The Summer School, organised by the Europaeum in partnership with KU Leuven, will explore the complex issue of heritage, in both its material and ideational dimensions, with a special focus on Europe’s tangled relationship with the non-Western world in the colonial period and after. We will also be discussing heritage as a focal point of international diplomacy and of conflicts within and between states. The cases of Ukraine, Afghanistan,  the Balkans, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and of conflicts in various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa will be of special interest.  The Summer School will be exploring the politics of heritage from the conceptual and methodological vantage point of a variety of disciplines, including History, Archaeology, Social Anthropology, Law, Politics, and International Relations. This, our 29th Summer School, will bring together scholars and experts from across the Europaeum network and beyond, to discuss this urgent topic over five days of talks, panels, working groups, debates, role-playing, discussions, and cultural activities. It will include a visit to the renowned AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, formerly known as The Royal Museum for Central Africa.

Professor Luísa Santos will be moderating one of the paper sessions and giving a lecture on the politics and cultures of silence.