This curriculum aims to cover the entire spectrum of topics related to social differences in language use, dealt with in all its aspects and at every level of analysis. Research will therefore concern the distribution of Italo-Romance dialects, their relations with the language(s) of culture, sociolinguistic variation in Italian, and contact between different languages and dialects, as well as ‘historical’ linguistic minorities and new minorities.

Research will focus on Greek, Latin and Early Christian literature, classical philology, and the Greek and Latin literary production from the Middle Ages and the Age of Humanism. The methods of text criticism and literary-historical exegesis will be applied to texts, as well as of literary anthropology and cultural history, reception and gender studies.

Researches will be focused on intertextual relationships between arts, literatures and the humanities, within a diachronic and synchronic perspective; the study of reciprocal influences of literatures and other forms of art (music, figurative, plastic and performing arts, cinema, media) aims at reconstructing the complexity of a text and its aesthetic value, combining philology and hermeneutics; intertextual, intercultural and inter artes analysis will be the privileged critical tool. Therefore, research will concern the forms, modes, genres, myths and codes having affected the developments and cultural physiognomy of Weltliteratur.

Research will focus on the cultural exchanges between France and Italy, as well as with other European and non-European cultures; the outcomes of the reception of classical tradition in France and French-speaking countries will also be studied. Research projects will concern French literature and culture from the Middle Ages to contemporary times, the history of the French language and diachronic linguistics, with a focus on Middle French.

PhD students will scientific training through the methodologies of linguistics, philology, literature, as well as cultural-historical and philosophical-religious studies, with a specific focus on the Indian subcontinent (including the Tibetan sub-area).

Both diachronic and synchronic perspectives are applied to ancient, middle and neo-Indo-Aryan languages, with specific focus on language pedagogy and contemporary artistic expressions.

Research concerns literary works (in Italian, Latin and the various Italian dialects) from the origins of the Italian language to the contemporary age; literary text-types and genres will be explored thanks to different methodologies: historiography, historical-literary criticism, stylistics, philology. Therefore, the research includes study and commentary on the texts themselves and their historical and geographical contextualisation with respect to the various ancient Italian states and regional realities; literary language in its various historical and technical aspects, as well as literary communication in relationship with the visual and performing arts and the new media will also be concerned.

The PhD program in Semiotics offers an exceptional academic environment geared towards cultivating a deep understanding of the intricate complexities of digital communication, technology, artificial intelligence, digital images, and the exploration of future communication scenarios and normative settings. It provides doctoral students with a rigorous training that prioritizes research and scholarship in these pivotal areas.

At the forefront of the program's objectives is the critical examination of semiotics as it applies to digital communication. Through an interdisciplinary approach, students are encouraged to explore the multifaceted dimensions of this rapidly evolving field. The program recognizes the growing significance of digital media and its pervasive impact on contemporary society, thus placing great emphasis on conducting cutting-edge research in this domain.

The study of semiotics within the context of digital communication encompasses a wide range of topics, including the analysis of symbols, signs, and meaning-making processes in relation to digital platforms, social media, and emerging technologies. The program also fosters investigations into the semiotic implications of artificial intelligence, seeking to unravel the intricate web of meaning embedded within its algorithms and mechanisms.

Moreover, the curriculum emphasizes the exploration of future communication scenarios and normative settings. By delving into prospective developments, students gain a forward-thinking perspective, enabling them to anticipate and contribute to the shaping of communication practices and ethical frameworks in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

This curriculum aims at providing PhD students with high-level and international training in the areas of cinema, media, live performance and music, and at seeking the interdisciplinary approach and adequate historical, cultural, critical, philological and computing methodology. The fields of investigation concern both the languages and the stylistic analysis of audiovisual texts (cinema, television, new media), as well as the historical phenomena concerning music (cultured, ethnic and popular) in the framework of production and reception of live arts. Theatrical forms, dance and performance will be analysed in their historical and cultural contexts and in close relation to the phenomena of reenactment, heritage preservation and