The International Postgraduate Summer School, “Culture, Migration, Borders” held for the ninth year in Plomari, Lesvos from 5^th to 14^th July 2022, was a great success. The Summer School is held by the Department of Social Anthropology and History, University of the Aegean within the broader framework of the Observatory of the Refugee and Migration Crisis in the Aegean.

The seminar activities of the Summer School were hosted at the Cultural Centre of Plomari, ‘Benjamin of Lesvos’ which was kindly provided to the University of Aegean by the administrative council of the centre and its chairman, Mr. Theologos Paterellis.  An important contribution to the optimal execution of the summer school was also played by the Plomari Municipal Council.

The Summer School used the position of Lesvos, which constitutes an important gateway for migrants and refugees to Greece and Europe to attempt a critical reflection on the ways in which migration affects and is shaped by the border reconstruction processes.

The programme of the Summer School included discussions on the theoretical, political and ethical dimensions of the abrupt and violent transformations produced by the refugee crisis at local, national and supranational levels. In particular, it included seminars on mobile populations, border crossings and related intercultural meetings, asylum status and institutional dimensions of the migration treaty as well as on humanitarian governance and policy measures.

As part of the project, an educational excursion to the city of Mytilini took place, where participants had the opportunity to speak with NGO researchers, staff and volunteers specializing in legal and psycho-social support for refugees, migrants and displaced populations.

The International Summer School was conducted in English and attended by a total of 28 students: 10 PhD candidates, 8 postgraduate students, 3 undergraduate students, 7 researchers and employees in NGOs and other organizations, with relevant experience and particular interest in the field of borders and migration. They represented university institutions and organizations from 15 different countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, the United States, Spain, Italy, Great Britain, Mexico, South Africa, Norway, the Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Scotland and the Czech Republic). The scientific coordinator of the program is Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at the University of the Aegean, Evthymios Papataxiarchis.

The following taught at the Summer School:

Heath Cabot, Associate Professor for Social Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh

Jane Cowan, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Sussex

Paolo Cuttita, Geographer and sociologist, Researcher at the Sorbonne University (Paris)

Sarah Green, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Helsinki

Michael Herzfeld, Professor of Social Anthropology at Harvard University

Seth Holmes, Associate Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of California Berkeley

Laurie Kain Hart, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of California Berkeley

Barak Kalir, Associate Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam

Flip Lindo, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam

Evthymios Papataxiarchis, Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at the University of the Aegean

Effie Plexoussaki, Assistant Professor (tenured) of Social Anthropology at the University of the Aegean

Katerina Rozaku, Assistant Professor of Social Anthropology at Panteion University of Social & Political Sciences

Patricia Scalco, Lawyer and social anthropologist, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki

Further information on the Summer School can be found at:

https://summer-schools.aegean.gr/MigBord2022

Department of Social Anthropology and History