2020 Courses
The Security and Society Summer School is hosted by Collegium Civitas, in the very center of Warsaw. It is structured as multiple 3-week block sessions. Participants should select two courses with at least two backups to accommodate scheduling, which is partially pre-determined and partially based on participant course selections, and limitations in class size. The courses below are marked with the currently planned session (I, II, III).
Central Europe and Security Issues
This course offers a broad overview of the challenges faced by the countries of Central Europe, NATO, and the European Union. Conflicts with Russia will be discussed while examining the complex historical roots of these conflicts. We will discuss intelligence, hybrid war, cybersecurity, resource security, and the role that traditional and new media are playing in state security. We will debate what states need to do to bolster cybersecurity within their borders. 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)
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Course Topics:
- From Barbarossa to NATO – The Historical Role of Defense and Security in Central Europe
- Security in Central Europe: Who Calls the Shots?
- The EU and Central Europe: Past, Present and Future
- Regional Security Policies
- Security in Times of Asymmetric Threats
- Modern Terrorism – Strategies and Tools
- Information Conflict in the 21st Century
- War in the 21st Century
- The Issue of Migration
- Economic Security in the Region
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Terrorism and Hybrid Warfare
This course offers an overview of wide range of issues related to international terrorism and the challenges posed by the hybrid warfare. We will look at tools and methods of combating those phenomena, as well as on their impact on the functioning of the state and its citizens, both in the public and private sectors. We will discuss the evolution of modern terrorism, psychology of terrorism, risk assessment and analysis as well as issues related to mass media. This course is particularly recommended for participants with background in security studies and/or military (though other interested students are welcome to join as well). 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)
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Course Topics:
- Security paradigm shift(s)
- Hybrid conflicts and asymmetrical threats: definitions
- Actors of the asymmetric conflict
- War in an era of asymmetric conflicts
- Information warfare and conflict in cyberspace
- Big data and hidden influence campaigns
- Terrorism, guerilla, urban guerilla
- Terrorism risk assessment and risk analysis
- Mainstream media, new media, and terrorism
- Psychology of terrorism
- Terrorism prevention: education and social campaigns
- Network structures in a confrontation with asymmetric threats
- Counteracting asymmetric threats
- Intelligence services, law enforcement and military in terrorism combating
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CEE: The Road to Democracy
This course offers an overview of the history of the transition from communism to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. We will study the history and development of the Polish Solidarity (SOLIDARNOŚĆ) movement that paved the way for the “Round Table” negotiations and the first partly free election of June 4, 1989 in Poland. We will take a look at the Czech Velvet Revolution and compare it to the violent revolution in Romania. We will explore the developments leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the German reunification of 1990. Together with experts, historians and witnesses to history we will discuss the collapse of the Soviet Union – political, economic and social factors. 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)
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Course Topics:
History
- WWII and its consequences
- Brief history of Poland after 1945
- Radio Free Europe and its role in Cold War era
- Solidarity, including meetings with Solidarity members
- Fall of the Berlin Wall and the German reunification of 1990
Security
- “Proletarians of all countries, unite!” The world under the Cold War
- Warsaw Pact versus NATO
- Czech Velvet Revolution versus Romanian Revolution
- Terrorism and security issues in Europe divided by the Iron Curtain
- The fall of the Soviet Union
- Sharing the experience in transformation
Culture and Society
- Daily life under communism
- The protests of 1968
- Shock therapy. The economic transformation
- Music against communism
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Genocide: From Radicalization to the Unthinkable
The course provides participants with the intellectual framework for understanding the numerous, complex and often emotional issues related to genocide. An examination of several historical and current major cases of genocide provides the foundation for comparative analysis, along with the exploration of selected broad themes. This course combines both and academic and empirical approach to the phenomenon of genocide including practical policy making in the fields of radicalization and security policy in Poland and at the EU and UN level. 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)
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Course Topics:
Genocide in World Wartime
- Genocide: In different theoretical and methodological approaches
- Scenarios and Models of Genocide
- The Holocaust
- The Role of State and its Institutions, Societal Conflicts and Subjectivity
- Ethnic Cleansing. The War in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–95)
- Reaction to Genocide. Case of Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and the Jewish Revolt in Treblinka
- “Wolyn” movie of Wojciech Smarzowski screening followed by discussion
Genocide in Global Peacetime (but full of frozen or local wars)
- The Role of Violence in Current Social Movements
- Rwanda Genocide of 1994. Study of Reaction of the International community to the Genocide
- Darfur. The “Silent” Genocide
- Genocide Against the Rohingya in Myanmar
- Methods and Strategies to Help Prevent Genocide
- The Role of Local Communities in Preventing Genocides
- Genocide Denial. The Case of Turkish Denial of the Armenian Genocide
From the Radicalization Process to Genocide
- Why and How do Youth Become Radicalized?
- From Radicalization to Terrorism and Genocide
- The Interplay Between Current New Populism Wave and Radicalization in Today’s World
- Social Movement Approach in the Analysis of Radicalization
- Understanding Radicalization through Dialogue with the Youth. Presentation of the European Commission Dialogue About Radicalization and Equality (DARE) research program and discussion
- The Role of New Media in Radicalization and Counter-Radicalization
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Jewish Heritage
Poland once housed a majority of the world’s Jews and today, 70 percent of the world’s Jews can trace their ancestry back to Poland. This course will examine the triumphs and tragedies of Poland’s Jews and acquaint you with the burgeoning revival of Jewish culture now taking place in democratic Poland. It will also examine the influence of the Polish Jews on American culture and their contribution in forming the Israeli identity. The course will be co-directed by Dr. Maciej Kozlowski, the former Polish ambassador to Israel and Dr. Jolanta Zyndul, Senior Historian at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)
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Course Topics:
- Introduction to the History of Poland
- Jews in Pre-Modern Poland
- Ideological Background of the Holocaust
- Between Tradition and Modernity
- The Beginning of the Holocaust
- The Rise of Anti-Semitism and Jewish Reactions
- The Final Solution
- Second Polish Republic
- The Fate of Jews in the Nazi Occupied Lands
- Polish-Jewish Relations 1945-1950
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The Future in Science Fiction
Explore the thin line between reality and fiction in literature, film, and gaming. We will look at science fiction from the perspectives of sociology, security, and political science. We will consider science fiction as a predictor – and ponder upon futurology and foresight. Alongside a series of discussions and workshops, we will be working on essays for publication in a course anthology and exploring the new field of prototype/design fiction and micro science fiction prototyping (µSFP). 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)
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Course Topics:
- Bladerunner: AI and the Robot Revolution
- Star Trek: Interstellar Travel
- Elysium: Healthcare
- Metropolis: Cities of the Future
- Minority Report: Security
- The Time Machine: Time Travels
- Universal Soldier: Future Wars
- Brave New World: Utopia or Dystopia
- Black Mirror: The Future of Social Media
- Avatar: The Challenges of Sustainable Development
- What did Stanisław Lem predict about the future?
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Research Internship: Terrorism Research Center
Founded in 2006, the Terrorism Research Center is a research unit within Collegium Civitas and is one of the leading think-tanks in Poland. The main fields of activity include scientific research, analytical undertakings as well as education and raising awareness about security issues in society. Center research focuses on the wide range of issues of international terrorism and its combating, as well as on the impact of those phenomena on the functioning of the state and its citizens, both in the public and private sectors. The Center’s interests include, but are not limited to: defining terrorist threats, evolution of modern terrorism, psychology of terrorism, tools to fight terrorism, risk assessment and analysis, issues related to mass media. While working on your own supervised research project, you will conduct research and analysis, interview experts, attend events and meetings organized by TRC, and contribute, along with other interns and experts, a research paper for publication. 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)