Notiziario. Ottobre 2010...d’Italianistica, the official journal of our Society. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY Corporate Sponsors ($500.00 (CAD)) Subscription period: Unlimited Couple ($100.00

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Notiziario – Ottobre 2010

Table of Contents:

Letter from the President________________________________________ p. 2

CSIS Membership______________________________________________ p. 3

List of the CSIS Executive & Committees ____________________________ p. 4

Conference/Convegno 2010______________________________________ p. 5

Conference/Convegno 2011_______________________________________p. 6

Call for Sessions________________________________________________ p.7

Welcome to the New Members_____________________________________ p.8

Graduate Student’s Award________________________________________ p.9

Announcements_______________________________________________ p. 10

Publications__________________________________________________ p. 14

Job positions_________________________________________________ p. 17

Call for papers________________________________________________ p. 25

Editor: Dr. Paola Basile – Editor Assistants: Sarah Rolfe & Dr. Francesca L’Orfano

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Letter from the President

The annual conference in Montreal at the end of May was very successful. I think all

participants enjoyed what the city has to offer in terms of food, history, culture, and

entertainment. The papers presented were of a high caliber and spanned a range of disciplines.

I was particularly pleased to see a good number of graduate students participating actively.

Our keynote speaker, the prolific US historian Donna Gabaccia, has written extensively on

topics related to the Italian Diaspora. Her stimulating lecture was attended, among others, by

the Italian Ambassador, the Consul General of Italy and the Director of the Italian Cultural

Centre in Montreal. Changes were brought to the CSIS Executive with the separation of the

office of Secretary-Treasurer into two distinct positions. As well, a student representative has

now joined us in the person of Sarah Rolfe, a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto.

I would like to ask every member to help us in trying to augment our society’s membership. If

each of us could persuade a colleague with an interest in Italian Studies broadly defined,

whether this be in little represented disciplines in our organization such as law, sociology,

politics, or more traditional ones such as art, literature and linguistics, this would help secure

the CSIS for many years to come. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our

next annual conference which will be held at the Ateneo Veneto in Venice from June 22 to 24.

The conference has already raised a great deal of interest and promises to be an outstanding

event. Arrivederci, Roberto Perin

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Canadian Society for Italian Studies

The aims of the Canadian Society for Italian Studies (CSIS) are the promotion and development in Canada of Italian studies and the dissemination of information concerning research in progress, meetings held and publications available in the field, both in Canada and abroad. The Society holds two conferences a year, one in the fall and the other in conjunction with the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities. Members of our Society automatically receive the Society’s Notiziario and Quaderni

d’Italianistica, the official journal of our Society.

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY

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To become a member or renew your membership

PLEASE MAKE YOUR CHEQUE PAYABLE TO THE CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR ITALIAN STUDIES AND FORWARD IT WITH THIS FORM TO:

Dr. Enrico Vicentini Leaside High School

200 Hanna Road Toronto, Ontario M4K 1M3

Tel.: (416) 396-2380 Fax: (416) 396-2371

E-mail: [email protected]

You can also pay with a credit card using the CSIS PayPal account:

http://canadiansocietyforitalianstudies.camp7.org/Membership

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List of the CSIS Executive & Committees

PRESIDENT (2008-2011) Prof. Roberto Perin Department of History Glendon College , York University 2275 Bayview Avenue Toronto M4N 3M6 Tel. (office): (416) 736-2100 x88249 Fax: (416) 487-6852 E-mail: [email protected]

VICE-PRESIDENT (2008-2011) Prof. Paola Basile Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Lake Erie College 391 West Washington street Painesville, Ohio 44077, US Tel. (440) 375-7542 Fax: (440) 375-7005 E-mail: [email protected]

SECRETARY (2010-2013) Dr. Elena Benelli Classics, Modern languages and Linguistics

PAST PRESIDENT (2008-2011) Prof. Olga Pugliese Victoria College, NFH 328

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Concordia University 1455 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Suite H-663 Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8 Tel. (office): (514) 848-2424 x5474 Fax: (514) 848-8679 E-mail: [email protected]

University of Toronto 73 Queen’s Park Cres. E. Toronto, Ontario M5S 1K7 Tel. (office): (416) 585-4589 Fax: (416) 585-4584 E-mail: [email protected]

EDITOR, Quaderni d'italianistica (2008-2011) Prof. Konrad Eisenbichler Victoria College, NF 308 University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario M5S 1K7 Tel. (office): (416) 585-4486 Fax: (416) 585-4579 E-mail: [email protected]

TREASURER (2010-2013) Dr. Enrico Vicentini Leaside High School 200 Hanna Road Toronto, Ontario M4K 1M3 Tel.: (416) 396-2380 Fax: (416) 396-2371 E-mail: [email protected]

GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Sarah Rolfe University of Toronto Department of Italian Studies Carr Hall, Room 204 100 St. Joseph St. Toronto, Ontario M5S 1J4 E-mail:[email protected]

TREASURER ad interim and WebMaster (2010) Prof. Sandra Parmegiani School of Languages and Literatures University of Guelph Guelph, N1G 2W1 Tel.: (519)824-4120, x54989 Fax: (519)763-9572 E-mail: [email protected]

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Our Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Italian

Studies 2010 held at Concordia University, Montreal,

Quebec, was very successful (25 sessions!)

Here is our program:

http://canadiansocietyforitalianstudies.camp7.org/Resources/Documents/CSIS%20Montreal%20program%20final3.doc ***************************************************************************

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Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Italian Studies 2011

At the: Ateneo Veneto

In: Venice, Italy

On: June 24 - June 26, 2011

In order to attend the CSIS conference, all delegates are

required:

1) To be CSIS members for the year 2011 (Jan.1st -

Dec.31st)

2) To pay the CSIS Conference Registration Fee

(It will be posted on-line)

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Call for Sessions

Il prossimo convegno della Società Canadese per gli Studi d’Italianistica si terrà a Venezia, presso l’Ateneo Veneto, i giorni 24, 25 e 26 giugno 2011.

Proposta di una sessione con argomento specifico:

La invitiamo a partecipare al nostro convegno e a proporre una sessione su un argomento relativo alla cultura, letteratura, storia, lingua, ecc., italiana, italo-canadese e/o italo-americana entro il primo dicembre 2010. La preghiamo di inviare una breve descrizione della sessione con relativo titolo assieme a una breve biografia alla vice-presidentessa Paola Basile ([email protected]) e alla segretaria Elena Benelli ([email protected]).

L’invito ufficiale a proporre interventi sarà in un secondo tempo inviato a tutti i soci e caricato sul nostro sito web (http://canadiansocietyforitalianstudies.camp7.org/), assieme alle sessioni regolari, dopo il primo dicembre 2010.

Invio degli interventi da includere nelle sessioni:

La data di scadenza per proporre un intervento è il primo marzo 2011. La preghiamo di inviare un riassunto di 100-200 parole, una breve biografia e il Suo indirizzo (nome, istituzione, indirizzo di posta elettronica e telefono) all’organizzatore della sessione da Lei scelta.

Tutti i partecipanti al convegno devono essere iscritti alla Società Canadese per gli Studi d’Italianistica e devono iscriversi al convegno entro le date stabilite. La Società si riserva il diritto di escludere i partecipanti che non siano in regola con i pagamenti.

* * *

The conference of the Canadian Society for Italian Studies will be held from June 24 to June 26, 2011 at the Ateneo Veneto, in Venice, Italy.

Sessions may be proposed on any aspect of Italian (or Italian-North American) studies: Language, Literature, Linguistics, History, Philosophy, Cinema, etc.

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Deadline for sessions:

In order to propose a session, please send the session title, a 50- to 100-word proposal, a short bio-bibliographical profile and contact information (name, affiliation, email, and phone) to the CSIS Vice-President Paola Basile ([email protected]) and to the Secretary Elena Benelli ([email protected]). Session organizers must be current or newly joining CSIS Members, and must register for the CSIS conference. The deadline for the presentation of sessions is December 1st, 2010.

The official call for papers with the names of the session organizers will be emailed to all members and also posted after December 1st, 2010 on the CSIS website: http://canadiansocietyforitalianstudies.camp7.org/

Deadline for papers:

Proposals may be submitted to the session organizers until March 1st 2011.

All proposals must include: a title and a 100- to 200-word abstract, a short bio-bibliographical profile and contact information (name, affiliation, email, and phone). All participants must be current or newly joining CSIS Members, and must register for the CSIS conference.

In the meantime inquiries could be directed to the President, Roberto Perin ([email protected]), the Vice-President, Paola Basile ([email protected]), or the Secretary, Elena Benelli ([email protected]).

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WELCOME to the new members! BENVENUTI nuovi membri!

La Societa` Canadese per gli Studi di Italianistica da` il benvenuto ai

nuovi colleghi e soci.

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Graduate Student’s Award The Selection Committee has selected the essay The In-Between Space for Desire: Leopard

and Beckett’s Theory of the Comic by Roberta Cauchi.

Congratulazioni Roberta!

The In-Between Space for Desire: Leopardi and Beckett’s Theory of the Comic

The ablation of desire, defined by Beckett in his monograph Proust as “the suffering of being”

(19), is here explored in confrontation with Giacomo Leopardi’s contribution to this notion. Leopardi

surmises the desire of not desiring in his famous statement “non c’e’ maggior piacere (nè maggior

felicità) nella vita che il non sentirla” (Zibaldone, 3895).

The evolution of Leopardi’s negative thought, which passes through Arthur Schopenhauer and

Friedrich Nietzsche (it is by now well established that the latter two knew and appreciated Leopardi),1

is taken up by the notion of desire filtered through Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, who, together

with Leopardi, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, constitute among the major sources of negative thought

in Beckett. Desire from a Lacanian perspective, which condenses Freudian ‘wish’ and ‘drive’ while

adding a reference to the seeking of that which cannot be found, is paramount in the analysis of desire

that Beckett inherits but that Leopardi already prefigures.2

My contention is that both Leopardi and Beckett initially aspire to the ablation of desire albeit it is the

attempt to overcome this condition that characterizes a play like Happy Days as it is to the

reintroduction of human desire in the social chain that Leopardi alludes in the late poem La Ginestra-

Il Fiore del deserto.

1 Restivo, Giuseppina. ‘Caliban\Clov and Leopardi’s Boy: Beckett and Postmodernism’. Beckett and Beyond. Steward, Bruce (ed.) Buckinghamshire: Colin Smyth ltd., 1999. p.224. 2 Antonio Prete links Leopardi’s concept of desire with Freud’s in Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Prete, Antonio. Pensiero Poetante. Milano: Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, 1980. p.17.

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Annunci Annonces

From Mary Watt: I am now the Chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures and

Cultures at the University of of Florida. Congratulation Mary!

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From Sciltian Gastaldi: I have almost completed my PhD thesis. The title is "Pier Vittorio

Tondelli: scrittura dell'impegno e poetica neobarocca". I should hopefully defend it next year

(2011).

*************************************************************************** From Donald Bruce: I have the very pleasant task of announcing the winners of this

year's College of Arts Teaching Awards. The formal recognition of the recipients of the

College Teaching Awards will take place at the Dean's Celebration, at 4:00pm on

Wednesday Sept 22 in the Faculty Lounge. The invitation to that event will be arriving in

your mailbox shortly.

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The recipient of the College of Arts Faculty Teaching Award is Prof Sandra

Parmegiani of Solal (European Studies/Italian). Congratulations to Sandra on this fine

achievement!

And the recipient of the College of Arts Sessional and CL Teaching Award also goes to a

member of Solal, Andrea Sanders (French). Congratulations to Andrea also for her

contributions to the high quality of teaching which the College prides itself on.

A third teaching award has also recently been announced: this is the UGFA Teaching

Award. In this case, the recipient is Prof John Russon of Philosophy. Congratulations to

John also for this recognition of his excellent teaching in philosophy. This award will be

presented at a separate UGFA sponsored event.

Please come out to the Dean's Celebration next week and honour our colleagues who have

received this recognition of their fine teaching! I hope to see you there.

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This past summer, the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, appointed Professor Konrad

Eisenbichler a Commander (Commendatore) in the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy.

Founded in 1951 to replace several previous honours for merit awarded by the Kingdom of

Italy, the O.M.R.I. is the first and highest of the various orders of knighthood of the Republic

of Italy. It is headed by the President of the Republic and is awarded in five degrees, of which

that of commendatore is the third or middle degree (comparable to the rank of Officer in the

Order of Canada or of Commander in the Order of the British Empire). Eisenbichler received

the distinction in recognition of his scholarship on, and his volunteer work for Italian culture.

We congratulate him on this splendid achievement.

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From Antonio Rossini: Annuncio la mia

promozione ad Associate Professor e la nomina a Director dello Humanities Research Group.

E' un organismo interdipartimentale che coordina eventi (convegni, conferenze) e facilita la

ricerca. Inoltre sarebbe un ottimo contatto per tutti voi qualora foste intenzionati a dare una

lecture alla nostra università. Avrei la discrezionalità necessaria per invitare speaker di rilievo.

*************************************************************************** From Anna Makolkin: In 2009-2010 academic year, I organized an exhibition THE STORY

OF NAPLES FROM ANTIQUITY TO MODERNITY which was offcially opened at the

UofT Robarts Library on Sept. 8.2009, well attended and lasted up to Dec.28.2009.

I also proposed a Conference ON THE STORY OF FORGOTTEN FERRARA IN MAY

2011, which will take place in Ferrara. The deadline for abstracts is Dec.25.2010.

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From Guglielmo Bernardi: I directed the first staged version of the Roman oratorio “La

Giuditta” by Francisco Antonio de Almeida (1722) at the Oper Frankfurt. The production

was reviewed in the Corriere della Musica (http://www.giornaledellamusica.it/rol/?id=3155).

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Press Release For Immediate Release

ACCENTI ANNOUNCES LITERARY AND PHOTO CONTESTS

First Prize $1000 Deadline: February 18, 2011

Thursday, October 14, 2010 - Accenti Magazine is pleased to announce its 6th Annual Literary Contest and 4th Photo Competition. Winning entries will be presented at the Accenti Magazine Awards during the 13th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival, April 27 to May 1, 2011. The Accenti Magazine contests are open to all writers and photographers, established and emerging, worldwide. First Prize for each contest is $1000 and publication in Accenti. Second and third place winners receive $250.00 and $100.00 respectively. The deadline is February 18, 2011. For contest rules, please go to http://www.accenti.ca/ Follow us on Facebook: Annual Accenti Magazine Writing Contest/Photo Competition. New this year, Accenti's literary contest is open to fiction and nonfiction on any topic; and Accenti's photo competition asks participants to "Capture an Italian Moment Anywhere in the World." Past winners of the literary contest include Loretta Di Vita (2010), Ivano Stocco (2009), Paul French (2008), Maria Francesca LoDico (2007) and Sheila Wright (2006). Photo winners include Amy Occhipinti (2010), Robert T. Norton (2009) and Nick Colarusso (2008). See awards presentations (2006-2010) on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/videos4accenti About Accenti Magazine Founded in Montreal in 2003, Accenti celebrates Italian influences on Canada's cultural and literary heritage and acts as a bridge between communities. For more information, please visit www.accenti.ca. (514) 329-3254 (106) / [email protected]

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Publications - Pubblicazioni

From Sonia Cancian: A revised version of my doctoral dissertation was published in May

into the book, entitled, Families, Lovers, and their Letters: Italian Postwar Migration to

Canada (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2010).

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From John Potestio: I would like to report the upcoming publication (2011) of my book on

the R.F. Welch Company (see John Potestio, The Memoirs of Giovanni Veltri, (Toronto:

Multicultural Society of Ontario , 1987). This is a more in-depth study of my Master's Thesis

on the Welch (Veltri) Company.

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From Sciltian Gastaldi: On Octobre 21, 2010, my humorous novel "Tutta colpa di Miguel

Bosé" (Blame It All on Miguel Bosé) will be published by Fazi Editori of Rome.

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From Massimo Verdicchio: il mio libro, The Poetics of Dante’s Paradiso, e` stato

pubblicato da University of Toronto Press, 173pp.

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From Konrad Eisenbichler: The “Essays and Studies” series directed by Konrad

Eisenbichler and published by the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies has

published three volumes of interest to our discipline. They are:

Massimo Dall’Aglio. Savonarola and Savonarolism. Essays and Studies 24. Toronto: CRRS,

2010. Pp. 190. ISBN 978-0-77272-061-0. This is an English translation of Dall’Aglio’s

fundamental text on Girolamo Savonarola and on Savonarolism in the sixteenth century,

reviewed with great praise in the major journals in the field.

The Poetics of Masculinity in Early Modern Italy and Spain, edited by Gerry Milligan and

Jane Tylus. Essays and Studies 22. Toronto: CRRS, 2010. Pp.398 + 8 ill. A collection of 14

articles by eminent Italianists such as Gary Cestaro, Mary-Michelle DeCoste, Carla Freccero,

Ian Moulton, Gerry Milligan, Jane Tylus, and Marc David Schachter.

Faith and Fantasy in the Renaissance. Texts, Images, and Religious Practices, edited by Olga

Zorzi Pugliese and Ethan Matt Kavaler. Essays and Studies 21. Toronto: CRRS, 2010. Pp.

360 + 54 ill. A collection of articles that include studies on Dante’s imagery (by Pina Palma),

Venetian iconology (by Paola Modesti), Friulian incantations (by Rienzo Pellegrini), the

Italian Jesuit Francesco Bressani (by Joseph Pivato), Leon Battista Alberti (Charles H.

Carman), and Antonio Duca (David Karmon).

For further information on these and on forthcoming volumes, as well as for ordering

information, consult the CRRS web page at www.crrs.ca and click under “Publications”.

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From Mark Epstein: Creative Interventions: The Role of Intellectuals in Contemporary Italy

Eugenio Bolongaro (Author, Editor), Mark Epstein (Editor), Rita Gagliano (Editor),

Cambridge Scholars Publishing; New edition, 2009.

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From Beatrice Barbalato: invio le indicazioni sulle mie ultime pubblicazioni.

Beatrice Barbalato, Sisifo felice. Vincenzo Cerami, drammaturgo, Bruxelles, Peter Lang,

2009, pp. 231 (Supported from FNRS-Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique,

Belgique). ISBN 978-90-5201-467-8.

Beatrice Barbalato, Sul palco c’è l’autore – Scrivere, filmare, interpretare : Carmelo Bene,

Gianni Celati, Ascanio Celestini, Vincenzo Cerami, Roberto De Simone, Mario Martone,

Louvain, PUL Presses Universitaires de Louvain, pp. 280. ISBN 2-87463-031-4.

Beatrice Barbalato, Vincenzo Cerami : le récit et la scène (edited by B. Barbalato), Louvain la

Neuve-UCL, PUL Presses Universitaires de Louvain, 2005, p. 344. ISBN 2-930344-68-7.

Beatrice Barbalato, « Piero della Francesca, neoplatonismo, e spazio solidale: lo spettatore

incontra la regina di Saba», in Viator n° 41, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Berkeley,

UCLA University of California, Los Angeles, 2010.

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From Anna Makolkin: In 2009, by chance, two of my books appeared in one year: Wisdom

and Happiness, With or Without God (2009) - Toronto, a City in Between (2009).

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Job Positions

Research Assistant for Canadian Historical Recognition Program Project:

Italian Canadians During World War II, Columbus Centre

JOB TITLE: Research Assistant

Organization: Columbus Centre

Application Deadline: November 12, 2010

Website: http://www.villacharities.com/main.asp?view=Columbus

Position: Research Assistant (2)

Term: Contract – 16 weeks

Location: Toronto - GTA

Salary: $450.00/week

Start Date: November 22, 2010

The Columbus Centre’s most recent project Italian Canadians During World War II will

acknowledge, commemorate, educate and increase knowledge about the internments that

occurred during this period. Funded by the Canadian Citizenship and Multiculturalism

Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP), the project will focus on the collection

of the personal memories of surviving internees and family members. These video histories

will form a national archive, along with

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related print, photographic and other resources.

The resulting archive will be shared with the Italian community and general public through a

permanent exhibit housed at the Columbus Centre, a virtual and interactive exhibit and an

online version of the archive accessible via the internet, and a publication.

The Research Assistant, reporting to the Project Director, and supervised by the

Researchers/Writers will be responsible for the local-area archival and historical

research relating to the project, and interviews/video recordings of oral histories.

Responsibilities

• Support work of the Researchers/Writers

• Undertake research on the Italian-Canadian internment experience in the

Toronto/Greater Toronto Area

• Develop an inventory of relevant resources (print, photographic, documents,

video & electronic), working with Researchers/Writers

• Contact potential interviewees identified with Researchers/Writers, and

schedule meetings with interview subjects

• Conduct pre-interviews with interview candidates

• Interview confirmed candidates, following guide and methodology established

by Researchers/Writers, using video recording equipment

• Review oral histories before submission to Researcher/Writers

• Conduct follow up interviews where necessary

• Updating Researchers/Writers on progress

Requirements :

• A university degree, in a research-oriented discipline such as History,

Archaeology, Anthropology, Sociology, Library and Archival Studies

• 3 to 5 years of comparative experience, including a strong research

background, preferably involving primary documents, and experience with

archival research and oral history methodology

• Knowledge of Canadian and Italian Canadian history with emphasis on

internment

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• Previous experience with video and mp3

recording devices would be an asset

• Excellent oral and written communication skills

• Italian language comprehension required; French language comprehension

required for Montreal candidate

• Excellent computer skills and knowledge

• Knowledge of relevant legislation, including Copyright and Privacy

• Access to vehicle and a valid provincial Driver’s License

• Flexibility in hours

Application Procedure:

Please send a personalized cover letter and curriculum vitae by November 12, 2010

to Lucy Di Pietro, Columbus Centre, 901 Lawrence Ave. W., Toronto ON M6A 1C3 or

by email to: [email protected]

Columbus Centre is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from

all qualified candidates. Only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

Columbus Centre is a community facility with a mission to enrich, share and reflect

Italian Canadian culture through social, cultural, recreational and educational

services. Our objective is to fully realize individual and collective potential through

meaningful services which enhance the quality of living and honour the Italian

heritage.

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Assistant Professor of Italian - University of Denver

The Department of Languages and Literatures at the University of Denver will appoint an

Assistant Professor of Italian to begin September 1, 2011. This is a tenure track position with

full benefits. The teaching load is six classes per year on a quarter calendar. Salary is

competitive. Area of specialization: 20th and 21st-Century Italian cultural studies and/or film

studies. The appointed candidate will teach all levels of undergraduate language, literature,

and culture. Minimum requirements: native or near native fluency in Italian; ABD or PhD in

Italian or closely related field. PhD required by December 2011.

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All applicants must apply online at

www.dujobs.org and attach a cover letter, CV, and statement of teaching philosophy (1 page).

In addition to applying online, please send three letters of recommendation, an official

transcript of graduate studies, and evidence of excellence in undergraduate Italian instruction

to: Italian Search Committee, Victor Castellani, Chair, Department of Languages and

Literatures, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208. We will be conducting semi-finalist

interviews at the January 2011 MLA convention in Los Angeles.

The University of Denver is committed to enhancing the diversity of its faculty and staff and

encourages applications from women, minorities, people with disabilities, and veterans. DU is

an EEO/AA Employer.

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Assistant Professor of Italian – U of Massachusetts Amherst

The Italian Studies program of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at

the University of Massachusetts Amherst invites applications for a position at the rank

of Assistant Professor (tenure track), beginning September 2011. The successful candidate

will be prepared to offer both undergraduate and graduate courses in Italian cinema,

modern Italian literature from the 18th century to the present and Italian language, and

must demonstrate expertise in language pedagogy. We seek candidates with a strong

commitment to undergraduate teaching in language and literature and strong scholarly

promise, who will strengthen our Master's in Teaching (MAT) curriculum and enhance our

ongoing outreach efforts. Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. Native

or near-native fluency in Italian and English. Ph.D. in hand by August 31, 2011. Please

send letter, CV, 3 letters of recommendation, a statement of research interests, and a

writing sample to Prof. Michael Papio, Chair, Search Committee, Italian Studies,

Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, 312 Herter Hall, University of

Massachusetts, 161 Presidents Drive, Amherst, MA 01003-9312. Review of applications will

begin November 22, 2010, and continue until the position is filled. The department is

committed to developing a more diverse faculty, student body, and curriculum. The

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University of Massachusetts Amherst is a

member of the Five College Consortium along with Amherst, Hampshire, Smith, and Mount

Holyoke Colleges and is also a member of the Academic Career Network, a resource for dual

career couples. The University of Massachusetts Amherst is an Affirmative Action/Equal

Opportunity Employer; applications from women and members of minority groups are

encouraged. <http://www.umass.edu/llc/>

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Department Chair, Romance and Classical Languages – Michigan State University

Michigan State University welcomes applications for the position of Chair of the Department

of Romance and Classical Languages (rcl.msu.edu). Candidates should demonstrate the

personal qualities necessary to lead and manage a complex department; the ability to represent

the department's interests effectively within the university and in the larger community; the

interpersonal skills and sensitivity necessary to maintain open communication with faculty,

staff, and students; and a commitment to an open and inclusive environment for diverse

groups. We seek a dynamic leader with a strong record of research, teaching, and service that

merits a tenured appointment at the rank of professor in any departmental area. This

individual should understand the challenges and opportunities facing universities in general

and the fields in Romance and Classical Languages in particular.

The Department of Romance and Classical Languages is in the process of being formed from

the merger of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Department of French,

Classics, and Italian. The successful candidate will be its first Chair. The department is

located in the College of Arts and Letters and is part of a vibrant language and literature

community that has benefitted from university support evidenced by a newly established

language support center, expanding Less Commonly Taught Language programs, a recently

created global studies in arts and humanities major, world-renowned study abroad initiatives

and a strong Second Language Studies doctoral program.

Applicants must submit a letter highlighting their interest and qualifications pertinent to the

position, as well as a curriculum vitae and the names and contact information of at least three

references. References will be contacted only after initial screening. Send materials to:

Chair Search Committee, Michigan State University, SPP/FCI, 258 Old Horticulture

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Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1112. The

committee will begin reviewing applications on October 25, 2010.

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal opportunity employer. MSU is committed to achieving

excellence through cultural diversity. The university actively encourages applications and/or

nominations of women, persons of color, veterans and persons with disabilities.

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Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Italian Studies – University of California, Berkeley

The Department of Italian Studies invites applications for a tenure-track position at Assistant

Professor level, to begin July 1, 2011. Only applications from candidates with the Ph.D.

already in hand will be considered. Specialization: any field of Italian literature, history or

culture between 1559 and 1870, with the ability to contribute to an interdisciplinary

curriculum ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day. Appointments for interviews at

the 2011 MLA Convention in Los Angeles will be made in December. We especially

welcome applications from individuals who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity

in higher education. Send letter of application, complete dossier including CV and at least

three recommendations (refer potential letter-writers to the UC Berkeley Statement of

Confidentiality at http://apo.chance.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html), and a writing sample (in

English or Italian; no more than 25 pages), to Steven Botterill, Chair, Department of Italian

Studies, 6303 Dwinelle Hall, UC, Berkeley, CA 94720-2620. Postmark deadline for

completed application is November 30, 2010. UC Berkeley is an Affirmative Action/Equal

Opportunity employer.

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Assistant Professor in Italian Studies – Colby College

Colby College is seeking an Assistant Professor (PhD preferred, ABD considered) for a

continuing position in Italian Studies to begin September 1, 2011. Continuing faculty,

typically on three-year renewable contracts, are valued members of the academic community

at Colby, and enjoy many of the same benefits as tenure-track faculty, including sabbaticals,

support for

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conference travel, and research funds. The

successful candidate will be part of an energetic department committed to providing the best

possible instruction to students. We are particularly interested in individuals with a strong

background in language instruction and a field of research that will complement existing

program strengths in modern and contemporary Italian literature and cinema. Specialization in

medieval and Renaissance studies especially welcome. Teaching load is four courses per year,

including language, literature and culture courses at the beginning, intermediate and advanced

levels.

For full consideration, send a complete application including a curriculum vitae; a letter of

application describing teaching philosophy, teaching experience and research interests;

evidence of teaching effectiveness, including course evaluations for two different classes if

available; a brief sample of scholarly writing; and three letters of recommendation. Send

application to Adrianna M. Paliyenko, Chair of Italian Search Committee, Department of

French and Italian, Colby College, 4656 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, ME 04901. Review of

applications will begin November 26, 2010, and will continue until the position is filled.

Preliminary interviews will take place at the MLA Convention in Los Angeles. *Colby is an

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, committed to excellence through diversity,

and strongly encourages applications and nominations of persons of color, women, and

members of other under-represented groups*. For more information about the College, please

visit the Colby Web site: www.colby.edu

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Continuing Lecturer in Italian – Purdue University

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at Purdue University invites

applications for a full-time Continuing Lecturer in Italian, beginning August 2011.

Applicants must have at least a master's degree in Italian, comparative literature, language

studies or a closely related field, and a minimum of one year of teaching experience. They

must demonstrate native-like fluency in Italian and an excellent command of English. In

addition to

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teaching undergraduate language courses and

participating in the activities of the Italian section, the lecturer may supervise teaching

assistants or lecturers.

Continuing lectureships are non-tenured but renewable positions with medical

and retirement benefits.

Applications should include a letter describing relevant teaching experience, a curriculum

vitae, and three letters of recommendation that address the candidate's teaching strengths.

Send materials Adrian Del Caro, Department Head, Department of Foreign Languages and

Literatures, Purdue University, 640 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2039. No email,

please.

Review of applications will begin on October 11, 2010; applications will be

accepted until the position is filled. Purdue University is an Equal Opportunity Equal Access

Affirmative Action Employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce.

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Assistant Professor of Italian - Dominican University

Dominican University invites applications for a tenure track position in Italian at the Assistant

Professor level beginning fall 2011. Successful candidates will have a doctorate in Italian,

concentration in modern literature, native or near- native fluency in Italian and English,

evidence of excellence in undergraduate teaching, and a strong liberal arts education. Must be

able to teach all levels of language, literature, culture and film. Responsibilities include

teaching, advising, scholarship and active participation in university life. All faculty members

are invited to contribute to the University’s Core Curriculum. Review of applications begins

November 1; interviews held at the MLA. For further information about the Rosary College

of Arts and Sciences, consult www.dom.edu.

Apply on line at https://jobs.dom.edu. Please include letter of application, curriculum vitae

and three recent letters of recommendation. Dominican University is an Equal Opportunity

Employer seeking applications from underrepresented groups.

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Call for Papers

GSAIS Call for Papers "Shaping an Identity":

The Graduate Students Association of Italian Studies at the University of Toronto invites

submissions for the conference "Shaping an Identity: Adapting, Rewriting and Remaking

Italian Literature" to be held 6-7 May 2011 at the University of Toronto.

Since its first formulation as "intersemiotic translation" by Roman Jakobson in 1959, the

notion of adaptation has inspired various theoretical and critical approaches. Adaptations of

literary works, whether for the stage, for the screen or for other visual media,

together with remakes within the same medium, tell us much about the destination culture's

appropriation of earlier forms. Adapting a text is also a way of re-reading it, thereby

expanding its possible meanings: this form of intertextuality is represented, for example, in

the late-modernist and post-modernist aesthetics of parody. In more recent years, aspects of

this concept can be found in the popular notion of "transmedia storytelling" (Jenkins 2006)

and in the category of "miramaxing" proposed by Jim Collins (2010) to identify the complex

interplay between the screening of literary masterpieces, the representation of reading

pleasures, and the taste of popular cinema. Considering these and other conceptions of

adaptation in the Italian context leads to critical questions. Perhaps most importantly, how do

these forms of re-writing affect the core of Italian culture? Is Italian literature "transposing"

itself through a variety of tastes, media and techniques?

Our conference will investigate this conceptual node by exploring modes and problems of

adaptations, including many different media (theatre, literature, cinema, comics, and

traditional artistic iconography) in post-Unification Italian culture. In particular, we wish to

explore the ways in which the poetics of adaptation have influenced the historical construction

of Italian identity and the founding of a nation-wide spoken Italian.

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Possible topics will include, but will not be

limited to:

*problems in page-to-stage and page-to-screen adapting;

*adaptation between different visual cultures, or from narratives to iconography and vice

versa;

*aspects of adaptation and rewriting implicit in translation;

*mass-media appropriation of traditional narratives in the present day, including political

aspects of television adaptation;

*linguistic aspects of inter-media adaptation;

*political and ideological frames orienting the adaptations of traditional mythologies or

narrations.

Contributions from other disciplines are welcome, provided that their primary focus is Italian

culture or literature. The conference languages are English and Italian.

Please send a maximum 300 word abstract and a short biography (100 words max) by 3

December 2010 to [email protected].

http://www.utoronto.ca/italian/graduate/adaptations.cfp.pdf

“Jesters and Gestures: Irony at a Crossroads”

The Students of the Department of Comparative Literature at the City University of New

York Graduate Center present an interdisciplinary graduate student conference on February

24-25th , 2011.

Jesters and Gestures: Irony at a Crossroads

February 24-25, 2011

In the first chapter to her book /Irony/, Claire Colebrook writes, "We live in a world of

quotation, pastiche, simulation, and cynicism: a general and all-encompassing irony.

Irony, then, by the very simplicity of its definition [of saying something contrary to

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what is meant] becomes curiously

indefinable." This year's conference proceeds for the assumption that it is irony's very

indeterminability that makes a central consideration in every act of interpretation. Because of

this, acts of interpretation necessarily reflect the anxiety burrowed between understanding and

misunderstanding, and meaning remains unsettled. The power of irony is that it skirts

meaning, says what it does not mean, and means what it cannot exactly say. As a result, irony

remains an illusive and adumbrated literary trope that requires an uneasy acknowledgement

that "something" is going on that does not have clear definitions, limits, or guidelines.

We invite papers from all disciplines that focus on works from any period that explore

the way irony functions as a trope in art, literature, film, or society. Some questions

we seek to address include, but are in no way limited to:

-How does irony as rhetoric, trope, technique, and hermeneutic serve as the mirror-image

of a world out of joint?

-Does irony as a self-reflective literary mode necessarily place all subjectivity,

autonomy, and self into question?

-What role do ironic characters play in literature, film, or art?

-How does irony explore the representational limits of language?

-How does the definition of irony change throughout history or between cultures?

-Does irony as a technique that constantly reminds us of our linguistic contingency serve

as a form of ideological critique, and post-universalist, post-metaphysical aesthetics?

-How does the dialectical movement of irony question the ontological status of literature

and the arts?

-What role does irony play in the much overlooked humor of the modernist period?

-What is the relationship between irony and other literary techniques, including but not

limited to humor?

Please submit a 300 word abstract for a 15-20 minute paper by November 1^st , 2010 to

[email protected]

<http://us.mc620.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>.

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Proposals should include the title of the paper,

presenter's name, institutional and departmental

affiliation, and any technology requests. We also welcome panel proposals of three to

four papers.

This conference is co-sponsored by the *Writers' Institute* at the City University of New

York Graduate Center, an un-MFA program devoted to bringing together the country's most

talented writers and today's most celebrated editors, and by the *Center for the

Humanities*, an interdisciplinary public forum devoted to promoting the humanities

programs both for CUNY students and for all New Yorkers.

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“The Forgotten Ferrara and Her Cultural Legacy”

CALL FOR PAPERS

INTERNATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE

THE FORGOTTEN FERRARA AND HER CULTURAL LEGACY 25-27 May, 2011

"Great and splendid is Florence, yet the worth of all her heaped up treasures does not equal

Ferrara' s jewels. her people have made her city, though her princes have grown great"

(Goethe, Tasso, Act I)

Goethe summarized the Ferrarese paradox of history - how a city, once the new urban model

of the Apennines, as Carducci wrote, "the Donna del Po," the majestic Ferrara, came to be

neglected in world historiography, the cultural history of Europe, being placed on the

margins, despite her outstanding contributions to architecture,chivalry romance, poetry,

music, theatre, philosophy, and European urbanity. Ferrara, the birthplace of chivalry, the

ancestral home of Dante's ancestors (Madonna Aleghiera of Ferrara), the new Athens during

the Renaissance, the city of Francesco Bello, Matteo Boieudo, Tito Strozzi, Guarino,

Gelasio di San Giorgio, of Ariosto and Torquato Tasso, and many others was as important as

Florence, Naples, Rome or Venice. In 1588, Ferrara became the most important centre for the

growth of music and theatre. In 1591, there appeared in Venice "Giardino de'musici ferrarini,"

covering the works of 21 composers from Ferrara. It is an established but forgotten fact that in

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the late "16th century the musical adaptations

of pastoral dramas by Guarini and Tasso significantly foreshadowed the rise of the opera in

Florence, a few years later"( Lewis Lockwood,1980:488). The musical performances in

Ferrara anticipate the modern opera houses of Europe. The Dukes of Ferrara showed great

interest in the arts, music and secular discourse. Ferrara showed tolerance to and interest in

the different religions, playing an important role in the key European debates on religion.

Calvin visited Ferrara, so did Rabelais and Byron... The idea of the mobile stage was

conceived in Ferrrara, having spread to Parma in 1618...

The purpose of this conference is to revisit the cultural and intellectual history of Ferrara and

restore her cultural portrait from various perspectives. The organizers seek papers on

following themes:

1.Architecture of Ferrara and Europe.

2. Poets and writers of Ferrara, and their role.

3. Thinkers of Ferrara vis-a-vis the rest of Europe.

4. Ferrarese School of painting vis-a vis Florence, Naples,Genoa, Rome.

5. Theatre, Street Performances and private salon stagings.

6. Rise of the Opera in Ferrara.

7.Pagan and ecclesiastical symbiosis in the city.

8.Prominent Europeans and Ferrara.

9. The Ferrara motif in world literature.

10. Carbonari and Ferrara.

11. The Dukes and Dutchesses and the advancement of Ferrara.

12. The Jews of Ferrara ( up to 1900).

The deadline for abstract submissions is 20 December, 2010

Paper abstracts, 200-250 words long, should be emailed to: [email protected]

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ASECS, March 17-20 2011. (Vancouver, BC):

A. "Translating the Enlightenment in Italy" Clorinda Donato, California

State U., Long Beach; Tel: (310) 386-2114; Fax: (310) 316-9220; E-mail:

[email protected]>[email protected]

Papers are sought that address the translation of texts into Italian and from Italian into

languages other than Italian as a means of understanding how the image of the other in Italy

and of the Italian outside of Italy was shaped in translated texts. Papers that explore the

translating activity of Italian authors whose translation activity worked in tandem with their

literary production are also welcome.

B. "Coffee-Talk: Italian Sociability and the Gendering of Space" Irene

Zanini-Cordi, 625 University Way, Dept. Modern Languages and Linguistics, Florida State

U., Tallahassee, FL, 32306-1540; Tel: (850) 570-9047; Fax: (850) 644-0524;

E-mail: [email protected]>[email protected]

Academies, salons and coffee-houses are only a few examples of spaces that fostered

sociability in the long eighteenth century. This panel aims at exploring how Italian private and

public spaces involved in sociability have been gendered in literature and the arts. How does

gender influence space, and how is that influence perceived and portrayed? What are the

social, political and cultural consequences of this gendering of space? Papers examining

particular forms of sociability from an historical perspective, their literary and artistic

expressions, as well as the physical sites of sociability are welcome.

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AAIS April 7-9 2011. (Pittsburgh, PA)

Proposed sessions and panels may be found at:

http://www.aais-pittsburgh2011.com/documents/AAIS2011Conference_015.pdf

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