Oct 06 2012
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General, News, Website

Welcome

David Moss   Australian National University

Welcome to the website of ACIS, the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies – a connection-point for the specialised communities of Italianist scholars in Australasia and beyond. Under Blog on the menu above you will find the guide to contributing posts. Don’t hesitate to make use of it, participate in the conversations already established (also by using the ‘Leave a comment’ option beside every post) and inaugurate new ones. If you put your email address in the Follow Blog By Email space at the bottom of this page you will be alerted when a new post appears. Also below, under Blogroll, you’ll see a list of blogs we think will interest Italianists. Beside it, there’s a list of the latest ‘Comments’ to have been posted.

The next major ACIS initiative is our 7th Biennial Conference to be held in Adelaide on 4-6 December 2013. You can find the details under ‘Conferences’ above and the call for papers here.

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May 24 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Language and Linguistics, Literature and Translation

Il Paroliere: Italian word of the week – 4

italian-language-courses-300x240Am I bovvered? Do I look bovvered? Whatever. Even if you’ve never heard of Lauren Cooper or Catherine Tate and your teenage  strops are now just a glorious memory, let Brigid Maher (La Trobe University) be your guide to recovering that mood in Italian in this week’s Il Paroliere…

May 22 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Music

The Politics of ‘Connective Marginalities’ in Italian Reggae Culture

Mathias Stevenson   Monash University

My interest in this research topic stems from my dual passion for Italian language/culture and Jamaican popular music. I have been collecting and studying Jamaican music for a little over twenty years but only discovered that Italian reggae existed during my first study trip to Italy in 2001.Flyer After seeing a poster at Florence’s Campo di Marte station, I set off on a solo mission to attend the internationally recognised, but now exiled, Rototom Reggae Sunsplash in Osoppo. At this festival I was introduced to Italian reggae for the first time, through the performances of Salento’s Sud Sound System and Turin’s Africa Unite. Upon returning to Australia I managed to stumble upon a second-hand CD of Sud Sound System, and when I returned to Italy in 2004 to undertake my Masters fieldwork on the cinema of Nanni Moretti (with generous financial assistance from the Cassamarca Foundation), I attended a number of reggae events at Rome’s centri sociali (Villaggio Globale and Intifada). Continue reading →

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May 21 2013
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Culture and Society, Language and Linguistics, Literature and Translation, Medieval, Publications and reviews

Dante: essays in honour of John A. Scott

Portrait_de_DanteA collection of essays on Dante, “Legato con amore in un volume“, edited by John Kinder and Diana Glenn, has just been published by Olschki to honour John Scott, emeritus professor at the University of Western Australia, on his 80th birthday. The volume, with contributions from the world’s leading Dante scholars, is organised around three themes: Dante and the Italian cultural tradition; the Commedia;  and Dante and the Anglophone world.

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May 18 2013
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Culture and Society, Food

La cucina italiana ai tempi di facebook

Edda Orlandi   Milano

La cucina italiana vanta, inevitabilmente, un vasto seguito di apprezzatori anche su facebook, dove ogni singolo prodotto o piatto tradizionale che sono riuscita a pensare di cercare conta almeno un gruppo di entusiasti sostenitori.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAA questo proposito è con grande gioia che vi annuncio che il pannerone ha ad oggi raggiunto quota 44 “mi piace”, segnale di un lenta ma inarrestabile ascesa nella considerazione degli amanti del formaggio (lo avevamo infatti lasciato a 40 a gennaio). Sempre per rimanere in tema di nostre vecchie conoscenze, la panna cotta, inutile dirlo, è ammirata in innumerevoli gruppi e pagine. Più sorprendentemente, sembra anche essere stata scelta come pseudonimo da numerosi utenti fb in tutto il mondo. Non sono molto sicura del motivo per cui a così tante persone piace definirsi una “panna cotta”, comunque… in italiano suona molto prosaico e proprio non un gran che, ma evidentemente in giapponese o in inglese il dirsi una “panna cotta” emana tutt’altro charme (i lettori la cui lingua madre non è l’italiano sapranno qui forse aiutarci a capire a quali affascinanti idee rimandano le parole “panna cotta” nelle loro lingue native). Continue reading →

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May 17 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Language and Linguistics, Literature and Translation

Il paroliere: Italian Word of the Week – 3

italian-language-courses-300x240Ever wondered what Dante, Justin Timberlake and Giulio Andreotti might have in common? Or when the masculine form of a noun turns out to cover a much wider range of cultural reference than its feminine equivalent? Il d*v* Andrea reveals all in this week’s SBS transmission of Il Paroliere…..

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May 16 2013
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Contemporary, Politics, Publications and reviews

Blogs we like #5

Un larga intesa, 1860

Una larga intesa, 1860

For those interested in Italian politics: the Italian Politics Specialist Group has a very informative blog with details of recent events (e.g., the formation of the Letta government, and the significance of the suspension of party government under Monti) as well as very reader-friendly analyses of features of contemporary politics. For example, a recent post by Duncan McDonnell draws our attention to the (virtually ignored) fact that after the 2012 local elections not one of Italy’s fifty largest cities has a female mayor.  Still a country for fogeys, old and young? Those wanting analysis of the M5S phenomenon and its recent electoral success can find it in the current special issue of Comunicazione Politica (n.1, April, 2013,) which examines several aspects of the movement.

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May 14 2013
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Architecture, Contemporary, Culture and Society, Events, Fashion and Design, News

Vision: Florence 2035 Eco-Acupuncture 18 May – 21 June

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 Vision: Florence 2035 Eco-Acupuncture: developing sites of urban intervention

An exhibition of selected design projects developed as a part of the Victorian Eco Innovation Lab’s Eco-Acupuncture studio in Florence 2012, envisioning a sustainable and resilient future for Florence, will be held at the Museo Italiano, 199 Faraday St, Carlton, from 18 May until 21 June.

Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm; Saturday 12pm-5pm

Free entry

The exhibition will be launched on Friday 17 May, 5.30pm by Professor Tom Kvan, Dean, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne.

RSVP by Monday 13 May to abp-events@unimelb.edu.au

For more information: http://abp.unimelb.edu.au/events/vision-florence-2035

 

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May 12 2013
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Contemporary, Literature and Translation

The irresistible appeal of crime series

Barbara Pezzotti    ACIS

The recent discussion about crime fiction readership made me think about another interesting topic: the appeal of crime series. According to Eco “from the beginning the reading of a tradtional detective story presumes the enjoyment of following the scheme”. Moreover, the reader deals “with schematism involving the same sentiments and the same psychological attitudes” (1979, 117-18). More recently, Robert Rushing, talking about Andrea Camilleri’s crime series, observes that a series can be “a reader’s initiation into a series of social problems” (2007, 33). What’s the appeal, then, of a crime fiction series? Is it the appeal of the main protagonist? Is it the cosiness of the familiar? Is it the longing for a never-ending book? Or rather an interest for some specific issues addressed by the series? These are questions I am asking you, crime fiction (and crime series) lovers.

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May 10 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Language and Linguistics, Literature and Translation

Il paroliere: Italian Word of the Week – 2

italian-language-courses-300x240You’re in Milan and reaching for the local way to say ‘Gosh!’? You’re in Rome and struggling to find the right translation for ‘Gorblimey!’? No worries. Just tune in to this week’s Il Paroliere on SBS Radio and you’ll find all the instructions you need. Ammappate aoh, Andrea, anvedi  quanto sei bravo!

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May 07 2013
1 Comment
Contemporary, Culture and Society, Food, History

Who wrote Australia’s first Italian cookbook?

Tania Cammarano   University of Adelaide

Written in 1937, the First Australian Continental Cookery Book doesn’t at first glance appear to be an Italian cookbook, let alone the first one published in Australia by Italian migrants.

First Australian Continental CookbookIt’s not called an Italian cookbook, its author is unknown, and it features recipes from many different culinary traditions. Close examination of the book, however, reveals more recipes come from Italy than any other place, those recipes contain more historical detail than do the others, and the foreword is very clear about what kind of food the author believes Australians should be eating, and why:

“It is time for Australians to realise, in fact, that what one may call Mediterranean cookery has much to offer them. Italian cookery, for instance, embodies ideas, aims and methods that have not only been ripening for literally thousands of years, but have been doing so under climatic conditions far more closely resembling those of Australia than do the British… French cookery is practically an offshoot of the Italian. British cookery, with all its merits, can boast no such illustrious pedigree.”

Intrigued by both the sentiment expressed and the eloquence of the writing, I vowed to find out who penned it. Continue reading →

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May 04 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Language and Linguistics, Literature and Translation, News

Il paroliere: Italian Word of the Week – 1

SBS Radio, Australia’s ethnic media station which broadcasts programmes in 74 languages, has just begun a weekly series with the title Il Paroliere in which Italian words and expressions are given an explanation, a history and an array of illustrations. italian-language-courses-300x240It was brilliantly launched here on 3 May by Andrea Rizzi (University of Melbourne) who in 6 minutes found more to say than could possibly have been imagined about the verb racimolare, providing it with an etymology and a fascinating wealth of connotations, positive and negative, in its usage past and present. Each week we will be providing the link to the programme, hosted by Magica Fossati, which can be listened to directly or downloaded. The Italian section of SBS Radio also has programmes dealing with aspects of culture from film to food which are well worth checking out.

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May 02 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Events, Film Theatre and Media, News

Diario di un sogno: in Emilia after the earthquake of May 2012

A year ago, in late May, a severe earthquake struck northern Italy, with its epicentre in Emilia. The small community of San Felice sul Panaro (MO) was badly hit with 3 deaths and many buildings damaged or destroyed, including the magnificent Rocca Estense.

La Rocca Estense April 2012

La Rocca Estense April 2012

La Rocca Estense June 2012

La Rocca Estense June 2012

San Felice is perhaps best known for the annual event known as Magico, invented for the community a decade ago by a photographer from Este, Mario Lasalandra, who, inspired by the dream-like paintings of Chagall, has had a particular interest in the ways in which the semblance of silence and immobility associated with the world of the peasantry can unleash the imagining of surreal figures and places beyond time.

Each year the event brings together the inhabitants as actors to perform a different theme, the squares and streets serving as the stage and made magical by the drifting (artificial) clouds with accompanying soundscape. Since 2003 the themes have included ‘Giorno di Nozze’, ‘Santi e Miracoli’, ‘Guerra e Pace’, and ‘Il Circo’ as well as a homage to Federico Fellini. The marvellous faces, costumes and gestures are captured by photographers attracted from all parts of Italy to produce a fabulous record of a unique event. After the earthquake struck, it was felt that perhaps the tradition should be suspended. But the local community was insistent that it should continue, under the title Diario di un sogno, to be staged on Sunday 26 May, almost exactly one year after the first wave of destruction – a memorial dedicated to the future.

copertina-MAGICO

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May 02 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Film Theatre and Media, History, Politics, Publications and reviews

News from the journals – May

The latest issue of the Journal of Modern Italian Studies (2013, no.2) is a special issue with the title ‘Mediating the Risorgimento’. rmis20.v018.i02.coverIts focus is the way in which historical figures and the events in which they played central parts were represented and shaped by the media of the time – painting, photography, opera, theatre and panoramas. The most recent issue of Modern Italy (2013, 1) has an interesting set of articles on Italian cinema, in particular an analysis of the relation between the (pre-Grillo) commedia all’italiana and the other media of the 1960s, especially advertising. Revisiting Modern Italy‘s 2012 issues, two contributions to topics which have since appeared in our posts deserve highlighting in case they have been missed. Penny Morris, Francesco Ricatti and Mark Seymour edited a special issue on ‘Italy and the Emotions’ (2012, vol.17, no.2) which contains inter alia an explanation of Tottimania and its wider significance.  And for those captivated by Caterina Sinibaldi’s post on translating Alice during the Fascist period, Jomarie Alano (2012, vol.17, no.1) examines another story for children which, conceived in 1938 as a contribution to anti-Fascism, also has a decidedly non-conforming protagonist: Ada Gobetti’s Storia del gallo Sebastiano. 

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Apr 30 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Literature and Translation

Crime fiction in Italian: who reads it?

David Moss   ANU

Italian crime fiction has been the topic of several posts which have raised questions about its authors, their protagonists and those protagonists’ family lives.

Credit Miles Cole

Credit: Miles Cole

There’s another kind of question we can ask: who reads this particular literary genre? (And if its consumers are clearly skewed in terms of class, gender or age, we can then wonder if writers are aware of this and shape their stories according to what they think will appeal to their most enthusiastic readership). An ISTAT-Multiscopo survey carried out in 2006, containing some comparisons with a similar survey taken in 2000, provides a few answers. Continue reading →

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Apr 24 2013
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Contemporary, Culture and Society, Fashion and Design, History

Luxury and its underside

Rosa Salzberg   University of Warwick

Luxury is one of the concepts most closely associated in the popular mind with Italy today and in the Renaissance period which I research and teach.

A diamond is forever

‘A diamond is forever’ (Don Draper, 1948, after Anita Loos, 1925)

But the precise value and consequences of luxury – of the skills it preserves and innovation it generates, but also of the social inequalities it reflects and arguably exacerbates – are still matters of heated debate. I am part of a recently-launched International Network entitled Luxury & the Manipulation of Desire which aims to explore these questions anew, linking the contemporary agenda to scholarship on the history of global luxury from the Renaissance to the present. It focuses on three key areas: the production of luxury, the regulation of luxury and the geography of luxury.

Continue reading →

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