20 Feb 2013

SPEAP / Call for application 2013

Founded on initiative of Bruno Latour at Sciences Po in 2010, and inspired by the pragmatist tradition (Dewey, James, Lippmann and others), SPEAP is a multidisciplinary program for scientific, artistic and pedagogical experimentation. Here, young professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds bring their knowledge and methods to bear on concrete societal and political issues, put their convictions to the test through exchange, inquiry, workshops, real-world issues, and think through the consequences of their interventions. SPEAP's aim is to collectively observe, explain, and explore together ways of creating a shared public space as well as new modes of expression for political, economic, ecological and/or scientific questions that are necessarily controversial.

An innovative pedagogy
SPEAP is not a programme in the sciences, in politics, or in the arts. Indeed, these disciplines are not explored in sequence, one after the other, but rather together and collectively. They converge, around common objects, in a range of classes, pedagogical experiments and experiences, and entirely novel modes of working, which partake of both social scientific and artistic approaches. This is why teaching is based on multiple interactions, moments of reflection and exchange as well as disagreement, which are all part and parcel of the SPEAP experience.
SPEAP programme runs for one academic year. The curriculum demands significant commitment from participants, however it is structured to allow them to pursue other activities simultaneously. Teaching sessions will require, on average, one full day of attendance a week in addition to four full weeks in the year.

Who is SPEAP for ?
SPEAP is a post-graduate programme aimed at young international professionals. It seeks to recruit academics, social scientists, artists (in the broadest possible meaning, including designers and architects), as well as professionals working in the arts and politics.