Open Call | International Cavafy Summer School 2027
“Archival Explorations: The Cavafy Archive and Digital Scholarship”
How could the digitization and digital publishing of the Cavafy archive and Cavafy library reshape research, teaching, archival practice, and public engagement with the work of C. P. Cavafy? The Cavafy Archive and the Onassis Foundation invite PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars to participate in the International Cavafy Summer School 2027 by contributing a research presentation that draws on the Digital Collection of the Cavafy Archive.
The International Cavafy Summer School 2027, an annual scholarly initiative of the Cavafy Archive and the Onassis Foundation, focusing on Cavafy, his work, and his archive, while exploring his poetry’s impact on the world from new cultural and academic perspectives, will take place from July 5th to July 9th at the historical site of the Onassis Mandra in the Athens city center.
Since its inauguration in 2017, the International Cavafy Summer School has aimed to enrich and strengthen participants’ knowledge of Cavafy’s poetry and to encourage future research collaborations between junior and senior scholars from diverse disciplines. Themes explored in previous Summer Schools have been “Cavafy in the World,” “Cavafy and Antiquity,” “Cavafy’s Orient/ations,” “Cavafy Mediated,” “Cavafy across the disciplines and the arts,” “Cavafy, Theater, and Performativity,” and “Cavafy and Egypt.” The theme for the 2027 Summer School is “Archival Explorations: The Cavafy Archive and Digital Scholarship.”
The 2027 Summer School takes as its point of departure the Digital Collection of the Cavafy Archive, i.e., the digital environment hosting the Cavafy archive (since 2019) and the poet’s library (since 2024). It aspires to examine how digital collections function not simply as means to represent archival holdings but as potential research environments that both reflect and redefine knowledge production and interpretation, while digital curation and datafication practices fundamentally change how literary archives are accessed, documented, analyzed, and preserved today. The International Cavafy Summer School 2027 aims to explore how these operations affect our interaction with the Cavafy archive and have implications for academic research, education, and the public history of the Alexandrian poet.
The seminars will explore the ways in which freely available digital resources open up new pathways to access, examine, and analyze our understanding of Cavafy as a writer, reader, friend, and more; outline his critical and dynamic relationship with various historical and other figures, epochs, and movements; and trace the local and international connections and affiliations that make up the networks—literary and otherwise—in which the poet participated or was made a part. With a focus on the archival and scholarly practices underlying the development of these digital applications, invited speakers will address questions such as: How do digital collections preserve, reinterpret, or transform the histories of archival collections? Which research questions, reading practices, and scholarly workflows do digital infrastructures enable, and how are these anticipated through the design of digital collections? Finally, how do these practices reshape the ways we analyze the work, life, and afterlives of the Alexandrian poet? Through a combination of case studies, methodological storytelling, and theory-informed discussions, the program intends to address the full complexity of doing scholarship with (digital) literary archives and research tools.
We invite PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars to participate in the International Cavafy Summer School by contributing a research presentation that draws on the Digital Collection of the Cavafy Archive (archive and library). Submissions should either employ the Digital Collection as a primary research resource for scholarship on Cavafy’s life and work or demonstrate how these digital resources—alone or in combination with other tools—enhance and transform biographical inquiry, literary analysis, and reception studies. Proposals that bring other literary archives and their digital environments into dialogue with the Cavafy Archive are equally welcomed.
Combining theoretical perspectives with empirical case studies, the program examines how open-access digital resources shape—and are shaped by—scholarly practices at the intersection of Cavafy Studies, archival curation, data management, literary methodology, and the design of digital research environments.
The International Cavafy Summer School 2027 will be led by Bart Soethaert (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) and Maria Akritidou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece) and will take place in the Athens city center. Among the invited scholars who will hold seminars and act as mentors, offering feedback and responding to participants’ presentations, are David Sutton (University of Reading, UK), Christopher Ohge (University of London, UK), Amalia Pappa (General Director of the General State Archives), Alexandros Katsigiannis (University of Crete), Sophia Zisimopoulou (Athens School of Fine Arts), Vasilis Vasileiadis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), and Foteini Dimirouli (Keble College, Oxford University).
The 2027 Summer School will involve twelve participants who will meet for five days of morning and afternoon sessions (July 5–9). The invited scholars will offer seminars, followed by short research presentations by the participants. All seminar participants are expected to attend every session and actively participate in creative discussions. This format is designed to encourage engaging and stimulating exchanges throughout the summer school week and beyond. Additional events, including cultural visits and special presentations, might be scheduled during the week.
The working language of the International Cavafy Summer School is English. Knowledge of Modern Greek is not a requirement, but applicants are expected to bring a measure of familiarity with Cavafy’s work and/or with the Digital Collection of the Cavafy Archive. This year’s Cavafy Summer School is particularly suitable for participants from a wide range of fields, including, but not limited to, Modern Greek Studies, Comparative Literature, Archival and Information Science, Library Science and Digital Communication, Museology, Public Humanities, Cultural Heritage Studies, Media Studies, and Digital Humanities.
The International Cavafy Summer School will cover all room and board expenses for its participants. In addition, all tuition charges and other fees will be waived. Participants may also apply for grants to cover their travel expenses in whole or in part.
PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars working in relevant fields are invited to apply to the 2027 International Cavafy Summer School. Exceptionally, up to two master’s-level postgraduates may also be accepted based on outstanding academic merit and a clear interest in the thematic focus of the Summer School.
Applicants are asked to submit:
- a cover letter that includes a brief outline of their current research and their motivation for participating in the International Summer School (max. 500 words);
- a description of the particular topic (abstract) they would like to develop in a 20-minute presentation during the International Summer School (max. 500 words);
- a detailed CV;
- contact information of an individual who could provide a reference letter supporting their application.
- All documents should be submitted in English.
Participants might be photographed and/or recorded, and portions of their presentations and/or discussions may be made public.
The International Cavafy Summer School application deadline is December 18, 2026.
Successful applicants will be informed by the end of January 2027 and will be asked to submit a 3,000-word draft of their presentation by 5th of May 2027.
Failure to submit this draft on time means forfeiting one’s place in the Summer School.
To apply, candidates must create a personal account on the Onassis Directory using the link below. They can complete and upload the application and supporting documents in stages at any time before the submission deadline.
Please address any remaining questions to cavafyarchive@onassis.org.
