Summer School in Global Studies and Critical Theory
Theory, Technology, and The Political Imagination
THE EDITION 2020 IS CANCELED
It is with the deepest regret that we must announce the cancellation of the Edition 2020 of The Summer School in Global Studies and Critical Theory.
We made this difficult decision to cancel because of the global spread of the virus and the related travel restrictions.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to the upcoming activities of the Academy of Global Humanities and Critical Theory.

The 2020 Summer School in Global Studies and Critical Theory will examine the entanglement of theory, technology and the political imagination. The big data revolution, the rise of social media and the emergence of machine intelligence have led to radical shifts in conceptions of human reason, political economy, communicative action, social relations, sovereignty and individuation. We will explore how these contemporary theoretical transformations both speak to and depart from the work of the Frankfurt School critical theory, which reconceptualized the role of reason, power, ideology, technology, and culture in the era of fascisms. The program will draw on the expertise of scholars working in different research fields and across multiple critical traditions to address the role of critical theory in this era of algorithms and populisms. We will examine a variety of questions such as: How might we understand the current crisis of the political imagination and its degeneration into extremist worldviews through the lens of social media and a global computational regime? How has our understanding of human reason been transformed by recent advances in digital cognitive systems and neuroscience? What happens to social relations when our modes of connectivity become available for computational calculation? How have social movements been transformed in our digital era? And how have the arts addressed and been shaped by technological transformation?
Up to 40 participants will be selected and required to attend all plenary lectures, the two morning courses, and at least one afternoon class per week.
This year participants at the Summer School have also a chance to apply to a call for papers organized by Camilla Fojas and Sandro Mezzadra on MARITIME BORDERS, TECHNOLOGY, AND SECURITY
The Academy and other sponsors offer several grants covering fees, accommodation and/or travel.
Welcoming cocktail
Lecture
Beyond Surveillance and Accelerationism: on the Political Potential of Hypersocial Networks
Aula GRANDE
with DEBJANI GANGULY, RANJANA KHANNA, SARAH NUTTALL
Aula GAMBI
with DEBJANI GANGULY, RANJANA KHANNA, SARAH NUTTALL
Aula GAMBI
Workshop
Always connected, frequently datafied. The practices of social movements between digitalization and datafication
with ALICE MATTONI
Aula GAMBI
Workshop
Always connected, frequently datafied. The practices of social movements between digitalization and datafication
with ALICE MATTONI
Aula GAMBI
Keynote Speakers: CHARLES HELLER and LORENZO PEZZANI (open to the public)
Automation and Process: Differentiating the “Cognitive Share” in Contemporary Cognitive Assemblages
• DAVID NEMER, Technologies of Oppression: Uncovering the Infrastructure and Apparatus of Exclusion, Racism, and Extremism – Aula SPECOLA
Workshop
Processing Alterity, Enacting Europe. Migration Management as Co-production of the Technical and the Political
with ANNALISA PELLIZZA
Aula GAMBI
• DAVID NEMER, Technologies of Oppression: Uncovering the Infrastructure and Apparatus of Exclusion, Racism, and Extremism – Aula SPECOLA
• DAVID NEMER, Technologies of Oppression: Uncovering the Infrastructure and Apparatus of Exclusion, Racism, and Extremism – Aula SPECOLA
4.30-6.30 pm
Closing cocktail