Commons, Conflicts and Disasters

The first Summer School of the European Network of Political Ecology took place in Syros Island (Greece), from 9 to 14 July 2013, organized by the Department of Geography, Harokopeion University, and with participation of the other ten organisations that make up the consortium. The School, which saw the participation of all Entitle fellows as well as twenty-five more PhD students from all over the world, included presentations by Entitle faculty on the theory of the commons, the analysis of ecological distribution conflicts and the understanding of socio-natural disasters.

Each day included two lectures followed by lively debates among participants. Highlights of the School include a lecture by renowned geographer David Harvey on his forthcoming book on the contradictions of capitalism, a panel of faculty and fellows on what it means to do "political" research, a public event where Joan Martinez-Alier, Stefania Barca and Costis Hadjimichalis presented to the local society insights from Entitle in relation to the current ecological-economic crisis, and a talk to fellows by Maria Christianou, an activist involved in the struggle against gold mining in Chalkidiki (northern Greece).