Summer school Sensory heritages and sensitive memories in the Balkans, Sofia and Plovdiv

In the first week of July 2024, a summer school Sensory Heritage and Sensitive Memories in the Balkans took place in Sofia and Plovdiv. The summer school was organized by the French School in Athens, in collaboration with the University of St. Kliment Ohridski in Sofia and the Paisii Hilendarski University in Plovdiv. The program of the summer school aimed to explore alternative approaches to studying heritage and (collective) memory. Instead of focusing on discursive and representational practices, the presentations emphasized the sensory, affective, and embodied dimensions of heritage and heritage-making. Participants discussed various interactive and multimodal methodological approaches, the importance of the body and senses in the production of knowledge and social memory, and the shifting boundaries between (multimodal) ethnographic research and artistic practice. Eva Fekonja, the member of the program group, also presented the initial findings of her doctoral research, with an emphasis on the role of affects in collective singing experiences.