Archive:
9^th Weimar Summer Courses

European cultural heritage – the basis
and product of intercultural dialogue

22^nd June - 5^th July 2008

Goethes house

Achive:

• program 2008
• free time and leisure program 2008

The Weimar Summer Courses – two creative weeks in the centre of European culture! Weimar and Jena are not only known for the “Classics” Goethe and Schiller, but also for the early romanticists Tieck and Novalis, the philosophers Schelling, Hegel und Nietzsche and musicians Johann Sebastian Bach and Franz Liszt. The founding of the Bauhaus in 1919 in Weimar heralded a worldwide revolution in architecture and design. The failure of the “Weimar Republic” and later the concentration camp Buchenwald finally also refer to the darker periods in German history.

For this reason, the Weimar Summer Courses intend to stimulate active exposure to cultural heritage: What can poets, philosophers and artists say today? Which directions and thought-provoking impulses can be derived for contemporary challenges? The Summer Courses also offer an intimate insight into the world of well-known heritage sites, from the National Goethe Museum and Nietzsche-Archives to the Bauhaus Workshops. They also give you the opportunity to experience the vibrant cultural life in Weimar.

Participants can choose between two parallel courses. A common thread running through all the summer courses in 2008 is the intercultural dimension of European heritage. The diversity of regional cultures, the product of intensive communication among artists, intellectuals and decision makers from Antiquity to the present day, is one of the main characteristics of Europe. The European year of intercultural dialogue provides an opportunity for us to investigate the interdependencies of European cultures. Furthermore, we also will focus on problematic aspects such as the abuse of “national” heritage, evident too in the history of Weimar and the misuse of Classicism by the Nazis.

Whether it serves as a basis or is the product, as inspiration or is a hurdle, European cultural heritage is a key element of intercultural dialogue today and in the future. The three courses, aimed at young intellectuals from throughout Europe and beyond, offer different approaches to examining these fundamental issues: through art, through politics and media.

The total fee is 750 € (250 € course fee, 280 € for accommodation, 220 € for board). For students and participants who do not earn any income of their own, the course fee may be waived if appropriate proof is provided (the participant’s contribution is then 500 Euro). In the case of particular financial hardship a limited number of full scholarships are available providing full support for the total fee (the participant need not contribute). The closing date for applications is 30th April 2008 (for further information see Organisation).

Additionally, we offer similar courses in German from 16th to 30th August (see German version of this website).