The most important points in brief
When: 07. till 16. September 2025
Where: Landhaus Rothenberge & University of Münster
Places available for students: 10 (German & Ukrainian each)
Apply by 15 May 2025 to slavistik@uni-muenster.de
Languages: German, English & Ukrainian
Summer school: Cultures of remembrance on the example of Bukovina
German-Ukrainian interdisciplinary DAAD summer school in cooperation with the partner universities of Münster and Chernivtsi
University of Münster and Landhaus Rothenberge, 7–16 September 2025
Bukovina is a historical region characterised by a multicultural and multireligious life, marked in part by peaceful coexistence, but also by confrontation, which sometimes escalated into extreme violence. Northern Bukovina, which belongs to Ukraine as part of the Chernivtsi Oblast, remains a heterogeneous region with several minorities, the largest of which is Romanian. Under the umbrella theme of ‘cultures of remembrance,’ the summer school examined how these forms of coexistence are dealt with in history and the present from the perspective of various participating disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. The programme also took into account current developments, reactions to and consequences of Russia's war of aggression, as reflected in Chernivtsi, the capital of Ukrainian Bukovina, for example in the cityscape, in the removal and re-erection of monuments, and in the changed population structure resulting from the influx of many internally displaced persons.
The summer school is being run in cooperation between subject representatives from the Universities of Münster and Chernivtsi, which have been linked by a university partnership since 2023, supplemented in some cases by renowned academics from other universities. There are 10 places available for students from the University of Chernivtsi and the University of Münster each. After a kick-off event (Sunday, 7 September, in the evening) in Münster, the first 5 days (8-12 September) will take place at the ‘Landhaus Rothenberge’ seminar house (transfer, accommodation and meals included). Further points on the programme will then take place in Münster: on Saturday, 13 September, a guided tour and discussion on memorial and remembrance work at the Villa ten Hompel historical site, as well as a city tour of places relevant to the politics of memory in the city; on Monday, 15 September, a university workshop comparing places of remembrance in Chernivtsi and Münster; finally, on Tuesday, after a formal reception in the Friedenssaal (Peace Hall) of the town hall, a final presentation in the Studiobühne theatre at the University of Münster, combined with the opening of the travelling exhibition ‘Space, Time, People. Diversity and Change in the Cityscape of Chernivtsi’.
Materials for preparation were posted on a shared online platform (Sciebo) for each topic area. German-Ukrainian tandems were formed in advance to prepare keynote speeches and take charge of documentation. The results of the summer school were presented at the closing evening and will also be made available to a wider audience in a suitable form (website and/or podcast).
The summer school was held primarily in German and partly in English. The programme can be found here. The summer school was funded by the DAAD with funds from the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and is part of Ukrainian Studies in Münster (USiM).
The exhibition ‘Space, Time, People. Diversity and Change in the Cityscape of Chernivtsi’ is a project of the NGO ‘Ukrainian-German Cultural Society Chernivtsi’ at the Gedankendach Centre in cooperation with the Verein Begegnung in Falkensee e.V. The project was made possible by the support of the RAZOM/RHIZOM programme as part of the ‘Cooperation with Civil Society’ initiative organised by the Federal Foreign Office. The programme was coordinated in 2024 by the Ukrainian Institute in Germany and the Artsvit Gallery.