Thank you for your interest in the School of Criticism and Theory (SCT). On this site you will find information about the current session, the application process (including financial aid), and living and travel arrangements. Since its founding in 1976, the SCT has been an extraordinarily vital summer institute offering a distinctive program of study focused on key theoretical issues and debates in humanities and social science disciplines. Initially housed at the University of California-Irvine, the program has over the years been hosted by Northwestern, Dartmouth, and Cornell (where it has been for the past 13 years). Its current location offers the magnificent beauty of New York's Finger Lakes region, the vibrancy and cultural richness of a large college town, and the resources of a world class university (including its outstanding library, to which all participants are given access).
From its inception, the program has been devoted to intensive intellectual inquiry and the vigorous exchange of ideas. Every summer, SCT assembles a faculty consisting of some of the most influential and original thinkers in the humanities and social sciences. The multi-layered dialogue that results from the diverse perspectives and differing positions, among both faculty and participants, is one of the hallmark's of SCT's culture, and one of the reasons why it has such appeal for graduate students and faculty drawn to the ongoing reflection and critique that characterize the theoretical life. Participants come from a range of academic institutions all over the world, and at varying stages of career, to enroll in our invigorating six-week program. Each participant takes one six-week seminar, while also attending one-week mini-seminars and public presentations by the faculty and other visitors. And in addition to the seminars and public lectures and colloquia, SCT offers a steady fare of receptions and social events in which participants have the chance to interact more informally with each other and with the faculty.
We are proud of the fact that SCT continues to thrive amidst a growing body of theoretical work and approaches. One great contributor to its success is its continued avoidance of intellectual partisanship and its dedication to fostering democratic practices and institutional forms alert to new and unexpected voices, and always open to differences of opinion. We are equally proud of the great diversity among the participants: the increasingly international character of SCT has added immeasurably to its vitality and energy over the past several years, and participants continue to cite it as a life-changing, project-catalyzing experience, one in which lasting intellectual and personal ties are often formed.
Amanda Anderson
Director, School of Criticism & Theory
http://english.jhu.edu/profiles/aanderson.html
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