The Ischia Summer School on the History of the Life Sciences provides advanced training in a lively international field that offers a long-term perspective on some of the most significant ideas, practices and institutions in the world today. The school, which has a tradition of association with the Naples Zoological Station that goes back to 1978, was revived in 2005 after a break of one decade and has run every other year since then except during the Coronavirus pandemic. Meeting in a culturally rich and naturally beautiful setting, the school offers a week-long experience of lively debate among students and scholars at various career stages and from diverse backgrounds.
The next school, which (subject to funding) will take place from 28 June to 5 July 2026, will delve into ‘Growth and Its Discontents’. Although critical to meeting the challenges of an ever-expanding global economy, growth has so far received little attention from historians of the life sciences or medicine.
