Romance and Italian Philology in the Digital Turn

Research activity

The PhD course constitutes a development of the great philological tradition which has experienced periods of absolute prestige at the Scuola Normale, both for Romance philology and for Italian philology. By networking with other important national and international institutions, with other important institutions – Scuola Superiore Meridionale of Naples, University of Naples Federico II, University of Florence, University for Foreigners of Siena, CNR Institute Opera del Vocabolario Italiano and Italian Section of the DARIAH Consortium, Ezio Franceschini Onlus Foundation – the course will be able to operate in synergy with the digital humanities laboratories present or in the process of being established in the network of affiliated universities, and with the fundamental experience of the CNR-OVI in the management of the corpus of Italian texts of the Origins. The PhD course will be able to operate in synergy with the digital humanities laboratories present or in the process of being established in the network of affiliated universities, and with the fundamental experience of CNR / OVI in the management of the corpus of Italian texts of the Origins; in particular, the OVI research unit at the Scuola Normale will allow PhD students constant interaction with the Italian section of the DARIAH Consortium (Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities), in a scenario of international importance. The synergy between the Scuola Normale Superiore and other important universities, partly already connected to each other in the participation in the PNRR PE5 Changes project with the same scientific aims that the new Doctorate aims at, and the collaboration of the CNR-OVI and the Franceschini Foundation, headquarters of textual resources and experience in the sector at the highest European level, ensure that the PhD course has potential for effectiveness and a framework of sustainability of all importance, on a national and international scale.

Teaching activity

The PhD course provides specific preparation in terms of textual philology and the application of IT tools applied to text processing, with a rate of methodological and interdisciplinary innovation that allows access to a plurality of job opportunities, in a world in which digital textuality increasingly requires new skills. The teaching activity of the Doctoral Course is divided into courses and seminars, according to the tradition of the Scuola Normale, and also includes research periods both at the other affiliated centers and at the laboratories involved in the widespread network of collaborations that the agreements allow to activate in Italy and abroad. PhD students will annually agree on a study plan with the PhD Coordinator to be presented to the Class Council. This document will specify the research and training activities planned for the current academic year. PhD students must attend and pass the exams corresponding to the courses followed. at least three courses (120 hours of frontal lessons) and pass the corresponding exams. The courses should be chosen in order to broaden the students' background and deepen specific aspects related to the doctoral thesis project. At the end of the first year it is expected that students, in close consultation with the Coordinator and with the approval of the Class Council, choose the supervisor and the project of their Thesis. At the end of the second year, students must submit a written report (called pre-thesis) relating to the research carried out and the results achieved up to that moment, accompanied by any publications produced. The pre-thesis works will be discussed during an oral presentation in front of a group of experts appointed by the Class Council. Students will then be admitted to the third and fourth year, during which the research must be completed and condensed into a thesis. Finally, agreements are envisaged with some of the most advanced European centers on the subject, primarily with the Ecole Nationale des Chartes in Paris and with King's College London.

Scholarships with a specific research topic and site (a.y. 2023/2024)

- n. 2 scholarships D.M. 118/2023 - M4 C1 I3.4 “Digital and environmental transitions” (CUP E53C23001260001);

- n. 1 scholarship PNRR PE5 CHANGES -Theme: 5. Humanistic culture and cultural heritage as laboratories of innovation and creativity - Spoke 3: Digital Libraries, Archives and Philology (CUP E53C22001670006).