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The Economy & Society Summer School 2021

    As of last Wednesday (13/01/21) the Economy & Society Summer School (E&S) has opened for applications with a new and improved website. We have previously written about the E&S and how it impacted on the creation of the HECAT project. We are proud to say that this year the school will be run in association with HECAT, and the schedule looks extremely exciting with a range of highly accomplished academics. We encourage applications from interested PhD students, as this year the school is run entirely online and it is free. The deadline for applying is the 22nd of February.

    What is the school?

    E&S is a summer school that is usually run for one full week in May at Blackwater Castle in Mallow, Ireland. The school brings together approximately 40 PhDs and 15 academic faculty for an experience that is both intense and convivial. The ethos of the school is to encourage us to remember that we are a society as well as an economy, and that we ought to include questions of fairness, justice, and morality in our evaluations of socio-economic issues. You can read more about this here.

    Of course this year things are a little different, no doubt in part due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19. Firstly it is being run as more of a Winter/Spring school, running from February until early May. Secondly, we will unfortunately not be able to rent a castle this year, but instead will run the conference entirely online. We hope that in doing so that we will reach more people than ever before. Third, we generally charge a fee to cover the costs of running the conference, but this year it is free to apply.

    Is there a theme?

    Yes, we have a theme that changes each year, and this year our theme will be: After-thoughts. As we have all spent a considerable amount of time over the last 12 months isolated in our homes, we are increasingly drawn to questions of the past. The school will focus on our after thoughts on these questions of the past, and we are inviting academics to give a reprise of their best work with this in mind. You can read more about the theme here.

    Can I get credits?

    Yes you can! If you are a PhD student on a structured PhD programme you can receive credits as part of the school, please see the apply page for more details. If your research is concerned with the connections between economy and society, or is on an area such as welfare, work, precarity, datafication, the labour market (etc.) then we strongly encourage you to apply.

    When does it start?

    The first lecture will be on February 23rd on the subject of Ideas Lying Around. After this, there will be a lecture every week beginning at 10:00 or 16:00 (all times in GMT). This longer format will give us the time to digest these lectures and fully appreciate their meaning – rather than having a short-form conference where we are sprinting through each lecture in an attempt to remain on time.

    If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact info.easss@gmail.com.

    We look forward to seeing you there, and we are really excited to get started!