Program Overview

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University Program Information

The Scuola Normale Superiore offers various programs for students and researchers.

Faculties

• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Sciences
• Faculty of Political and Social Sciences

Teaching Syllabus

The teaching syllabus includes:

• Faculty of Humanities
• Faculty of Sciences
• Faculty of Political and Social Sciences
• Study regulations
• Seminars
• Foreign Languages
  • English Courses and Materials
• Course archive
• Admission to single courses

College Life

College life at the Scuola Normale Superiore includes:

• Colleges and canteen
• Places
• Library
• Collaboration opportunities
• Peer tutoring
• Financing opportunities
• Psychological wellbeing and support
• Disability support
• Student activities

Why Apply to the Normale?

The Scuola Normale Superiore offers:

• At the forefront of tradition
• A hotbed of talents
• The quality of training and research
• Connected to the world
• Study free of charge
• An ideal setting

Placement

Placement opportunities include:

• Incoming internships
• Outgoing Internships
• Customised orientation and consultancy
• Placement seminars
• Placement portals
• JOBFair
• For companies and institutions
• Alumni and Mentoring

Admissions

Admission procedures include:

• Undergraduate
• PhD
• National Doctorates and Joint PhD at Partner Universities

Research and Innovation

Research and innovation at the Scuola Normale Superiore include:

• Cutting-edge research
• Departments of Excellence
• Knowledge transfer
• Open Science
• Dissemination of research
• Research Quality Assessment (VQR)

Research Structures

Research structures include:

• Laboratories and Centres
• Research groups
• Support Centres

Tools for Research

Tools for research include:

• Research opportunities and funding
• Training activities and information
• Knowledge and technology transfer
• The Joint Ethical Committee for Research

Public Engagement

Public engagement activities include:

• The "Normale delle Idee"
• The "Concerti della Normale"
• Il Cinema della Normale
• Communicating research
• The students' forum
• The "Letture della Normale"
• Contemporary art at the Carovana
• Piazza dei Cavalieri Project
• Third mission/Public Engagement co-ordination

Dissemination of Research

Dissemination of research includes:

• Meetings, conferences and workshops
• The Colloqui della Classe di Scienze

Valorisation of Research

Valorisation of research includes:

• Placement
• Trasferimento della conoscenza
• Open Science
• Gestione dei dati della ricerca
• Open access alle pubblicazioni

Melodrama / Realism: Two Conflicting Approaches

Academic Year 2025/2026

The course "Melodrama / Realism: two conflicting approaches in literature, painting, theater, cinema, and music (from Euripides to TV series)" is offered in the academic year 2025/2026.

Lecturer

The lecturer for this course is Massimo Fusillo.

Schedule

The schedule for this course includes:

• May 2026 - June 2026
• Total hours: 40
• Hours of lectures: 40

Examination Procedure

The examination procedure for this course includes a discussion of a paper.

Examination Procedure Notes

Students must prepare a seminar on a topic related to the monographic theme, not on the texts in the program; purely theoretical and methodological seminars are also welcome.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course; it is designed for doctoral students but is also open to students enrolled in the regular course.

Syllabus

The course will develop the themes and issues covered in the regular course regarding the interaction between melodrama and realism, focusing primarily on theoretical and methodological questions and exploring the transmedia dissemination of the two approaches.

Bibliographical References

The bibliographical references for this course include:

• Pedro Almodóvar, Matador, Spagna 1986
• Erich Auerbach, Mimesis. Il realismo nella letteratura occidentale, Torino, Einaudi. 2002
• Honoré de Balzac, Illusioni perdute, Introduzione di Francesco Fiorentino, Milano, Rizzoli, 1995
• Federico Bertoni, Realismo e letteratura. Una storia possibile, Torino, Einaudi, 2007
• Emily Bronte, Cime tempestose, Milano, BUR, 2017
• Peter Brooks, L'immaginazione melodrammatica, prefazione di Mariolina Bertini, Milano, Il saggiatore, 2023
• Gustave Courbet, Il realismo. Lettere e scritti, Milano, Abscondita, 2024
• Euripide, Ippolito, con testo originale a fronte, a cura di Guido Paduano, Milano, BUR, 2000
• Lazarillo de Tormes, con testo a fronte, a cura di Antonio Gargano, Venezia, Marsilio, 2017
• Roberto Longhi, Caravaggio, Roma, Editori riuniti, 2006
• Alessandro Metlica, Lessico della propaganda barocca, Venezia, Marsilio, 2020
• Emiliano Morreale, Cosě piangevano. Il cinema melň nell'Italia degli anni Cinquanta, Roma, Donzelli, 2010
• Petronio, Satyricon, con testo originale a fronte, a cura di Andrea Aragosti, Milano, BUR, 1995
• Henry Purcell/Sasha Waltz, Dido and Aeneas, Berlin 2005
• Gianluigi Rossini, Le serie TV, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016
• Douglas Sirk, All That Heaven Allows, USA 1955
• Walter Siti, Il realismo dell'avanguardia, Torino, Einaudi, 1975
• Giuseppe Verdi- Alexandre Dumas, La Traviata - La signora delle camelie, Firenze, Passigli, 1985
• Luchino Visconti, Senso, Italia 1954