The 2024-25 calendar of events and activities
This year the calendar includes a mix of activities linked to ongoing research projects of relevance to a variety of students and faculty across disciplines and new programs that are geared more towards the general public. Dr. Mirco Carrattieri (University of Bergamo) and Dr. Simone Cinotto will address issues closely linked to the “Food, Hunger, Migration and the American Myth in Sicily at the Time of the WWII Allied Landing“ project, respectively delving into WWII sites in Italy and food politics during Fascism. In The Role and Impact of Public History Projects, Carrattieri will adopt a public history perspective focusing on methodology and implementation in projects such as Liberation Route and Geo-mapping of Fascist monuments, while in Gastrofascism and Empire, Cinotto will use a food history approach to illustrate Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa.
The calendar opens with a Guided tour of Italian piazzas in New York, inspired by a NEH workshop Dr. Teresa Fiore was part of in Summer 2024. The tour will take a select number of students, faculty, alumni, and members of the community to see monuments and memorials in iconic squares of New York – Washington Square, Columbus Circle, among others – which provide important insights into the formation of national Italian identity in the transnational space of the diaspora. Walking, learning and socializing are the main drives of this program which privileges direct over digital experiences.
The last program is a three-part engagement with an acclaimed sound director/mixer/recordist in Italian cinema, Maricetta Lombardo, who has worked with the most prominent Italian directors in the past decades, from Garrone to Sollima, Martone, Rubini and the D’Innocenzo brothers. She will introduce the general public to the crucial role of direct sound recording in film, will work closely with students on technology and techniques, and, and in class of Italian, she will offer an appreciation journey through contemporary iconic film scenes of Italian cinema that she has helped create.
Indeed, the format of our Italian guests’ visits is a well-designed combination of lectures for the larger community and targeted classes and workshops for students with the aim of reaching a variety of audiences and disseminating knowledge in different environments.
As always, these programs are the result of collaborations across different units on campus: this time, we are pleased to work with the Department of History (Public and Digital History Program), the School of Communication and Media (BA Program in Recording Arts and Production), and the Cali School of Music, besides the Italian Program (Department of World Languages and Cultures).
Two research projects that involve students on and off campus continue to unfold: “Memoria presente: The Common Spanish Legacy in Italian and Latin American Cultures,” a digital archive linked to the course Italian for Spanish speakers developed in response to the federal designation of Montclair State University as a Hispanic Serving Institution; and a project on the concept of adoption which is in its infancy and has so far involved a class for the Honors Program, public events both in the U.S. and in Italy, a book translation, and conference presentation.
Projects and programs count on the constant support of the generous Inserra family, which allows for constant expansion and innovation. The approach offered by the Inserra Chair is a holistic one that strives for organically bringing together research initiatives, teaching projects, and cultural activities in the service of several communities both on and off campus in the belief that the promotion of Italian and Italian American culture happens in multi-layered ways, with several stakeholders involved, and in a sustained way over time. Its efforts continue to be particularly focused on a transnational vision of Italy able to make an impact on the curricular offerings on campus, i.e. Italian major and minor as well as the Language Business Culture combined major.
Thank you for supporting this vision with your participation and with the circulation of this information. We look forward to seeing you at these events!