ZfL INFO 15/2026: Call for Participants: Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis: Literature and Society
CAPONEU Summer School
5–12 July 2026, Palace Moise, Cres, Croatia
The “Summer School in Critical Theory and Praxis: Literature and Society” is a seven-day intensive programme held on the island of Cres, Croatia. It brings together scholars, students, researchers, artists, educators, activists, cultural workers, and policymakers for interdisciplinary exchange through lectures, workshops, and cultural events. The programme connects theoretical inquiry with literary and artistic practice, addressing pressing social and political issues while exploring creative and innovative responses.
Thirty participants and around fifteen lecturers and workshop leaders will spend six working days engaging with this year’s theme: the relationship between literature and politics. The programme will also feature artists whose work thoughtfully integrates theoretical, historical, and social research with experimental artistic practice.
There will be no parallel sessions; all participants will work collectively to foster an open, focused, and collegial environment. The group includes students, doctoral researchers, academics, cultural workers, activists, artists, policymakers, teachers, and informal educators, positioning the School as a dynamic meeting point between academia and wider society.
Recognising that literature is deeply embedded in its social context, the programme will examine its role in interpreting and shaping political, economic, and cultural processes, as well as public understandings of social relations and change. Particular attention will be given to the shifting functions of literature throughout history – from a repository of cultural values to an agent of social transformation.
Applications are welcome from MA and PhD students in arts, humanities and social sciences, teachers and educators, scholars, policy makers, activists, artists and workers in cultural and creative industries.
The working language will be English.
Participating Experts
- Alan Finlayson
(The University of East Anglia, Norwich) - Juan E. De Castro
(The New School, New York) - Oliver Frljić
theatre director - Igor Bezinović
film director (TBC) - Ivan Jeličić
(University of Rijeka) - Karin Doolan
(Institute for Social Research in Zagreb) - Liam Mullally
(Autonomy Institute, London) - Craig Jordan-Baker
(University of Brighton) - Rossita Terzieva-Artemis
(University of Nicosia) - Ivana Perica
(Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research, Berlin) - Aurore Peyroles
(Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research, Berlin) - Patrick Eiden-Offe
(Leibniz Center for Literary and Cultural Research, Berlin) - Mark Devenney
(Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics, University of Brighton) - Joanna Kellond
(Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics, University of Brighton) - German Primera
(Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics, University of Brighton) - Tara Talwar Windsor
(University of Cambridge) - Błażej Warkocki
(Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań) - Branimir Janković
(University of Zagreb) - Zvonimir Glavaš
(University of Zagreb) - Mirela Dakić Kučeković
(University of Zagreb) - Zrinka Božić
(University of Zagreb)
Application
Please apply with a CV (1–3 pages) and a letter of motivation (1–2 pages) indicating a description of your interests in and expectations from the Summer School. Please submit your application in one PDF file to caponeu@ffzg.hr by 15 April 2026.
Costs
750 euros participation fee.
The fee includes: reading and teaching materials, welcome drink, daily lunches throughout the Summer School, excursion (with lunch included), museum ticket, closing dinner.
