scottish universities international summer school
About Us The Scottish Universities’ International Summer School (SUISS) offers
an intense, challenging and diverse programme of study that takes place annually
during the months of July and August in Edinburgh, the world’s first UNESCO City
of Literature. We offer three courses in Text and Context: British and Irish
Literature from 1900 to the Present, one course in Creative Writing, and one
course in Contemporary British and Irish Theatre and Performance. Our literature
courses offer extensive examination of Modernism, Contemporary Literature and
Scottish Literature, while our Creative Writing course allows students to
develop their personal writing portfolios. The Theatre and Performance course,
which explores both theoretical and performative approaches to drama, coincides
with the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and
is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Playwrights’ Studio. We are
located at the University of Edinburgh, and run by a team of hard-working
individuals, led by the Administrator and Co-Directors. This core team, along
with our advisory committee, oversees the lecture programme and management of
the summer school each year. In the summer, we employ volunteer student hosts,
who are SUISS graduates themselves. They are on hand to address the needs and
concerns of our visiting students. Our very talented tutors, who are usually in
the process of completing a PhD in a literature related field, instruct the
seminars. Around 4 million people visit Edinburgh every year, many of them for
the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August – the largest public
celebration of the written word in the world – but many to explore the literary
city and all it has to offer the book lover. Edinburgh is an acclaimed centre of
learning. The National Library of Scotland (NLS) is a copyright library, and
holds a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom. One of the largest
and finest collections in the British Isles, the NLS provides outstanding
facilities for research in all fields. The resources of the NLS are complimented
by The University of Edinburgh Library, the extensive collections of which are
designed to meet the needs of both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
