Writing the Essay Beyond Borders

About

The Easter School “Writing the Essay Beyond Borders” is part of the activities of the Erasmus+ Project Essays Beyond Borders, in which Università di Pisa is a partner along with the universities of Malta, Ghent, and Groeningen, as well as the Slovenia Writers’ Association.

The Easter School invites students and writers to engage with the essay as a dynamic form of inquiry, reflection, and intervention in a planetary context. The essay, by nature fluid and exploratory, provides a space for navigating complexity. As we confront interconnected crises—ecological collapse, digital acceleration, post-truth discourse, and the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence—the essay may be considered as a crucial tool for thinking, imagining, and engaging with the world.

The 4-day intensive academic program offers an immersive space for participants to develop their own essayistic voice while exploring the essay’s capacity to foster critical thought, civic engagement, and creative experimentation. Through a combination of lectures, workshops and collaborative writing sessions, participants will work with established writers and scholars to refine their craft, experiment with form, and expand their understanding of essayistic writing beyond borders.

The Summer School will be activated with at least 40 students. The maximum number of participants is set to 60 students (up to 45 participants will be selected by the partner universities of teh Erasmus+ Project Essays Beyond Borders; up to 15 participants will be selected by Università di Pisa.

The Summer School will be held on campus in Pisa, in Pisa, at Centro Congressi Le Benedettine, Piazza San Paolo a Ripa D’Arno, 16

Course leader

Prof. Roberta Ferrari

Target group

This Easter School is open to:

- BA, MA Students and PhD candidates of literature, linguistics, creative writing, history, philosophy, sociology, education;
- Those engaged in nonfiction writing, from literary essays to critical and hybrid forms;
- Writers (emerging and established) interested in essayistic writing across genres;
- Anyone interested in exploring the the essay as a practice of thinking, reflection, and public engagement

Course aim

Besides introducing participants to the techniques of essay writing, the Easter School aims to provide them with an intensive training through workshops intended to stimulate their creativity, as well as their reflection on language and the essay genre in its manifold dimensions