May 27-28, 2025

Online

Deadline: January 20, 2026

Scholars and practitioners at all career levels are invited to join the inaugural virtual summer intensive on Theorizing Communication in, of, and from the Balkans, May 27-28, 2026.

Responding to the academic dominance of Western theorizing of communication, this summer intensive aims to “come back to basics” and activate Balkan place-based knowledges to wonder together: What counts as communication in the first place and in this place? Who and what communicates? What forms of communication feel un/familiar and un/necessary? How is communication shaped by and how does it shape creative, educational, civic and political activities and processes, difference and belonging, community building and resilience, and (responses to) local and global crises and conflicts? 

This summer intensive will welcome participants to inhabit together the in-betweens of the Balkans as a rich borderlands locale for communication theorizing, so that we can chart new place-based questions and paths for exploring them. We hope to foster a multinational, interdisciplinary, and intercultural scholarly community around shared interests in questions of communication in the region. We think of communication very broadly and welcome scholars and practitioners of any academic background who are actively engaged in analyzing, creating, and/or theorizing from and with Balkan (Southeastern European) perspectives and experiences.  

In this two-day intensive, participants will first learn about culture-centered approaches (CCAs) and borderlands theorizing as models to elevate context-specific ways of knowing and being and how they are expressed and negotiated with/in communication. Workshops during the first day will focus on methodologies for culture-centered theorizing, such as ethnography, narrative and arts-based research, and critical realist analysis of media. During the second day, we will gather in participatory working groups to further explore how such approaches can be adapted or redefined in and from Balkan contexts. Participants will be able to connect with fellow academics regarding ongoing or future research projects and submit work emerging from the intensive to upcoming publications, including an edited volume. 

Who Should Attend?

This summer school is open to scholars and practitioners, including graduate students, curious about and working on advancing communication theorizing with place-based Balkan perspectives and in relation to the varied socio-historic legacies and specifics of the region. Participants at any career level and from any academic field are welcome since communication is necessarily interdisciplinary: we think of it as paying attention to how symbols and signs function socially to make and negotiate meanings, identities, relationships, cultures, and historic and contemporary “wicked problems.” Thus, we particularly invite those interested in communication-related questions and theories relevant to the following themes and their intersections:

• (Post-)Conflict experiences and representations 
  
• Creativities, imaginations, activism, and (resilient) communities
  
• Identities and belonging (ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, race, etc.; dis/unifications)
  
• Literacies and learning (e.g., mis/dis-information, critical media literacy, cultural forms and culturally-sustaining pedagogies)
  
• Crises, risks, and violence (cultural, structural, direct)
  
• Borderlands, liminalities, transitions, and knowledge decolonization 
  

Registration

To be considered for the summer school, please submit your application no later than January 20, 2026 using the form linked here (opens in a new window). Please include the following two documents in English:

• A brief statement of interest (maximum 500 words) detailing your academic background and why you are interested in this topic. What questions of communication in, of and from the Balkans interest you? What do you hope to gain from participation in the Summer Intensive? How do you envision your engagement with and contributions to the TCB Summer Intensive?
  
• A current curriculum vitae (CV) or resume (maximum 5 pages).
  

The above information will be used to form preliminary working groups and focus the sessions of the summer intensive. Because of the number of facilitators, we are able to register no more than 40 participants total for this inaugural gathering. Should interest exceed this number, the organizers may have to exercise discretion in selecting participants. 

Practical Information and Dates to Remember

• Interest form due (linked here, opens in a new window): Jan. 20, 2026
  
• Confirmation of participation sent: End of March, 2026
  
• Dates of the TCB Summer Intensive: May 27 and May 28, 2026
  
• Location: Virtual, over Zoom
  
• Language: English
  
• Registration fee: NONE

Confirmed Facilitators:

• Dr. Lily Herakova, Communication and Journalism, University of Maine, Orono, USA
  
• Deniza Mulaj, Mass Communication, Ohio University, Ohio, USA & Development Manager, Teach of Kosova, Pristina, Kosova
  
• Dr. Senem Konedareva, Cultural Studies, American University in Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
  
• Dr. Jennifer A. Zenovich, Communication, California State University, East Bay
  
• Dr. Marta N. Lukacovic, Communication and Mass Media, Angelo State University, USA
  
• Dr. Ian MacMillen, Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies and Music, Yale University, USA
  

Contact

Dr. Lily Herakova, liliana.herakova@maine.edu