Contrappunti. Narrating Neurodiversity builds on the study days held in Castelplanio in July 2026 under the patronage of the Department of Philology, Literature and Linguistics of the University of Pisa. The school is promoted by the Department together with the Municipality of Castelplanio and Anffas Jesi ETS-APS, which cover most of the costs.
Narratives centred on neurodivergent characters have multiplied across media – from Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to Lloyd-Barlow’s All the Little Bird-Hearts, from Atypical to Extraordinary Attorney Woo, to the autistic comics anthology Sensory. Critical attention to their forms and styles has not kept pace.
At the crossroads of literary studies, disability studies and cognitive literary studies, the school approaches neurodiversity – autism and ADHD in particular – as a cultural object rather than a pathology to be represented. It follows two lines of inquiry: representations of neurodivergence in fiction (Dick, Lethem, DeLillo, Haddon), and writing by neurodivergent authors, from autobiography (Grandin, Williams) to genre fiction (Solomon, McGuire). The focus is on how these narratives work: narrative voice, mind style, genre preferences, image-text forms. This raises a theoretical question: cognitive narratology assumes shared schemata, a functioning theory of mind, embodiment and “hot” cognition. What happens when author or reader do not fully possess these tools? Neurodivergent narratives may refine, or challenge, the models of “natural” narratology, revealing forms of literary “cold cognition”.
The programme combines lectures and workshops; on the final morning participants present their work. Two lectures are open to the public, as part of the University’s engagement with the local community.
The Summer School will be activated with at least 10 students. The maximum number of participants is set to 16 students.
The Summer School will be held on campus in Castelplanio (AN), at Comune di Castelplanio, Piazza Mazzini, 1.
By the end of the school, participants will be able to:
We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.
We are not aware of any English requirements for this programme.
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The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.
This programme is taught in different countries. Which country are you interested in?
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