Another ERUA Travelling Seminar (T.S.) of the Spring Semester of 2026 was held successfuly, in collaboration of the University of the Aegean and SWPS University. In a hybrid format, the ERUA T.S. “Practical Philosophy Seized by Arts & Vice Versa” brought together students from the two institutions, in an interdisciplinary learning environment. The programme was scientifically and organisationally coordinated by Prof. Elena Theodoropoulou (University of the Aegean, Laboratory of Research on Practical Philosophy), in collaboration with Dr. Monika Rosińska and MSc. Arch. Jolanta Starzak (SWPS University, Faculty of Design, School of Form).
This ERUA Travelling Seminar was conceived as a collaborative and interactive programme that mobilises tools from philosophy, the arts, and design in order to explore the relationship and limits between modern arts and contemporary philosophy, with particular emphasis on practical philosophy in light of its fundamental relation to artistic practices and its interdisciplinary orientation. The approach fosters meaningful engagement with academic communities and enhances the societal impact of philosophical and artistic research, in line with the core values and objectives of ERUA. The thematic focus of the seminar opens new research perspectives, particularly within the Arts & Edges thematic area of ERUA. Students were encouraged to collaborate with peers in order to explore how philosophy and artistic practice can jointly cultivate critical and creative thinking, and to express themselves by inventing new practices and experiences that articulate philosophical questions through artistic forms and objects.
The main thematic axis of the in-person component (February 2026, Rhodes) was “Where Elements Meet – Artistic Research on City, Human and More-than-Human”, coordinated by Dr. Monika Rosińska and MSc. Arch. Jolanta Starzak, who led a series of workshops at the UAegean campus and across the city of Rhodes, combining walking, observing, discussing, and collecting. The workshops culminated in the creation of original artistic interventions by the students under the title “One Minute Sculptures”.
The seminar programme was supported by the Laboratory of Research on Practical Philosophy (University of the Aegean), which invited as special guests Prof. Wendy Wen-Shu Lai (Institute of Applied Arts, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University), researcher Yu-Hsien Wu (choreographer and performer, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University), and researcher Hao-Jen Chiang (National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University). It also included contributions from Prof. Spyros Syropoulos in the workshop in the Old Town of Rhodes (“between walls and voids”) and from the architect Nicolas Koumnakis in the workshop along the seafront of Rhodes (“between water and land”).
The main thematic axis of the online component (January–April 2026) was the project “Philosophical Objects”, conceived and developed by Prof. Elena Theodoropoulou since 2014, and here connected with the “One Minute Sculptures” project of MSc. Jolanta Starzak and Dr. Monika Rosińska. The production of “Philosophical Objects” by the students, along with their collaborative development, will continue beyond the seminar, with the aim of presenting the results of the Travelling Seminar at the 4th International Biennale of Practical Philosophy, to be held in Rhodes in October 2027.
In addition, all participants will contribute to the publication of an e-book dedicated to the seminar’s work. The e-book will be published by the Laboratory of Research on Practical Philosophy (University of the Aegean) and made available on the Travelling Seminar website.
For more information, please see: https://practphilab.aegean.gr/activities/travelling-seminars-2025-2026
