“Innovating Storytelling to Address Civic Awareness in the Post-digital Age”

The Utrecht Network has the pleasure to invite you to take part in the WeTell Summer School on “Innovating Storytelling to Address Civic Awareness in the Post-digital Age” which will be held from the 4th to the 15th of June 2018 in Bologna (Italy) and which will release 6 CFU-ECTS. The academic team of the Summer School is truly interdisciplinary and international, coming from three different EU universities – the University of Bologna, the University of Valencia and the University of Helsinki.

At the WeTell Summer School, students will explore theories and practices of performative storytelling to funnel thoughts, ideas and experiences. In particular, the following themes and questions will be dealt with:

• Is the Medium the Message? Oral, written, and digital tools.
• Media as environments: are friendly technologies truly friendly?
• Narcissus Narcosis: are you a conscious citizen?
• Form of communication/form of societies: local, global, glocal.
• We all tell stories: do you understand mine?
• Experiencing intercultural and inter-generational practices of telling.
• How to apply Performative Storytelling to social troubleshooting/problem-solving
• Technological divide & multicultural societies.

The WeTell Summer School is addressed to students in: Literary studies, ICT, Arts and Performing Arts, Education, Graphic Design/Architecture, History, Languages and Linguistics, Media/Communication, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Life & Cognitive Sciences … and many more!

Priority will be given to students in their second cycle of study and third cycle (PhD, Second Level Master); however, depending on availability and motivational statement, students in their first cycle of study can also be accepted.

Costs & funding

Thanks to the support of the Utrecht Network, students can enroll at a particularly accessible fee of 800 Euros, covering all course costs, tuition, accommodation (in double room) and board for the entire period of the Summer School. You will stay at Ospitalità S. Tommaso (4 minute walk from the University and the city center).

Only travel arrangements have to be made and paid for individually.

A typical day

A typical day at the WeTell Summer School will combine traditional classes to fieldwork and to workshops.

Each morning, students and teachers will gather for plenary lectures on strategic topics, followed by assisted self learning (alone, in pairs, in small groups).

In the afternoon, they will work in groups to experience and apply performative storytelling to selected case studies, in collaboration with diverse institutions and organizations in the city. They will engage in open debates on local and global issues related to practices of inclusion, civic engagement, media as environment, and more. They will discuss and compare ways to detect and face societal problems. They will take part in workshops with professionals and communities to experience and test storytelling as a creative practice for social innovation.

In the evenings, students will be free to enjoy one of the many cultural activities organized by the city of Bologna, its institutions and its community. A list of options will be available soon.

Website for more info (detailed programme, learning outcomes, how to apply, etc.)

WeTell Brochure