The spectre of digital capitalism is haunting the world. The challenges and problems posed by recent developments in digital technology - AI being just one of the most blatant examples - have now taken centre stage in public debate, scientific research, and in the political agendas of international institutions.

In this conjuncture, thinking through the technical and political implications of the digital revolution has become increasingly urgent.
How does digital capitalism reconfigure our life as a whole? What is the impact of digital technology on human labour? How does it restructure the public sphere? What are the consequences of this new scenario for emancipatory politics?

The third edition of the Lake Como Summer School in Critical Theory of Society will gather scholars of renowned reputation to discuss these issues from different perspectives.

The Summer School aims to provide students with the opportunity to gain in-depth and cutting-edge
knowledge on issues concerning digital technology in relation to contemporary capitalism.
The main objective is to create an international and cross-disciplinary environment of research exchange that can contribute to fostering new original projects on the topic. In addition to this, the Summer School will contribute to the following objectives:

• Expand the outreach of existing university programmes;
• Develop networking opportunities for graduate students and early-career researchers;
• Encourage the construction of an inter-university network on the topics of the Summer School.

• Youth, democracy and agency
• Power, bodies and forms of visibilty
• Theories of inclusion and participation
• Collective futures and participation
• Theories of education and social justice    

Group work

• Developing a research proposal on the topics of the summer school

Admission is open to post-graduate students and early-career researchers who have a strong interest in critical thinking and share the aims of the summer school.

The summer school can host up to 24 participants. Due to the limited number of available places, prospective
participants are requested to submit a formal application and will only be admitted after they have successfully passed a selection process.

The Summer School will extend for four days, comprising 18 hours of lectures/seminar/activities in total. Each day will be structured into a morning session (3 hours) and an afternoon session (3 hours). Only one session will be held on the first and final day. The morning and afternoon sessions will be chaired by different speakers and separated by a lunch break and one or more coffee breaks in order to elicit more informal conversations.

Wednesday 15th of May 2024

• Giorgio Bertolotti (University of Milano-Bicocca) 
• Natalia Romé (University of Buenos Aires)
• Marco Vanzulli (University of Milano-Bicocca)
• Luisa Lorenza Corna (Middlesex University London) 
• Stefano Petrucciani (Sapienza University of Rome)
• Luca Basso (University of Padua)
• Filippo Del Lucchese (Brunel University London)
• Giorgio Cesarale (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice)

Villa Gallia - Via Borgovico 154, Como