proposals;
6. Human rights and other grammars of human dignity.

The course is organised around a number of issues, expanded through issues brought by participants: Why Epistemologies of the South? How to decolonise knowledge? What are South-South dialogues and what are they for? How to go from alternative development to alternatives to development? What is citizenship considered from those who are not citizens? How to democratise democracy? What are human rights in face of non-Western names? What is the socio-legal theory of indignation? Can constitutionalism be transformative? How to reinvent the left?

Methodologically, five privileged spaces for discussion will coexist:

1. Seminars and Workshops
2. Group Discussions
3. Epistemological Imaginarium: This space-moment aims to broaden the epistemological dialogues in a context where art melt with tastes to broaden the political imagination, and meets rebel creativity. The idea which is thus promoted is to challenge the dominant perspective through the subversive creativities. Dancers, cooks, and other artists will inspire the members of the Summer School to dream collectively and explore the unsettling alchemy of arts and social justice. One of the features included herein will be to observe the nuances of Intercultural Translation via different styles of art and art - forms.
4. Tea to Coffee and back: these are moments for more informal discussions.
5. Insight: the documentary cinema sessions aim to give body to the discussions, putting into perspective events and peoples.

Furthermore, one may experience the manifestation of the same theme through individual vis-à-vis collective forms of practices of arts. Subsequently, as an enriching learning experience, we are led into bridging the gap between the learner and the teacher creating more effectively a liaison between the two, necessitating the need for a more open, free and mutual exchange of diverse practices in much-diverse forms.
 

Each participant will receive a certificate of attendance at the end of the Summer School.

The Summer School is open to students, academics,  professionals and activists from different areas of knowledge. 

Maximum number of registrations: 80

Minimum number of registrations: 15

Note: Due to the large number of applications, the coordination of the summer school decided to increase the number of originally planned vacancies (40) up to a maximum of participants  without prejudice to  the quality of the discussions or the well-being of each participant.

I. APPLICATION

First round of applications will start on October 26th, 2015. It will close on February 15th, 2016.

All those interested in participating in the Summer School must fill in the form below and attach a) a short letter of motivation and b) a short  CV.

The motivation letter can be written in English, Portuguese or Spanish.

Applicants will receive a confirmation that the application was received.

The course is limited to 40 participants. Applicants will be notified of acceptance or non-acceptance until March 31st.

3 scholarships covering the full participation in the course (registration fee, accommodation, meals and transportation from Coimbra to Curia and back). Applications will be received from October 26, 2015 to February 15, 2016. Applications for scholarships should be submitted simultaneously with the application for the course, selecting the option "Scholarship Application", included in the course’s application form and should include the following documents:
1. Detailed CV of candidate
2. Detailed letter on the candidates academic interests/participation in social movements
3. Justification for application to the scholarship.
 

APPLICATION FORM

II. REGISTRATION

Until April 20, accepted applicants must pay a deposit of 100€. This value, non-refundable in case of withdrawal, will be deducted from the total amount of the fee if registration is completed.

After paying the deposit, participants should proceed to the registration within the prescribed deadlines. There are various types of registration modalities with different fees.
 

REGISTRATION - SUMMER SCHOOL
 

The deadline for full payment of the registration fee is May 1st (early-bird registration) and June 1st (late registration). In case of withdrawal, the registration fee will be refunded (excluding the 100€ deposit) when notice of withdrawal is given at least 45 days before the course starts. Any cancellations after May 17th will not be subject to any refund.

Notification of acceptance will be accompanied by guidelines for the participant regarding how to proceed with the deposit, the registration and payment of registration fee.

The organising committee will not be responsible for obtaining visas or support funds, but may provide assistance. The participants may request documents necessary to travel or obtain funding, including invitation letters. For any queries relating to these matters, please contact the organizing committee at alicesummerschool@ces.uc.pt.

TUITION INCLUDES PARTICIPATION IN SEMINARS; ACCOMMODATION IN DOUBLE ROOMS AT THE HOTEL DAS TERMAS IN CURIA; BREAKFASTS, LUNCHES, DINNERS AND COFFEE BREAKS; READING MATERIALS; AND TRANSFER TO AND FROM COIMBRA - CURIA.
TUITION DOES NOT INCLUDE DOMESTIC OR FOREIGN TRAVEL TO COIMBRA 

Boaventura de Sousa Santos (Director of the ALICE Project / General Coordinator)

Maria Paula Meneses (General Coordinator)

Sara Araújo (General Coordinator)

Rita Kacia Oliveira (Executive Coordinator)

GETTING THERE

The Summer School will be held at the Hotel das Termas - Curia, Termas, Spa & Golf, located at the village of Curia, in the Centro Region of Portugal, about  2 hours from Lisbon, 1 hour from Porto, 45 minutes from Aveiro and 30 minutes from Coimbra.
The organising commmittee will assure the transport from Coimbra, where the Centre for Social Studies is located, to Curia. The meeting point will be at the Centre for Social Studies on June 22nd at 11.00 am.
To get to Coimbra, you can fly directly to Lisbon or Oporto through various Airlines. You can also travel by train if coming from Spain.

From Lisbon or Oporto you can reach Coimbra by car or by train.

A. For information on how to get there by car, follow the links:

• From Lisbon - 202 km - Get directions here
• From Porto - 125 km - Get directions here

B. You can travel comfortably by train, following these directions:

• From the Lisbon Airport:

Go to the ESTAÇÃO DO ORIENTE to catch a train to Coimbra. To get there you can choose the following options:
a) Taxi -  Approximately 10€ for a 10 minute trip.

b) Metro - Catch the red line and get off at "Oriente" (third stop). The metro works between  6h30 and 1h00m  and trains run regularly  in 7 to 10 minute loops. The fare, one trip charged, is 1,90€. See the Lisbon metro diagram here.
At Oriente, catch a train to a Coimbra-B (the fastest one is the Alfa-Pendular, 1h35m, 22,80€; followed by the Intercidades, 2h00m, 19,20€).

See Comboios de Portugal - CP

• From Oporto Airport:

The Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, in Porto, is 11 km away from the city, so getting a taxi from there to the railway station is quite expensive (20-25€, with 20 per cent surcharge in the evenings and weekends). The easiest and less costly way will be to take the Metro. The direction to it is signposted throughout the airport, so just follow the signs and take Line E (Purple) from the airport to the Campanhã railway station. Metro trains run about every 20 minutes from early morning until after midnight. That will take about 32 minutes and cost 2,20€ - a Z4 (zone four) ticket. See information on Oporto's metro here.
Catch a train to Coimbra-B. Three types of trains are available at the  Estação de Campanhã: the Alfa Pendular (fastest), the Intercidades and the regional trains. The Alfa trains take around an hour to get to Coimbra (16,70€). The Intercidades takes some more minutes to arrive (13,20€). 

See Comboios de Portugal - CP 

REGIONAL PROMENADES

A CURIA

The Curia is located in the heart of Bairrada, a region known for fruity wines and gastronomy. In this area, you can visit some of the country's most famous cellars and taste their wines and sparkling wines. The region provides the combination of a peaceful and bucolic scenery and palaces in Art Nouveau, Belle Epoque style.

Parque Termal da Curia

The Curia Thermal Park, open all year, offers health treatments and a set of possibilities for those who wish to take advantage of the thermal waters in spa, anti-stress and weight loss programmes, or  for those simply  looking to relax. In the extent of the park, there are terraces, ponds, bridges, and, above all, a lot of  freshness and quiet atmosphere, ensuring visitors an encounter with nature.

Bairrada Wine Museum 

Open on September 27, 2003, the Bairrada Wine Museum includes, in addition to the permanent exhibition - Wine Route and temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. The collection on display mostly dates from the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. The museum perfectly combines new technologies and the most modern audiovisual equipment, thus making this museum a cultural reference. Because of its unique features it is the host site of several cultural and artistic expressions.

Associação Rota da Bairrada

A public-private project, the Rota da Bairrada Association has 32 members, including the eight municipalities that make up the Bairrada territory; Anadia, Cantanhede, Oliveira do Bairro, Aveiro, Vagos, Aveiro, and Coimbra, institutions such as the Wine Museum, the Tourism center and Wine Commission, tourism officials; and Wine producers like Luis Pato, Campolargo cellar, Adega Cooperativa de Cantanhede, Casa do Canto, Quinta do Ortigão, Quinta da Mata Fidalga, Aliança Vinhos de Portugal, Quinta de Baixo, Caves do Solar de São Domingos, Caves São João, Quinta do Encontro and Caves Primavera.

At Espaço Bairrada, the former railway station of the Curia, any visitor can have access to a personalized routing of visits to the region; cellars, wineries, gastronomy, nature and heritage, culture and participate in vinous and cultural activities. Regional products are also available for sale here.

Aliança Underground Museum

The Aliança Underground is an exhibition space located in the wine cellars of Alliance Wines of Portugal. Contemplating eight different collections, this museum depicts areas such as archeology, ethnography, mineralogy, paleontology, tiles, ceramics and tin craftmanship covering an impressive length of time with millions of years.

Turismo Centro de Portugal | Turismo de Coimbra

The Centro region, with its diverse cultural and environmental landscapes, sandy beaches, enchanting mountains and rivers, medieval villages and a vibrant night life, offers a wide range of possibilities to those who visit.

HOTEL DAS TERMAS

The Summer School will be held at the  Hotel das Termas - Curia, Termas, Spa & Golf, located in the village of  Curia, Centro Region of Portugal, about 2 hours from Lisbon, 1 hour from Porto, and 45 minutes from Coimbra. The Hotel provides access to the Curia Thermal Resort, the Curia Golf Course, with spa, turkish sauna, heated indoor pool and jacuzzi, outdoor pool and gym.

SPA

ALICE – Strange Mirrors, Unsuspected Lessons: Leading Europe to a new way of sharing the world experiences

The project ALICE seeks to re-think and renovate socio-scientific knowledge in light of the epistemologies of the South, proposed by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The objective is to develop new theoretical and political paradigms of social transformation.

This research project is coordinated by Boaventura de Sousa Santos and financed by the European Research Council (ERC), one of the most prestigious and highly competitive international financial institutes for scientific excellence in Europe.
 

Why ALICE?

Haunting Europe and the Global North as a whole, there is a sentiment of intellectual and political exhaustion which translates as incapacity to confront innovatively the various challenges of justice that interpellate the world in the first decades of the twenty-first century: social, environmental, inter-generational, cultural, historical and cognitive justice. In contrast, the Global South, in its immense diversity, presents itself today as a wide field of economic, social, cultural, and political innovation. ALICE is grounded on a wager, i.e that social, political and institutional change may largely benefit from the innovations occurring in countries and regions of the Global South. A demanding wager, to be sure, for it presupposes availability for mutual recognition, intercultural understanding, political and ideological convergence, respect for identity, and celebration of diversity. 

ALICE project operates under the auspices of the Centre for Social Studies (CES) 

The Centre for Social Studies was created within the School of Economics at the University of Coimbra four years after the Revolução dos Cravos (Carnation Revolution) of 25 April 1974, and has been headed by Boaventura de Sousa Santos since its foundation. When it was first created, it was clear that Portugal needed to know more about itself and to learn about Europe, given that it was involved in closer integration. Its interests, however, extended further than this. Once the European nation with the widest contacts outside Europe, Portugal was in a favourable position to serve as a port of transit for Europe and the non-European world. From the outset, some researchers have concentrated on studying Portuguese society and some on European affairs, whilst others have focused on Latin American and African contexts, with Asia also emerging as a field of study at the end of the 1990s.

The CES is, nowadays, an academic institution dedicated to research and advanced training in the social and human sciences. It has an extensive body of researchers working in various areas, including sociologists, economists, jurists, anthropologists, historians, specialists in education, literature, culture and international relations, geographers, architects, engineers and biologists.

In recent years, the scientific work of the CES has expanded significantly. Its body of researchers has grown continuously, the number of research projects has increased, international cooperative networks have been extended, work involving collaboration with outside entities has grown and the main mechanisms for disseminating scientific results are flourishing.

The research projects and international scientific networks in which its researchers have participated over the past decade confirm the dynamism of the Centre for Social Studies, which, in 1997 and in 1999, and more recently in 2005 and 2010, received recognition of its scientific merit when it was evaluated as Excellent (the highest classification) by an international panel, within the framework of the Evaluation Process for Research Units of the Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education. In February 2002, the CES was awarded the status of Associate Laboratory by the Ministry of Science on the basis of two central premises: firstly, its proven capacity to develop innovative research into different aspects of Portuguese society as well as into changes currently taking place throughout the world, with an emphasis on semi-peripheral and southern hemisphere societies, particularly in the Portuguese-speaking countries, and, secondly, the Centre’s involvement in matters of public interest, namely public policies and new forms of regulation, relations between academic knowledge and citizen participation, and, finally, the legal system and the reform of the administration of justice.

The University of Coimbra is located in the Centro Region of Portugal, city of Coimbra. With a history dating back to the end of the XIII century, the UC is the oldest university in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe. On June 22nd, 2013 it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

1. Who can participate?
The Summer School is open to all those interested, including academics, students and activists from the Global North and the Global South, NGO members and policymakers.

2. What are the working languages at the Summer School ?
The seminars will be taught in Portuguese, English and in Spanish.

3. Will I have access to the Summer School’s Reading materials before the commencement of the course?
Yes. You will have access to the material on-line a month prior to the beginning of Summer School.

4. When and where will the Summer School be held?
The Summer School will be held between June 22 and June 30, 2016, at Hotel das Termas - Curia, Termas, Spa & Golf, Anadia, the village of Curia, about 30 minutes from Coimbra and Aveiro. For detailed information see Where and Important dates. 

5. Where will Summer School participants be accommodated?
Participants will be accommodated in a shared room at the Hotel das Termas - Curia, Termas, Spa & Golf, in Anadia, about 30km from Coimbra, Portugal. For more information see Where.

6. Will I have access to the internet during the Summer School?
Yes. The Hotel das Termas - Curia, Termas, Spa & Golf has wireless network.

7. Will I be entitled to a certificate of participation?
Yes. All participants will receive a certificate of participation.

8. Until when can I register and what is the deadline for payment?
Registrations open on October 26, 2015. Until April 30, 2016 those registering benefit from a reduced rate. The deadline for payment is May 30, 2016. For more information see Application, Registration and Tuition and Important dates.

9. Does the registration fee include accommodation?
Yes. Registration includes participation in the seminars; accommodation in double rooms; breakfasts, lunches, dinners and coffee breaks; reading materials and transportation from Coimbra to Curia. Tuition does not include travel to and from Coimbra. For more information see Application, Registration and Tuition.

10. Does the registration fee include meals?
Yes. Registration includes participation in the Summer School, accommodation in shared double rooms at the hotel, lunches, dinners and coffee breaks, social programme and the course materials. For more information see Application, Registration and Tuition.

11. Will I receive a confirmation when payment is completed?
Yes. You will receive a confirmation the moment you register, including details for making a payment. As soon as you complete the fee payment you will receive a transaction confirmation.

12. Can I request documentation for visa purposes and support funding?
The organising committee will not be responsible for arranging visas nor support funds, however, it may assist in obtaining the necessary documentation for your trip, through the preparation and submission of letters of acceptance and/or certificates. For issues related to these matters, please contact us: alicesummerschool@ces.uc.pt

13. Do I need insurance?
Each participant must have a personal insurance coverage, including medical assistance in the case of emergency. We recommend that you also purchase a travel insurance. Please make sure you bring your insurance policy papers with you.

14. How can I access information about the cultural programme of the summer school?
Detailed information on the social programme will be available in the Summer School programme. The social programme includes film screenings, gastronomical and musical experiences, workshops and others. 

CONTACT
alicesummerschool@ces.uc.pt 

SUMMER SCHOOL "LEARNING FROM THE SOUTH: TOWARDS INTERCULTURAL TRANSLATIONS"

CURIA, PORTUGAL, JUNE 30TH – JULY 8TH, 2014

This international summer school is part of a larger political and intellectual initiative, the ALICE project. At its outset, ALICE seeks to re-think and renovate socio-scientific knowledge in light of the epistemologies of the South, proposed by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The objective is to develop new theoretical and political paradigms of social transformation. This summer course is composed of several seminars, all of them conducted in English.

Haunting Europe, and the Global North as a whole, there is a sentiment of intellectual and political exhaustion which translates as incapacity to confront innovatively the various challenges of justice that interpellate the world in the first decades of the twenty-first century: social, environmental, inter-generational, cultural, historical and cognitive justice. In contrast, the Global South, in its immense diversity, presents itself today as a wide field of economic, social, cultural, and political innovation.

ALICE is grounded on a wager that social, political and institutional change may largely benefit from the innovations occurring in the Global South. A demanding wager, to be sure, for it presupposes availability for mutual recognition, intercultural understanding, political and ideological convergence, respect for identity, and celebration of diversity.

Please watch Boaventura's invitation:

THIS SUMMER SCHOOL, LIVING UP TO THE MOTTO “LEARNING FROM THE SOUTH AND WITH THE SOUTH”, SEEKS TO PROVIDE CLUES ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF SOCIAL POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATION FROM INNOVATIONS TAKING PLACE IN VARIOUS CONTEXTS OF THE GLOBAL SOUTH.

The seminars, to be coordinated by world-known scholars, cover several topics, such as:

• the democratic diversity of the world;

• social struggles in the Global South around the democratization and colonial and post-colonial liberation;

• movements for the refoundation of the State and bottom-up re-writing of constitutions;

• alternatives to capitalist infinite accumulation and environmental degradation;

• human rights from the perspective of  intercultural dialogues and other grammars of human dignity;

• transnational legal mobilization as a strategy to promote (women’s; indigenous’; peasants’, etc.) policies and rights;

• struggles for alternatives to development, among others.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This course is offered through the Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra,  Portugal.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Among affiliated faculty are internationally recognized scholars:

Boaventura de Sousa Santos; Valentin Mudimbe; Cecilia M. Santos; José Manuel Mendes; César Rodríguez-Garavito; Maria Paula Meneses; Cristiana Bastos: Oscar Guardiola-Rivera; Albie Sachs; Sharit Bhowmik.

(see HERE detailed faculty info)

The aim is to provide students with a calm and reflective environment, enabling them to enjoy lively discussions with fellow students and faculty.

Contact
alicesummerschool@ces.uc.pt