Polarisation: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Societal Polarisation

About

Join us for the third edition of our highly successful joint summer school on polarisation, representing a newly established collaboration between the University of Groningen and Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

This edition will be held in Groningen and we will be joined by both staff and students from South Africa. During the summer school you get the opportunity to work together with researchers from both universities who work in (social) psychology, philosophy, journalism and media studies, sociology, critical linguistics, and other relevant disciplines. You will learn about and engage with current debates and emerging research insights which address and analyse our polarised times, and will work together in mixed groups (both in terms of discipline and country of study) on developing an intervention to mitigate against processes of polarisation in a specific context, brought in as a challenge by external societal partners.

The programme consists of a combination of preparatory self-study, an on-site programme in Groningen, and a final group project, the outcome of which will be submitted after the summer school. An important component of this school will be its interactive nature, with active discussion and critical reflection by participants, enabling valuable exchange across disciplines and geographical contexts.

Around the world, political and societal discourse is suffering from an increasingly polarised public sphere. Polarisation occurs when the ‘middle’ is lost, and society divides into largely separate and non-interacting groups, with no sense of common ground and loss of mutual understanding and cooperation. Polarisation dynamics play out within specific ‘issues’ (think of climate change, vaccination policies, social justice topics), as well as more generally in the public sphere, with distrust, lack of interaction, and distaste, anger or even loathing resulting between members of opposing ‘camps’.

The polarisation of the public sphere diminishes the space for constructive and collaborative processes, and in this way it undermines democracy, as well as our ability to collectively address the enormous challenges of our time, such as the climate crisis and societal inequality. There is thus an urgent need to understand the dynamics of polarisation and how they play out in our societies, so that we can work to counteract them.

Polarisation is a highly interdisciplinary topic and this summer school gives you the chance to address the topic from multiple perspectives, learning from researchers across disciplines and practitioners working at societal partners.

Participants will not only gain valuable insights into the multifaceted phenomenon of polarisation, but also become part of an international, transdisciplinary network of scholars working on this and related topics. The summer school will help participants develop key skills, including analysing polarisation through multiple lenses, critically evaluating interventions aimed at reducing polarisation, and recognizing how polarisation can take different forms across societal contexts in both the Global North and Global South — with a particular focus on the Netherlands and South Africa.

The summer school has been evaluated with an average rating of 8.8 over both years; see below for testimonials from previous participants.

Course leader

Marian Counihan, UCG, Alette Arendshorst, GMW, Namkje Koudenburg, FBSS

Target group

Who is this summer school for?
The summer school is offered to advanced bachelor and masters students at both the University of Groningen and Stellenbosch University, as well as external students and PhD students.

Required background knowledge
The course is designed for advanced bachelor / honours / master students with backgrounds in relevant disciplines from the social sciences or humanities including (social) psychology, philosophy, political science, sociology, linguistics, history, law etc.

It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.

Course aim

Upon completion of this summer school, students will gain the following.

Knowledge
Students will be able to:
- Articulate definitions of polarisation.
- Understand different indicators for polarisation, as described by different fields of research (e.g., affective polarisation, network homogeneity, etc).
- Describe the key factors and processes that contribute to societal polarisation.

Skills
Students will be able to:
- Analyse polarisation through different lenses (social psychological, philosophical, sociological, linguistic).
- Critically evaluate interventions aimed at reducing polarisation.
- Integrate different perspectives on polarisation, and apply them to a specific case.
- Develop practical advice to reduce polarisation in an applied context.
- Communicate this advice to policy partners in a report and/or presentation.

Values
Students will be able to:
- Be aware of the different forms polarisation may take in different societal contexts in the global North and global South (with a specific focus on the NL and SA).
- Understand, respect, and reflect on the diversity of perspective of students from different societal contexts and disciplines.
- Understand and reflect on the experiences of people living in a highly polarised context, and how this may alter their cognitions, emotions, and behavior.

Workload
Upon successful completion of the programme, the Summer School offers a Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload of 140 hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recognition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.

Fee info