Regional Identity has long been a dynamic branch of research, to which more and more interdisciplinary approaches are finding access. Against this backdrop, the question arises whether and how regions can be described from a cultural perspective and distinguished from each other. Are region defined by certain parameters, such as state or administrative borders, the prevalence of elements of a particular material or intellectual culture, or the realms of certain linguistic interactions or other social practices? What role is played by perception and attribution, both from the outside and from within the region in question, in the process of rooting a regional identity in the collective consciousness? How can the various levels of scale be brought to bear in the comparison of regions?
The objective of the International Summer School is to draw together the current debates about regional identity and the structural elements of culture upon which regions are based. This discussion will provide a starting point for the interdisciplinary comparison of innovative PhD projects. The centre of reflection will by no means be a functional analysis of administrative or strategic regions, but rather a perspective that could best be captured in the coupling of the concepts “Region of Culture” and “Region of Identity”. Which phenomena and concepts, from history, language, academia as well as popular and high culture, can make regions tangible? And does this attempt to define correlate with the diverse aspects of identification and identity management connected to regions?
The International Summer School 2008 is interdisciplinary but does place emphasis on the study of culture.