DEMOCRACY, CITIZENS & NEW FORMS OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

18/10/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 1st virtual session ∕∕ Theory and history of representative democracy and civic engagement. An introduction ∕ Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. 25/10/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 2nd virtual session ∕∕ A subjectivistic turn? Meanings of Democracy and Participation ∕ University of Tübingen, Germany. 08/11/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 3rd virtual session ∕∕ Conceptualization and taxonomy of old and new forms of civic engagement ∕ Autónoma University of Madrid, Spain & University of Tübingen, Germany. 15/11/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 4th virtual session ∕∕ Digital citizen participation and the stakes for representative democracy ∕ National and Kapodistrian university of Athens, Greece. 22/11/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 5th virtual session ∕∕ Citizen participation in the EU ∕ Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain & Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. 29/11/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 6th virtual session ∕∕ Democratic channels for immigrant minorities ∕∕ Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. 06/12/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 7th virtual session ∕∕ Civic engagement & urban democracy ∕ University of Glasgow, Scotland. 13/12/2024, 15:00 – 17:00 CET 8th virtual session ∕∕ Virtual Program wrap- up and connection with the Physical Week Program ∕ Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Examine the historical transformations of representative politics from the viewpoint of citizen participation and provide you with the analytical tools to identify the new forms of civic engagement at both institutional and extra-institutional domains.

Application Deadline

Virtual Part starting date 2024-10-18

Virtual Part closing date 2024-12-13

Total student workload 90

Specific field of studies Political Science, Sociology, Constitutional Law, Urban Studies, Cultural Studies

Pre-requisite for selection CV Motivation Letter Level of English (According to CEFR)

Academic pre-requisites for applicants Bachelor and Master Students from all disciplines (prioritizing social sciences, law and humanities) with the following profile: - regularly enrolled at one CIVIS university - good English skills (B2) - interest in the topic attested through these aspects (each one counts one point): (a) personal engagement in civil society organizations, (d) own research (including Bachelor or Master thesis), (e) future academic / professional perspectives. - convincing motivation letter (max. 1 page – around 500 words)

Physical Part starting date 2025-01-27

Physical Part Description The physical mobility session will take place between 27-31 January 2025. This program will be delivered through a mix of seminars, deliberative workshops, roundtables, and guided visits to Madrid with a range of activities over the five days. The focus will be first on the new forms of civic engagement at the local, national, and European level, then on the coexistence of those forms with representative politics. This will result in a critical understanding of the taxonomy of old and new forms of civic engagement as well as an in-depth knowledge of study cases. Activities in Madrid include the following visits: - Visit to the Spanish Parliament (Congreso de los Diputados) where students will be able to learn about the political experience of MPs. This provides them direct knowledge of representative democracy. - Visit to a neighborhood popular assembly (self-managed social centre) where student will talk to local activists. This provides them with an in-depth understanding of non-institutional collective civic engagement. - Visit to different places in Madrid to identify expressions and situations of street politics as well as a gathering with activists of immigrants’ associations. There will be two roundtables for presenting and discussing different forms of civic engagement from the most individualized and artistic expressions to the most institutionalized through channels of either representative or direct democracy. Among participants there will be representatives of the EU Parliament in Madrid, experts in the design and implementation of digital and deliberative democracy mechanisms, social movements activists (XRebellion, PAH anti-eviction), representatives of local and regional neighborhood associations, and activists of artistic and performative collectives (Homo Velamine). After each roundtable, a deliberative workshop will take place in order to critically analyze and reflect about the experiences previously presented and looking for drawing some basic conclusions. Finally, there will also be a half-day seminar that will allow students to present their work in a friendly atmosphere, discussing with lecturers and classmates, leading to improve their teamwork assignment before the final submission.

Physical Part closing date 2025-01-31

Language level required B2

Field of studies related to the course Social Science and Humanities Law Environmental Sciences Urbanism and Geography

Course location Madrid, Spain.

Course language English