Summer School Content and Narrative. Writing and Designing Museum Panels, Labels, and Flyers

The one-week intensive Summer School is hosted by the Museums of Art, technology, and the Natural Sciences of the University of Pisa (Sistema Museale di Ateneo – SMA).

The Summer School addresses the strategies and methods of communication inside a museum, focusing on the content, design, and technologies of labels and educational panels. How to balance information and simplicity? What information does an object require to be fully understood and appreciated? When is a text effective? How can we construct lengthier historical or geographical narratives? What are the current design standards for educational materials inside a museum? What may new technologies offer to provide a rich/individual experience, tailored to diverse audiences and types of visits? These and related questions will be discussed by experienced instructors from a variety of backgrounds, including archaeologists, art historians, curators, exhibition designers, developers of digital/virtual educational tools, experts of communication for children, the neurodiverse public, and visitors with limited vision or hearing abilities.

The school will be entirely held online, via Microsoft Teams.

Aim

The Summer School aims to provide participants with the main notions about the production and display of texts in museums, as well as an overview of the most up-to-date research in museum communication and technologies.

Classes engage participants both at the theoretical and empirical level, so that participants may develop a broader awareness of the topic, as well as practical skills and competencies.

The Summer School includes experiences from collections in a variety of fields: art history, science and technology, and the natural sciences.

Founded in 1343, the University of Pisa is one of the most prestigious universities in Italy. Famous alumni of the University include Galileo Galilei, 3 Nobel prize winners, and 2 Fields medalists. It is amongst the top 3 universities in Italy (ARWU) . Nowadays the University of Pisa represents a prestigious modern center for teaching and advanced research.

Pisa offers international students the unique opportunity to study and experience the richness of Italian history and culture in a beautiful and stimulating environment. Famous across the world for the Leaning Tower, almost all of its departments are located in the heart of the city. Its strategic geographical location, the international airport, and excellent rail connections offer the possibility of weekend trips to other parts of Italy and Europe.

The Foundation Course is a one-year program taught exclusively in English, which bridges the gap between High School and University studies and it equips students with the appropriate academic grounding for an Italian degree at the University of Pisa. This program is aimed at international students who have 11 or 10 years of schooling and have successfully completed High School and at American students who have not taken Advanced Placement (AP) courses during the last year of High School nor have attended 2 years of College.

Summer Schools are intensive academic courses for international students and also for graduates. They mostly last from 4 days to 6 weeks and take place in an international context, with students and lecturers coming from various parts of the world and all lectures delivered in English. They are characterized by nonconventional teaching formats (workshops, tutorials, excursions, cultural events, business testimonials, etc.) and a multidisciplinary approach. Professors are experts in their areas and have a keen interest in what they do. Summer Schools meet strict academic regulations: each one grants at least 3 ECTS credits and the participants who successfully pass the final exams will receive an official academic transcript.

Contacts:

Università di Pisa Palazzo Modica - Piazza Torricelli, 4 - 56126 Pisa (PI) Italy Information about Foundation Course: studyabroad@unipi.it Information about Summer Schools: support.summerschool@unipi.it