The European Graduate School (EGS) is a private graduate school that operates in two locations: Saas-Fee, Switzerland, and Valletta, Malta.

History

It was founded in 1994 in Saas-Fee, Switzerland by the Swiss scientist, artist, and therapist, Paolo Knill. It was co-founded by the Swiss Canton of Valais, which is represented in its board. The school initially offered programs in Expressive Arts Therapy, as part of a broader initiative to develop a network of training institutes in Expressive Arts Therapy. A division of Media and Communication (later renamed Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought) was established in 1998 by Wolfgang Schirmacher. EGS is licensed as a university in Malta and is recognized in the Swiss canton where it operates, but is not recognized by the Swiss University Conference, the main regulatory body for universities in Switzerland. Teaching is mostly remote, with required attendance for short periods at the school; ad hoc meetings in various cities also take place. Notable faculty members have included Giorgio Agamben, Chantal Akerman, Pierre Alféri Judith Butler, Achille Mbembe, Avital Ronell, Slavoj Žižek, Alain Badiou, Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Nancy, Paul Virilio, Donna Haraway, Alenka Zupančič, Jacques Rancière, Bracha Ettinger, Jean Baudrillard, Catherine Malabou, Achille Mbembe, Sha Xin Wei, and Sandy Stone, etc. Notable alumni and attendees have included Lara Khaldi, John Maus, Gael García Bernal, Ariana Reines, Micah White, Pablo Iglesias Turrión, Bruce Barber and Duane Rousselle.

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