Summer School Mainz 2026

August 17 to 21, 2026

Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie in Mainz

Join us for the first summer school of the Leibniz ScienceCampus “Resiliencies: Comparing and Integrating Methodologies, Methods, Narratives, and Theories – Mainz/Trier (RECOMENT)”, devoted to the topic of resilient humanscapes. Aimed at postgraduate students, doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral researchers, the summer school invites participants to explore how resiliencies emerge, are negotiated, and become observable in the entanglements of human societies with their cultural, environmental, and historical contexts. Drawing on the interdisciplinary expertise of the Leibniz ScienceCampus in resilience studies, the concept of the humanscape – which underscores the mutual shaping of humans and their surrounding spaces – will serve as the lens through which participants gain insight into, and have the opportunity to contribute to the current interdisciplinary debates on resiliencies. Through this lens, participants will broaden their perspectives on how resilience narratives evolve across time and space. They will also acquire practical tools to analyse these dynamics from multiple methodological and theoretical perspectives. 

The programme is organised around thematic clusters – communities and societies, spaces of the Anthropocene, urban resiliencies, and landscapes of conflict and violence. These clusters complement and enrich approaches to resilience studies in archaeology, geography, and history by expanding their analytical potential through interdisciplinary engagement with the other fields within the ScienceCampus. This engagement will also extend beyond the Campus to the behavioural sciences, environmental studies, and the sociologies of space. The programme will involve a combination of lectures, discussion sessions, workshops, and excursions. A central element of the programme will be an introduction to the method of Deep Mapping, combined with practical training in its use as a participatory tool for mapping resilience narratives, during which participants will develop their own mapping. In Work-in-Progress and discussion sessions, participants will have the opportunity to share their own ideas and written work with the group and receive supportive feedback. 

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The summer school is open to postgraduate students, doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral researchers in the humanities, cultural, and social sciences with a research focus related to resilience. Participants must be associated with an academic institution (university, non-university research institution). The lectures and discussions will be held in English.

Interested candidates apply for a fully funded partipication slot. Accommodation, attendance of all lectures and workshops, coffee breaks, the excursions, and the evening lecture followed by a reception will be covered. Accommodation will be provided for participants from outside Mainz. Travel costs are excluded from funding. 

Applicants are asked to submit a single document (no more than two pages) that includes:

• a cover letter, including a statement of motivation outlining your proposed thematic contribution to the summer school, and what you hope to learn;

• a short CV.

Kindly send your application to SummerSchool2026(at)lwc-recoment.de.

DEADLINE EXTENDED! The new application deadline is June 5th, 2026.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process in mid-June 2026. Upon notification of acceptance into the programme, a binding confirmation of participation will be requested.