Summer School: Tentacular Writing - A Peer-to-Peer Writing Retreat (ETH-EPFL)

Abstract

The summer school intends to renegotiate and experiment with the ways we – as researchers and spatial practitioners – perform writing, as a format and as a practice. In the set-up of a collective retreat in the Swiss Alps, in a non-hierarchical learning format, a group of peers is invited to shape an academic community, work alongside and discuss their work-in-progress informally.

Objective

The summer school aspires to establish a peer group of early-career scholars that stay connected beyond the summer school. By the end of the workshop, the participants will have: – acquired skills on new writing methods – discussed learning and writing outcomes collectively – gained the opportunity to take the role of an editor of their colleagues work – gained experience in presenting their work-in-progress in an informal setting

Content

The programme foresees a summer school in the form of a collaborative writing retreat. The participants are expected to take their individual research as a starting point and develop it further during their stay. Selected invited experts will host writing workshops on themes like creative writing, site writing and multi-perspectival writing. Additionally, two sensorial workshops hosted by artists on the themes of sound and smell aim to inspire and enrich the writing practice and connect the participants to the place. All workshops will serve as input sessions and are followed by individual writing periods, where participants get the chance to test the methods acquired in the expert workshops. Individual writing sessions are then followed by group sessions where the material is collectively discussed. The format aims at generating a non-hierarchical learning environment, a peer group where colleagues collectively progress their writing by exploring new methods and perspectives. The summer school is articulated through the synthesis of three different formats: – workshops organized by external guests offering inputs to the participant – individual writing sessions for the participants to develop their material – collective peer-to-peer discussion aiming at exchange and the formation of a peer-group Writing Workshops Room and Field, Writing One with Another: a Site-Writing Workshop with Jane Rendell and Polly Gould Exploring Sensorial Practices Writing with sound, by Ludwig Berger, sound artist Follow your nose, by Curdin Tones, community-artist With Collective Cooking Sessions and Fountain Bathing curated by the community-artist Curdin Tones

Resources