Intensive course for civil society activists from India, Indonesia and Uganda. Application is closed.
The weblog of the participants will soon be available on this website. A video-logbook (in Dutch) of one of the participants can be followed at the website of Holland Doc, a joint initiative of several Dutch television channels including the Humanist broadcast.
The course, taught at master level, will be hosted by the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies in Yogyakarta in Indonesia. It involves a 4 week full time program of lectures, excursions, seminars, literature study, discussion, guided individual and small group work and assignments.
The summer school programme focuses on:
• Critical analysis of the key concepts of human development theories and their normative and empowering impact, especially the capability-approach
• Critical analysis of human rights, its basic values and justifications, humanist underpinning and a reflection on the claims of the universality of human rights versus Human rights as a Western invention in an era of globalisation
• Critical analysis of key issues in social theory and cultural studies with regard to civil society building and democratic empowerment
• Exploration of concrete civil society practices from the perspective of human – and sustainable development
• Theories and practices of pluralism, particularly ideas on ‘civic pluralism’
• Reflection on methods and strategies which are helpful in developing capabilities, as in educational practices of self-awareness, dialogue, personal and social empowerment; Human Rights education and civil society based community action programmes
• Philosophical and ethical discussions on the basic values of cosmopolitan ethics, e.g. theories of global civil society building and democratic participation, sustainable development and global social justice.