Summer 2021
Spend your summer with Collegium Civitas in Warsaw, Poland, looking at global issues from unique perspectives. A unique line-up of courses and research internships brings together experts and ambitious students for a 3-10 week dynamic learning experience. This summer school is designed to be both a resume booster and an introduction to a country that is less familiar, but leading the growth of Central Europe.
2021 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, Online).
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 consider case studies from the past as well as current developments and topics will include intelligence, hybrid war, 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. We will also discuss the implications of the COVID-19 outbreak for international security. 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 Threats
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. In this context we will also take a closer look at cybersecurity issues. 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)
This course can be combined with the research internship at the Terrorism Research Center (TRC).
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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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Roads to Democracy
This course offers an overview of the history of the transition from communism to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe with the view to the current geopolitical situation of Central Europe and beyond. 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. We will discuss the lessons learned from the history and look for reasons why some of the countries which already were fully fledged democracies are taking a step back. We will examine the current situation (e.g. Belarus) and develop road maps for countries that still are on the road the democracy. 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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Understanding Identity
The course provides the intellectual framework for understanding the numerous, complex, and often emotional issues related to identity. We will look to the past to find the root of these issues, starting with the history of colonialism, pondering its consequences and the role of post-colonial thinking (and acting) in today’s world. We will discuss questions of identity in sociological context and the evolution of identity studies and the differences in European and American approach. In addition, we will examine identity from the cultural, biological and psychological perspectives.
We will take a closer look at the 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. We will learn about the triumphs and tragedies of Poland’s Jews. We will also discuss contemporary questions of Jewish identity (important to various social processes in Europe). The course will also examine the influence of the Polish Jews on American culture and their contribution in forming the Israeli identity.
We will also discuss what challenges to democracy and human rights are related to identity – how authoritarian regimes and populists around the globe build on the concepts of identity to legitimize their actions. This course will touch upon the most current phenomena and events around the world, providing for much discussion and debate! 6 ECTS (3 US semester credits)
The Future in Science Fiction (Online)
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)
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)