Call for applications
July 29–August 29, 2025
Having completed its inaugural meeting in Bergamo, Italy, the program in Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought now looks forward to its 27th summer session in Saas Fee, Switzerland.
The exciting line-up of seminars is in keeping with its outstanding tradition and features the following offerings:
July 30–August 4:
Christopher Fynsk, “Witness, Friendship, Community: Toward Freedom”
Avital Ronell, “Derrida’s Greatest Hits”
August 7–12:
Elie During and Jean-Marc Levy-Leblond, “Quantum Thoughts”
Catherine Malabou, "“The Problem of Synthesis in Derrida’s Of Grammatology, Part II, ‘Nature, Culture, Writing’—Echoes of Auto-Affection”
August 15–20:
Frank Ruda, “What is to be (Un)Done? Practices of Courage and Justice”
Achille Mbembe, “Apartheid after South Africa”
August 23–28:
Étienne Balibar, “Intersectionality and Anthropological Differences”
Jodi Dean: “Communist Freedom”
It is not too late to join the PACT MA and PhD degree programs for the 2025 academic year. Students may still enjoy a broad range of elective opportunities, available online or in person. They may also audit the upcoming seminars, be this in the live, intimate settings or via a full online experience. They have 12 seminars from which to choose in the upcoming August (Saas Fee) and October (Valletta, Malta) meetings. The October session will host Professors Copjec, Dolar, Liviana-Messina, and Judith Butler.
Many students wonder if they are qualified for entry into EGS programs, but the
EGS does not define qualification in standard academic terms. It seeks to support a community of individuals who think independently and show a strong measure of curiosity—individuals with a capacity to open to challenging thought and an interest in shared creative encounter. With its celebrated professorial cohort, it has built a rich and diverse community of scholars. Some follow a normal academic progression, some come from various professional backgrounds. Many who join the EGS have testified that their experience has changed their lives, and all have found inspiration.
The growing importance of Advanced Study at the EGS
At no time in our recent history has philosophically-informed critical thought been more urgently needed. In response to the rise of authoritarian and socially regressive movements, along with an ever-increasing volume of distraction and even menace, the EGS works to retain its seriousness of purpose, its creative impetus, its rigour, and its edge. It also maintains an unqualified commitment to academic freedom and integrity. Its role and purpose has never been more clear, and it is thus confident that the exceptional quality of its offerings will be of interest to a very broad range of participants. The celebrated professors of the EGS present current research that is both responsive to our moment, and genuinely accessible.
We want to underscore that the exceptionally beautiful locations in which the EGS community takes form are also sites in which open thought and exchange are possible. At a time when study in the U.S., for example, can carry risk, and when research in the humanities is under threat, the EGS offers an alternative that is not only flexible and affordable, but of the very highest quality.
For a statement on academic freedom at the EGS, see the recent address by Christopher Fynsk: “Study at the EGS in 2025: Inspiration and Critical Freedom in Dark Times.”
All seminars are open to auditing, with the following fees: 600 dollars (in-person auditing); 400 dollars (online auditing).
To inquire about auditing any of our seminars, please contact Dr. Nemanja Mitrović (nemanja.mitrovic@egs.edu) or Carole Salzmann (admissions@egs.edu).
For information on applying for MA or PhD studies at the EGS, please visit here.
