Convivial and collaborative writing on diverse economies

In a recent blog posting, Markus Sattler, Lilian Pungas and the Polička Collective reflect on their experience of writing collaboratively on the topic of diverse economies in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. 

The collective, consisting of ten scholars at varying stages of their academic careers, had its origin in the first CERN LIVIANA online conference held in November 2020.

Since then, the Collective has used writing retreats and conferences as an opportunity to work on collaborative writing endeavours and develop their research activities. 

The name of the Collective comes from the location of the first writing retreat in the town of Polička in Czechia. 

In the blog post, the group reflect on the strategies they have used to support collaborative writing in a convivial setting, including balancing what they call a triad of activities comprised of structured work; open discussions; and spending convivial time together through activities such as cooking, eating together, and leisure time for activities such as hiking. 

Image: The Polička Collective participating in a cooking session with members from a food policy council, a community-supported agriculture initiative and civil society groups in Leipzig organised as part of their January 2024 writing retreat. Courtesy of the Polička Collective.