The organisation of the course

Who can participate?

The school is aimed at students from European Union countries who have completed a first degree, doctorate, or similar qualification and who wish to study comparative literature in greater depth. Numbers are limited to a maximum of fifty, chosen by a special committee on the basis of the documentation submitted with each application: a curriculum vitae, an account of the students' current work/research in the field of comparative literature, plus an indication of the languages they know.

How does the school work?

Every year the academic committee chooses a topic for the course and invites some of the most renowned international specialists in the field. The weeklong residential course includes a dense timetable of lectures, seminars, individual tutorials, film showings and theatre videos, and ends with a presentation of the principal results of each seminar and of the research projects developed by the students. The students who produce the best projects and continue research with the assistance of the school's supervisors will be invited to a further meeting after six months. The lectures given during the summer school and some of the articles arising from the seminar work may be published in the proceedings of Synapsis.The official language of Synapsis is English. Lectures may be held in English, Italian or French. The discussion after lectures will take place in English. Questions may be asked in all major European languages; the organisers will provide rapid interpretation into English. The seminars will be held in several major European languages (English, Italian, French and German).

What do the participants do?

The participants are required to attend the lectures held every morning from Monday to Friday at 09.30 and 11.30 and to attend one of the six seminars held in the afternoons from Monday to Thursday at 15.00 and 17.00. It is also possible to attend a second seminar either before or after their compulsory seminar. Students are asked to indicate which seminar they wish to attend in their application. They must also indicate their second choice, as it may not always be possible to accommodate all preferences. The organisers reserve the right to follow the alternative preference in order to ensure that numbers do not exceed six to ten participants per seminar. Students will receive a basic reading list from the lecturers together with the letter of acceptance and are expected to follow it in the preparation for their main seminar.After dinner (from 21.00), three evening sessions will be devoted to cultural events linked to the theme of the course. The remaining three evenings will be free. Participants will have the option of developing personal research projects as a result of their seminar work. Those students who produce the best projects will have the opportunity of continuing their work in the following months and preparing it for possible publication. This research will be supervised by the professors who held the seminars and the tutors, with the collaboration (wherever possible) of the students' professors at their home universities. It is expected that there will be a meeting in the spring of the following year where some of the follow-up work done by lecturers and participants will be presented.

Certificate of participation

Synapsis issues a certificate of participation worth six ECTS credits which corresponds to approximately 100 hours of teaching and study, including the preparation for the seminars (with the help of the provided reading lists), and attendance of the seminars, lectures and three evening sessions. Participation in a second seminar, the research project and eventual publication are optional.