Retreat · Philosophy · Past event
PICT Aegean Summer School 2022
- Dates
- 20–26 June 2022
- Time
- 10:00–17:00 (with a lunch break)
- Venue
- PICT Aegean
- Language
- English
- Places
- 10
A Week of Critical and Creative Thinking on the Shores of the Aegean Sea!
From 20-26 June 2022, the Paris Institute for Critical Thinking organized the inaugural PICT Summer School. Participants from around the world gathered in the picturesque Turkish coastal town of Ayvalık, a brief ferry ride from the storied Greek island of Lesvos, for a week of critical and creative thinking. The Summer School offered a six-day program of intensive courses on philosophy, literature, and creative writing. In addition, participants had the opportunity to explore the natural and cultural treasures of the Aegean coast, a focal point of history since the times of Ancient Greece.
Each year, the PICT Summer School devotes itself to particular themes chosen by the participating PICT faculty members. Reading materials and all other details pertaining to the program are communicated to participants in advance.
Program
Philosophy
Philosophers Without Borders
PICT core faculty member Evrim Emir-Sayers invited us on a philosophical journey across regions and borders, moving from Plato to Ibn Arabi, from Nezami to Spinoza.
Michel Foucault’s Archaeology
PICT core faculty member Kristof K.P. Vanhoutte guided us on an in-depth exploration of the French philosopher’s Archaeology.
Literature
Writing, Theatre, and Nature
Anton Bonnici of the Paris Fringe Theatre Festival presented us with artistic attitudes towards nature from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Maura Baiocchi’s Ecoperformance.
The Wiles of Women in Literature
PICT core faculty member David Selim Sayers initiated us into the Middle Eastern literary genre of the “wiles of women” with stories from the 18th to the 20th century.
Creative Writing
Fiction Workshop
Amal Chatterjee from the University of Oxford led us in an intensive workshop on prose storytelling, regardless of whether we were just starting, developing, or filling out our stories.
Poetry Workshop
Stephanie Papa, Poetry Editor of Venti, created a space for us to encounter innovative poetry, experiment with poetic techniques, and bring our writing to new places.
Boat Trip
The trip on the seventh day took the form of an all-day boat tour with plenty of opportunities for swimming and admiring the nature of the region.
About the speakers
Evrim Emir-Sayers
Evrim Emir-Sayers is a philosophy scholar who researches, teaches, writes, edits, and translates out of Paris, France. She is a co-founder and core faculty member of PICT.
David Selim Sayers
David Selim Sayers is a scholar of Ottoman and Turkish Studies with a focus on history and literature. He is a co-founder and core faculty member of PICT.
