Network STICS - "Social Trauma in Changing Societies" since 2019
The research network „Social Trauma in Changing Societies (STICS)“ brings together students and teachers from Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey. It is based on the achievements and resources of an intensive long-standing cooperation within the DAAD networks „Trauma – Trust – Memory (TTM)“ and „Migration – Trauma in Transition (MTT)“. The network aims at strengthening the trans-regional academic cooperation on the topic of „Social Trauma“. A particular emphasis is placed on the influence of social trauma and the development of societies in the participating countries.
Grant Period: 01.01.2019 – 31.12.2020, with annual renewal option
Project spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Vladimir Hedrih (01.01.2020-31.12.2020)
Project spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Andreas Hamburger (until 31.12.2019 and from 1.1.2021)
Project description
The research network „Social Trauma in Changing Societies (STICS)“ brings together students and teachers from Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey. It is based on the achievements and resources of an intensive long-standing cooperation within the DAAD networks „Trauma – Trust – Memory (TTM)“ and „Migration – Trauma in Transition (MTT)“. The network aims at strengthening the trans-regional academic cooperation on the topic of „Social Trauma“. A particular emphasis is placed on the influence of social trauma and the development of societies in the participating countries.
The central goal of the STICS project is the interdisciplinary analysis of the complex socio-traumatic problems and psychosocial conditions in the participating countries. An aim is to raise awareness of this complex of issues within future generations of psychologists, sociologists, social works and political scientists, and to invite them to critically reflect on their own perspective and to contextualize this historically. This is based on the assumption that, on the one hand, socio-political progress is systematically hindered by historically developed problem areas such as apathy, hate speech, exclusion of minorities, emergence of nationalists and anti-democratic movements, or the maintenance of corrupt structures; and, on the other hand, that new challenges such as growing migration movements closely linked to the social trauma of the respective countries, cannot be overcome without an awareness of one’s own socio-traumatic history and an analysis of it.
In this regard, the STICS project aims to contribute to an open and constructive dialogue between students, scientists and experts from the participating countries in order to contribute to a better mutual understanding of each other’s socio-traumatic history.
Project team IPU Berlin
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hamburger (Node Leader)
andreas.hamburger(at)ipu-berlin.de
Prof. Dr. Annette Streeck-Fischer
annette.streeck-fischer(at)ipu-berlin.de
Carmen Scher M.A. (Project coordinator)
carmen.scher(at)ipu-berlin.de
Julian Irlenkäuser M.A. (Project administrator)
julian.irlenkaeuser(at)ipu-berlin.de
Partner universities
Bosnia and Herzegovina
University of Banja Luka
Dr. Slavica Tutnjević
Faculty of Philosophy
slavica.tutnjevic(at)unibl.rs
University of Sarajevo
Prof. Dr. Dženana Husremović
Department of Psychology
dzenana.husremovic(at)ff.unsa.ba
University of Sarajevo
Prof. Dr. Maida Koso-Drljević
Department of Psychology
maida.koso(at)ff.unsa.ba
University of Tuzla
Dr. sc. Damir Arsenijević
Faculty of Philosophy
arsenijevicd(at)gmail.com
Bulgaria
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohrid
Chief Asst. Prof. Camellia Hancheva
Department of General, Experimental and Genetic Psychology
hancheva(at)yahoo.com
New Bulgarian University
Prof. Dr. Nikola Atanassov
Department of Cognitive and Social Psychology
n.atanassov(at)gmx.ne
Serbia
University of Belgrade
Department of Psychology
Assis. Prof. Biljana Stanković
biljana.stankovic(at)f.bg.ac.rs
University of Niš
Prof. Dr. Vladimir Hedrih
Department of Psychology
vhedrih(at)hm.co.rs
Turkey
Başkent University
Prof. Dr. Gamze Özçürümez
School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
gamzeozcurumez(at)hotmail.com
Bilkent University
Prof. Saime Özçürümez
Political Sciences
saime(at)bilkent.edu.tr
Summer School 2022: "Screening the Scars – The (In-)Visibility of Social Trauma"
18-24 September 2022, IPU Berlin
In the last decade, the term trauma has gained a surprising, sometimes almost inflationary, presence in sociological and media debates. In a mediatized culture of outrage, generalized narratives of victimization often overshadow concrete, known social injuries and their observable real economic and psychological consequences.
The Summer School 2022 aimed to compare media discourses with concrete historical backgrounds and psychosocial constitutions of the countries involved. Using feature film as a paradigm, we showed how different problems concerning social trauma are negotiated in different societies and which designs cinema provides to narrativize them. The embedded course "Social Trauma" for master students, accredited at most participating universities, accompanied plenary lectures and panels with internationally renowned top scientists and movie directors.
STICS 2022 deepened the successful networking of universities partly from former hostile countries as well as from post-dictatorial societies in the Balkans and Turkey among each other and with the IPU Berlin.
In 2022, Screening the Scars, the STICS network’s 11th summer school on Social Trauma, aimed to
- teach students specific knowledge on social trauma and its social and mental health consequences
- help students develop research skills in the area of Social Trauma in direct contact with researchers and practitioners
- provide experience in cross-cultural research and teaching
Please find further information regarding the program below:
STICS Summer School 2021: Outbreak! (in Niš & online)
June 20 to 27, 2021
In 2021, due to the ongoing pandemic situation, the 10th summer school on Social Trauma was carried out in a hybrid format – blending online teaching for a broader audience with a smaller group of students physically present in Sarajevo. It aimed to:
• teach students specific knowledge on social trauma and its social and mental health consequences
• help students develop research skills in the area of Social Trauma in direct contact with researchers
and practitioners
• provide experience in cross-cultural research and teaching
The Sarajevo meeting embraced 4 students per participating country, who served as ambassadors for their online-participating fellow students from their respective home universities. They discussed and elaborated on country-specific issues and questions and communicate the outcome of these “ambassador sessions” back to the plenary.
Classes covered an interdisciplinary approach on Social Trauma, from Memory Studies, Developmental, Clinical and Social Psychology, Research Methodology and Ethics to Cultural Theory. All seminars took place on site, while most keynote lectures were held online. In addition, reflection groups and an intercultural excursion were part of the program.
Keynote lectures:
- "Outbreaks", Damir Arsenijevic
- "Can we repair the past", Aleida Assmann
- "Deepening inequalities: Why do social determinants of health matter more than ever?", Ozge Karadag
- "Solidarity is more contagious than Covid-19", Mansur Yavas
- "Investigative Journalism in Times of Outbreak", Leila Bičakčić
- "Global Politics", Ivan Krastev
Please find the whole program of the Summer School here.
Due to the pandemic situation, the school that was originally planned to take place in Sarajevo, had to be changed to a hybrid format as a series of video conferences combined with on-site meetings of the national groups in the countries where this was possible. The German group meeting took place at the conference hotel “Burg Warberg”, a medieval castle surrounded by a beautiful landscape.
Participants in 2020 were professors, researchers, experts, practitioners and advanced master and doctoral students from Germany, Bulgaria, Turkey, BiH and Serbia. The course content was conveyed through various teaching formats which included keynote lectures, seminars, film screening and analysis, student presentations, student reflection groups.
Keynote Lectures were:
“Migration within. Self-Estrangement and Global Mobility” Andreas Hamburger (IPU Berlin, Germany)
“How societies are changing: The impact of contemporary sociopolitical dynamics” Damir Kapidžić (University of Sarajevo, BiH)
“When outsiders try to get in, we must stand united! Challenges of democratic societies in time of migration” Vladimir Mihić (University of Novi Sad, Serbia)
“Trauma recognition within the attachment theory” Milica Tošić Radev (University of Niš, Serbia)
“Living in and through traumatic landscapes – social trauma, collective memory, and identity politics intertwined” Phil Langer (IPU Berlin, Germany)
“Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Turkey: A Future Projection For Untreated Trauma” Okan Cem Çırakoğlu (Başkent University, Turkey)
Besides the keynote lectures, the internationally accredited masters study course “Social Trauma” was offered. The main goals of the program - to teach an interdisciplinary perspective on social trauma and to enhance cross-cultural research and cooperation - were successfully achieved during these six days. The individual evaluations of all countries were very positive.
Please find the entire program of the Summer School 2020 here.
At the beautiful site right next to the river Spree and close to the Bellevue castle, professors, researchers, experts, practitioners and advanced master and doctoral students coming from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Zambia met to discuss Social Trauma.
The program comprised six keynote lectures and six seminars. It furthermore consisted of two public panels, a fishbowl session and a film screening and analysis. The public panels at the beginning and at the end of the summer school were part of the conferences, “Understanding Social Trauma” and “Exploring Social Trauma”. On a guided tour through Berlin and to the Holocaust Memorial, the topic of social trauma was discussed with regard to the history of the city and the public space.
During the school, students had the opportunity to mirror their own (scientific) experiences related to the topic in small reflection groups. They established direct contact with researchers and practitioners and received professional research supervision. In this way, they improved their research activities and took benefit from the interdisciplinary and trans-regional peer exchange.
The summer school 2019 enhanced cross-cultural research and professional cooperation. It's main goal - to teach an interdisciplinary perspective on social trauma and its clinical and societal consequences in the frame of an interdisciplinary and trans-regional learning experience – was successfully achieved.
Keynote lectures were:
“Social Trauma – a Bridging Concept” Andreas Hamburger (International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin)
“Complex Traumatization” Annette Streeck-Fischer (International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin)
“Psychic Trauma in its Endogenous and Exogenous Dimensions” Igor M. Kadyrov (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moskau, Russland)
“Trauma – a Religion Informed Concept” Christina von Braun (Zentrum für Jüdische Studien der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
“Research Methodology with Survivors of Social Trauma” Shahla Eltayeb (Ahfad University for Women, Omdurman, Sudan)
“Ethics in Social Trauma Research” Nikola Petrović (University of Belgrade, Serbien)
“Public Policy and Social Trauma” Saime Özçürümez (Bilkent University, Türkei)
Please find the whole program of the Summer School here.
