Vulnerability and Resistance

The 42nd edition of the Universitat d'Estiu aims to pay tribute to the victims of DANA as well as to the tens of thousands of people who offered help to the Valencian community. Over the past seventy years, the development of our society has been based on a model of territorial occupation that has led to the urbanization of flood-prone areas and the destruction of fertile land that should absorb and smooth out the waters of millennial floods. This dynamic has left thousands of people trapped in a concrete trap. The DANA episode clearly shows how, in the 21st century, what makes us vulnerable is, paradoxically, our development model.

We live in a strange era of self-inflicted vulnerability. Therefore, resistance can no longer consist of simply building defenses against external threats. We need to rethink how we build so that our productive and cultural fabric does not collapse on our heads. Topics as diverse as manipulation through social networks and Artificial Intelligence, the rise of fascism, the democratic failure of the United States, and Europe’s economic and military defenselessness all point toward an increase in our vulnerability.

We will explore these issues in depth in the courses that make up this edition of the Universitat d’Estiu de Gandia. From different perspectives and disciplines, we want to show society how the teaching and research staff of the University of Valencia constitutes a true resistance, armed with critical thinking and science, against the productivist inertia of this system that, while contributing to our well-being for decades, has also made us, in many ways, much more vulnerable.