Dublin

The first phase of the GHI brought together representatives from the five partner institutions: Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin; Institute of Advanced Study, University of São Paulo; Jawaharlal Nehru University; Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Citizenship and Migration, University of Zagreb, and the Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia University. The planning meeting held in the Trinity Long Room Hub was followed by a field trip to a site of cultural trauma, Belfast.

Dubrovnik

The second and most significant phase of the GHI was a 9-day summer institute in Dubrovnik. This brought together 40 faculty and early career researchers travelling from 5 continents and representing over 30 disciplines in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Using past events, experiences, responses and influences—contributing factors in the contemporary crises of democracy—alongside case studies of positive forms of resistance, this group of researchers developed a collaborative and interdisciplinary research framework to understand and respond to the challenges we face today. The programme consisted of lectures, panels, practical skills workshops, film screenings, and early career researcher presentations. Participants were also taken on a 2-day field trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here, the group visited relevant sites of cultural trauma including Mostar, Sarajevo, and Srebrenica.

Rio de Janeiro

The final phase of the GHI reconvened the representatives from the partner institutions at the Columbia Global Center in Rio de Janeiro to explore how the knowledge and skills developed over the course of the GHI can be embedded in their institutions and disseminated in wider society. Seeking to build upon the success of the GHI, the future and expansion of the Crises of Democracy project was discussed.

Two key outcomes of the GHI were launched at this meeting: the open online syllabus and the documentary film. In addition, a series of workshops, lectures, and roundtables were hosted on the topic of ‘Rethinking Transatlantic Crises of Democracies’ to engage a local academic and public audience. Faculty also visited sites of cultural trauma in Rio de Janeiro, Paraty and São Paulo.