Welcome

This blog was created as part of the Erasmus Mundus Crossways in Cultural Narratives Masters programme, which is the only one of the EU approved and funded Erasmus Mundus Masters programmes to specialise in traditional humanities with a modern languages background. The Crossways Consortium comprises 6 top-class European universities.

For further information, please check the programme's official website and the universities' websites on the Useful Links section on the left. If you wish to have a specific question answered, please click on Email here and submit your query.

Mundus students, here you will find regular posts regarding the universities of the consortium, tips, activities, events, pictures, etc. Apart from checking it regularly to keep yourself up to date, a good way to use the blog is through the search device. We already have a significant amount of information on some universities of the consortium, so if you want to find information on a specific city, type its name in the search field (top left). You will then see all posts related to that specific city (because each post title contains the city's name in it). You can also type "General" in order to find information concerning everybody.

Wednesday, 15 July 2009

General: EM courses quality assessment

Quality assessment of EM courses - enter the website to voice your opinions.


"Erasmus Mundus - Excellence website


The Directorate General for Education and Culture is pleased to announce the launch of the Erasmus Mundus Excellence website addressed to co-ordinators, partners and grantees of the Erasmus Mundus programme, as well as students, professors and the academic world in general.

This website provides a helpful Self-assessment Tool and a Quality Handbook. These tools result from a Quality Assessment Exercise developed with the voluntary participation of 6 Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses. The first phase of the exercise was carried out in 2008, and included direct visits to 18 universities (6 co-ordinators and 12 partner institutions). The second phase of this project is now under way with the participation of another 18 universities involved in the Erasmus Mundus programme.

We invite you to visit the web site and to measure your performance through the structured questions proposed under the option “Assess my course”, where a self-assessment procedure will help you identify areas in which your quality could be improved. The tools also offer you the opportunity to reflect on options and questions included in the 4 components of excellence.

The Quality Handbook is closely related to the questions included in the 4 components of excellence and includes examples of good practice that illustrate how challenges have been met by co-ordinators, partners, students and professors of excellent Erasmus Mundus Master Courses."

Sunday, 5 July 2009

International Meeting: Heterological Systems

Coletivo dos sistemas heterológicos

Caso 28 : Práticas do acaso

Encontro Internacional, 3 a 5 de março de 2010

Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil

O saber do médico e do estrategista difere, por sua natureza, da sapiência do filósofo. No primeiro caso, não se trata de uma ciência do Ser (das Essências imutáveis, das Idéias eternas, das Formas definitivas); trata-se de um saber da duração e das articulações do tempo. As batalhas e as doenças pertencem à categoria do evento : a dimensão temporal lhes é consubstancial. Longe de banhar-se em um tempo homogêneo e plano, cada evento possui sua duração própria, um tempo de velocidade variável cujos momentos não têm nem o mesmo valor nem a mesma intensidade :

Há pontos críticos do evento assim como há pontos críticos de temperatura, pontos de fusão, de congelamento; de ebulição, de condensação; de coagulação; de cristalização. E há até mesmo no evento estados de liquefação abaixo da temperatura de fusão que só se precipitam, só se cristalizam, só se determinam pela introdução de um fragmento do evento futuro. (Charles Péguy, Clio)

A intervenção oportuna do médico é da mesma ordem : seu gesto é determinante para o curso ulterior da doença. Ele deve espreitar as turbulências, as variações, bifurcações e pontos de ruptura qui turvam a mais lisa das durações, pois agindo precisamente nesses momentos de indeterminação, chegará a impor uma direção decisiva à patologia em curso. Desde que se interfira no momento oportuno, basta um pequeno toque, um leve desvio para dar um outro rumo à sequência de eventos.

Como o médico, os poetas e artistas sempre se mostraram atentos às articulações internas do evento. Ovídio oferece várias exemplos : iludida por uma maçã de ouro, a virgem Atalanta declinat cursus, inclina-se e colhe o objeto de sua inclinação, dando assim a Hipomeno ocasião de ganhar tanto a corrida quanto a jovem. Assim se articulam os saberes do kairos et do clinamen, do ponto crítico e da declinação. Há momentos em uma corrida (ou em um discurso, em um curso d’água, no curso dos dias, no decurso de uma batalha, nas cotações dos mercados financeiros...) em que a mais ínfima inflexão pode dar aos eventos um rumo totalmente diferente e uma outra versão. Dito de outro modo : há um saber do clinamen e esse saber não é somente teórico, mas prático.

O objetivo desse encontro será portanto não apenas o de discutir como os artistas dão a sentir esses pontos de indeterminação temporal, mas igualmente o de mostrar como, nas práticas artísticas, os recursos dessa indeterminação são por eles explorados. E talvez também o de produzir gestos kairóticos sobre o cursus do que estamos em vias de nos tornar no século XXI. Praticando o acaso haja o que houver, esperamos aumentar nossas chances de pegar os kairoi pelos cabelos.

Fronte capillata, post est occasio calva.

Programa Erasmus Mundus Crossways in European Humanities/Universidade Federal Fluminense. Organização : Maria Cristina Franco Ferraz (mcfferraz@hotmail.com), Jonathan Pollock (pollock@univ-perp.fr). Data limite das propostas : 30 de junho de 2009.


Collectif des systèmes hétérologiques

Cas n° 28 : Pratiques du hasard/Práticas do acaso

Rencontre internationale, 3-5 mars 2010

Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brésil

Le savoir du médecin et du stratège est d’une autre nature que la sapience du philosophe. La leur n’est pas une science de l’Être (des Essences immuables, des Idées éternelles, des Formes définitives), mais un savoir de la durée et des articulations du temps. Les batailles et les maladies relèvent de la catégorie de l’événement : la dimension temporelle leur est consubstantielle. Loin de baigner dans un temps homogène et plat, chaque événement possède sa durée propre, un temps à vitesse variable, et dont les moments n’ont pas tous la même valeur ni la même intensité :

Il y a des points critiques de l’événement comme il y a des points critiques de température, des points de fusion, de congélation ; d’ébullition, de condensation ; de coagulation ; de cristallisation. Et même il y a dans l’événement de ces états de surfusion qui ne se précipitent, qui ne se cristallisent, qui ne se déterminent que par l’introduction d’un fragment de l’événement futur. (Charles Péguy, Clio)

L’intervention opportune du médecin est de cet ordre-là : son geste est déterminant pour le cours ultérieur de la maladie. Il doit guetter les turbulences, les remous, les bifurcations et points de rupture qui troublent la durée la plus lisse, car en agissant précisément à ces moments d’indétermination, il arrivera à imposer une direction décisive à la pathologie en cours. Pourvu qu’on intervienne au bon moment, il suffit d’un petit coup de pouce, d’une légère déviation pour donner à la suite des événements une autre tournure.

À l’instar du médecin, les poètes et les artistes se sont toujours montrés attentifs aux articulations internes de l’événement. Ovide foisonne d’exemples : leurrée par une pomme d’or, la vierge Atalante declinat cursus, s’incline et ramasse l’objet de son inclination, donnant ainsi à Hippomène l’occasion de gagner et la course et la fille. Ainsi s’articulent les savoirs du kairos et du clinamen, du point critique et de la déclinaison. Il y a des moments dans une course (ou dans un discours, ou dans un cours d’eau, ou dans le cours du jour, ou dans le cours d’une bataille, ou dans le cours des marchés financiers…) où la plus infime inflexion peut donner une toute autre tournure aux événements — une toute autre tournure, et une toute autre version. Autrement dit, il existe un savoir du clinamen, et ce savoir n’est pas seulement théorique, mais pratique. L’objet de cette rencontre sera donc non seulement d’explorer comment les artistes donnent à sentir ces points d’indétermination temporelle, mais de montrer également comment ils en exploitent les ressources dans leur pratique même. Et peut-être aussi de produire des gestes kairotiques sur le cursus de ce que nous sommes en train de devenir au 21e siècle. En pratiquant le hasard à tout hasard, on espère augmenter nos chances de saisir les kairoi par les cheveux.

Fronte capillata, post est occasio calva.

Programme Erasmus Mundus Crossways in European Humanities/Université Fédérale Fluminense. Organisation : Maria Cristina Franco Ferraz (mcfferraz@hotmail.com), Jonathan Pollock (pollock@univ-perp.fr). Date limite des propositions 30 juin 2009.

General: 14th EMA Newsletter


14th EMA Newsletter

Dear EMA members,

the annual EMA General Assembly took place in Vilnius. Besides electing the new president (Chunyu Liang, MESPOM), re-electing the vice-president (Ricardo Chavez, EMMS) and having active discussions on the EMA Statute Amendments, the delegates also had a chance to talk to the representatives of the European Commission, experience the European Cultural Capital 2009 during a walk around the city with local students and arrange new EMA Service Teams. We hope that the new faces also would bring new ideas and the Course Representatives will stay an active link between the EMA, the European Commission and the Master Courses.

IMESS is featuring in this 14th EMA newsletter, and vacation trips or final exams are probably featuring in your life. We hope that you enjoy the summer days!

EMA

EMA General Assembly in Vilnius
Vilnius University, the oldest university in Lithuania, hosted the EMA General Assembly, which took place in Vilnius - European Cultural Capital 2009, on the 5-6.06.2009. [more]

EMA Network in Brazil participates in Universities Forum
Latin American EMA Chapter presented at the 21st annual meeting of Faubai [Forum das Assessorias das Universidades Brasileiras para Assuntos Internacionais; Forum for Brazilian Universities’ Officers for International Matters] in Manaus on 12-15 May 2009. [more]

Reminder: Field Reporter Initiative
The Internal Communication Team of EMA is proud to launch the FIELD REPORTING PROJECT. [more]

CIS & Mongolia Regional Chapter EMA Launched!
The CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Mongolia Regional Chapter EMA has been launched on the 4th of June in Vilnius, just before the start of the General Assembly! The CIS & Mongolia Regional Chapter EMA has the aim of enhancing the communication and cooperation between the current students and alumni from the region, as well as exchange the experiences and ideas with the external parties. It also promotes the Erasmus Mundus program and EMA. [more]

Erasmus Mundus Programme

Event Report: EMQAL Cultural Night
Muhammad Saif Ur Rehman reports on the course event: EMQAL Cultural Night - Joining Hands and Creating Memories. [more]

Event Report: Successful Networking at the University of Aveiro, Portugal
On May 30th, 2009, the Inaugural Networking and Publicity Event for Erasmus Mundus Programmes took place at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Read about the successful get-together of students enrolled in different EMA programmes at Aveiro, as well as visiting students in the event report by Almudena Garcia I Sastre, Organising Committee, and Goh ZhiQian Dave, Advisory Committee. [more]

EU Blue Card
The EU confirms the plan to adopt work permit called "Blue Card" aimed at attracting highly skilled foreigners. [more]

Share experiences with Mobi-Blog!
A new blog service enables mobile students in Europe to share their experiences and tell their stories, providing interesting information for all those in similar situations. [more]

International Education Events

Summer Academy ”Freedom and Responsibility in the Media“ for young journalists
The International Institute for Journalism (IIJ) of InWEnt – Capacity Building International, Germany, announces its Summer Academy "Freedom and Responsibility in the Media" for young journalists in Hamburg, Germany from July 26 to August 21, 2009. [more]

Seeing Through the Eyes of Others: European Week Eindhoven 25-29 May 2009
European identity and the EU expansion are controversial issues. Yet, when discussed together with over 300 students from around the world, you can get closer to resolving the puzzle, as Field Reporter Ksenia Ashrafullina explored...[more]

ESNSurvey 2009: Information for Exchange is online!
This edition aims to find out what information the exchange and international students need, what information they are provided, by whom and in which quality – especially concerning academic matters, housing and extracurricular activities. We hope that with the results, ESN will contribute to the improvement of availability, quality and access to information for international students. [more]

Research on Bologna process: students' perspective
EMA member participates in giving feedback on implementation of Bologna Process in Denmark. [more]

One Issue One Programme

IMESS
International Masters in Economy, State and Society (IMESS) is featuring in the present One issue - One programme section. [more]