XXX AIA Conference: “Experiment and innovation: branching forwards and backwards”, University of Catania, 15-17 September 2022

XXX AIA Conference

Experiment and innovation: branching forwards and backwards

University of Catania, Department of Humanities, 15-17 September 2022

I read some history: it is suddenly all alive, branching forwards and backwards
Virginia Stephen, 1903

Over forty years have passed since the first AIA national Conference was held in Rome, on 27^th-29^th April 1978. On that occasion Giorgio Melchiori presented the Association’s objective: “saggiare il livello scientifico raggiunto dalla ricerca nel campo dell’anglistica in Italia” [“to test the academic level achieved by research in the field of English Studies in Italy”]. In a radically changed University – “l’Università di massa” of the 1970s – the newly born Associazione Italiana di Anglistica set out to study the relationship between research and teaching, and to discuss, in Melchiori’s words, “il ruolo dell’anglista in una nuova Università, ossia la metodologia e la politica della ricerca” [“the role of the English Studies scholar in a new University, namely the methodology and the politics of research”].

These words still resonate today. In 2001 the University of Catania hosted the XX AIA Conference – poignantly titled Rites of Passage – and now we have a further opportunity to look back to our past, reflect on the state of the art, and look forward to the future of English studies in Italy.

On the exciting occasion of the XXX AIA Conference, it seems particularly relevant to bring today’s sharpened awareness of the methodology and politics of research to the contexts of a profoundly changed academia and a radically altered post-Brexit geopolitical situation.

The theme of that first AIA Conference in 1978 was “experiment and innovation”: in 2021 we would like to invite AIA members to pick up on that same challenge by contributing to the scholarly conversation in all broad areas of research – literature, culture and language – through Seminars and Poster presentations.

The local organising committee looks forward to welcoming you to the XXX AIA Conference in Catania, from 9^th to 11^th September 2021.

Call for Seminars

AIA members are invited to submit proposals for Seminars on any subject within the three major fields of research (language, literature, culture). Proposals with a 200/250-word description should be submitted jointly by two Convenors from different Universities to the Academic Programme Committee (AIA2021@unict.it) by 31 May 2020. Notification of acceptance will be given by 30 June 2020.

Call for Seminar papers

The full list of Seminars with outlines and contact addresses of Convenors will be published in July 2020. Abstracts of 200/250 words should be submitted directly to the Convenors of the targeted Seminar by 31 October 2020.

Please note that:

– Seminars will include from a minimum of three to a maximum of five speakers (presentations of max 20 minutes);

– AIA members may give only one presentation at the conference (this applies both to single-author and co-authored presentations).

Notification of acceptance will be given by Convenors to participants (and to the Academic Programme Committee at AIA2021@unict.it) by 31 January 2021.

Posters

Posters are to be devoted to research-in-progress and project presentations. Abstracts of 200/250 words should be sent to the Academic Programme Committee (AIA2021@unict.it) by 28 February 2021. Notification of acceptance will be given by 31 March 2021.

Academic Programme Committee – AIA2021@unict.it

Stefania Arcara

Maurizio Ascari (Bologna)

Giovanna Buonanno (Modena e Reggio Emilia)

Manuela D’Amore

Iain Halliday

Maria Grazia Nicolosi

Gemma Persico

Giuliana Russo

Massimo Sturiale

Marco Venuti

Francesca Vigo

Raffaele Zago