Call for Applications – Spring School Dissonant Heritage, Contested Landscapes and European Identity

Arqus invites Master and PhD students to apply for the Spring School “Dissonant Heritage, Contested Landscapes and European Identity”, an intensive academic programme examining how contested pasts are embedded in European landscapes and how they continue to shape contemporary identities.

Bringing together students from across the Arqus Alliance, the Spring School will focus on post-authoritarian, post-socialist and post-Holocaust contexts. Through interdisciplinary perspectives, participants will explore the political, social and ethical challenges involved in addressing difficult heritage and confronting complex historical legacies.

The programme is hosted by Vilnius University’s Faculty of History and the (Post)Authoritarian Landscapes Research Centre. It combines keynote lectures, site-based fieldwork, guided tours, and interactive workshops designed to foster critical thinking and collaborative exchange.

Vilnius and its surrounding areas serve as a living laboratory. Participants will engage directly with historic university spaces, socialist-era housing districts, and memory sites connected to authoritarian and traumatic histories, examining how these environments reflect layered and often conflicting narratives of the past.

Academic engagement and collaborative learning

Throughout the Spring School students will:

• Engage with leading international and local scholars
• Develop critical perspectives from heritage studies and related disciplines
• Strengthen analytical tools for understanding contested memory and identity in Europe

The programme is open to Master and PhD students in Heritage Studies, History, Humanities and Social Sciences from Arqus partner universities.

Funding and participation

Tuition, accommodation and catering costs are fully covered. Participants are expected to arrange mobility funding through their home institutions.

The Spring Shool offers a unique opportunity to explore Europe’s complex historical landscapes while engaging in meaningful academic dialogue within the Arqus community.