Konitsa International Summer School in Anthropology, Ethnography, and Comparative Folklore of the Balkans

Core features of the practice

• Organisation:

  
  Institution name: BORDER CROSSINGS NETWORK
  Institution type: Network of educational institutions
  Institution URL: https://border-crossings.eu/
  

• Format:

  
  Seminar, Training, Instructional material
  

• Target population:

  
  Students, Educators in non-formal settings, Civil society and non-profit leaders
  

• Cost (per practice):

  
  Free
  

• Setting:

  
  Other extra-mural site
  

• Themes:

  
  Remembrance education and/or history education, Critical thinking, Teaching and learning methods/guidelines
  

• Core activities:

  
  Group work, Group discussion, Lecture
  

Additional information about the practice

Target population

• Number of participants:

  
  Up to 99
  

• Age of target population:

  
  19-25
  

• Additional specifics:

  
  Other:, STUDENTS
  

Components of the practice

• Topics and objectives:

  
  The Konitsa Summer School offers a full academic programme with an emphasis on theoretical, epistemological and methodological issues in Sociocultural Anthropology. Through the Ethnographic Research in Border Areas, it explores the borders, border crossings and boundary construction processes in SE Europe. Moreover, the School’s programme includes courses discussing the current political and economic conditions in SE Europe. The relationship between data gathering and data analysis and the writing of ethnography are discussed as intellectual, methodological and epistemological tools for the conduct of the fieldwork practice. A special ethnographic focus on environmental history and cultural ecology which explores issues related to the border area complements a rich and advanced curriculum. The participants have a chance to conduct short fieldwork projects in three Balkan countries, participate in the BCN’s publication series, actively engage in local issues, and become acquainted with the border area. Various lecturers join their forces to teach providing an international aura and enhancing the School’s interdisciplinary character.
  

• Materials used:

  
  Written or other published material, Audiovisual material, Online material
  Link to the material:
  
  1. https://www.border-crossings.eu/publications
     

• Material produced:

  
  Written material, Instructional material, Audiovisual material
  

• Sequence of activities - methodology:

  
  Not applicable
  

• Length of activity:

  
  More than 15 hours
  

• Is the activity digital?:

  
  No
  

Accessibility and replicability

• Language(s) in which activity can be delivered:

  
  Albanian, Bulgarian, Croatian, English, German, Greek, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovenian, Turkish
  

• Is specialist knowledge or professional training required?:

  
  Yes
  

• If yes, which type?:

  
  Formal educational training and/or certification
  

Qualitative Details

• Has this practice been evaluated?

  
  Yes
  

How many times?:


5


• By whom?:

  
  Participants
  

• By what means?:

  
  Informal verbal feedback, Qualitative written feedback, Quantitative survey
  

• Core content knowledge and transferable skills:

  
  Critical thinking, understanding of the SE Europe culture and society
  

• Indicators of success:

  
  Cost efficiency, repeat demand, interactive pedagogical method, highly adaptable / scaelable, addresses new topic or target population.
  

• Educational coordinator contact details:

  
  Name: IOANNIS MANOS
  Email address: imanos@uom.edu.gr
  

Scalability

The RETHINK project is concerned with bridging formal and informal education. This section explores the factors that make a practice adaptable.

• Key factors for successful implementation:

  
  Subject expertise of presenter/instructor
  

• Main challenges to teachers adapting this practice for their students:

  
  Working with participants from a range of countries, who have been educated in ethno-centric ways, teachers may be confronted with biased ideas that will not take into consideration the different understandings, points of view and interpretations of those involved.
  

• Availability of guidance/training/replication materials (and in what language/format currently):

  
  Publications and notes are available from the website in English
  

• Other comments or details:

  
  No