Shanghai University and The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Göttingen, are holding a Summer Institute at Shanghai University from August 22 to August 26, 2011. The program is open to M.A. and PhD. students in the social sciences, media studies, architecture, and urban design who want to work on research on Shanghai. Lectures will be held in the mornings, followed by discussion of project proposals in the afternoons. The institute’s aims are described as:

To contribute to our understanding of the urban as a context for ethnic and religious aspirations. This entails a close attention to spatial arrangements, to transport and connectivity, to housing and spaces for work and worship. This project also aims to explore the notion of design, both in terms of practices of designing buildings, streets, temples as in terms of the utopian or dystopian imaginings of ideal cities, ideal communities, and ideal relations to divine design.

Tuition and lunches will be provided, but lodging and transportation must be funded by participants. Applications are due June 1. Contact Dr. Yinong Zhang (yz36edu@gmail.com) for further details.