SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM

You can reserve a room at the Foresteria, which includes a single bed, mini fridge, TV, air conditioning, and private bathroom for the following prices:

• Single Room 32 Euros
• Double Room used as Single 37 Euros
• Double Room for two people 47 Euros

The price includes one meal ticket for the university cafeteria.

In order to reserve a room in the Foresteria, please email Ryan Calabretta-Sajder (calabret@uark.edu) with your dates by Sunday, May 14, 2017. In addition, for those arriving by plane and will require transportation to the university, please send your itinerary as soon as possible in order for us to make the reservations with the car service.

Ariha Hotel

60 Euro: Single Room / 65 Euro: Double Used as Single / 70 Euro: Double Used for Two Guests

Via G. Marconi, 59, 87036 Rende, Italy +39 0984 401010

ARIHA HOTEL

Title: "Italian American Studies and Italy: Theorizing the Birth of a New Union"

Bio: Margherita Ganeri is Professor of Contemporary Italian Literature and Director of the programs on Italian American Studies at the University of Calabria. She is on the board of the directors of the journal «Moderna» and on the editorial board of «Allegoria». She was appointed as visiting professor in Cambridge University (UK), Stony Brook University (US), Italian School at Middlebury college (US), and was keynote speaker in several conferences in Europe and Australia. In 2015 she held the University of Chicago’s Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Italian Studies. Among her books: Il romanzo storico in Italia. Il dibattito critico dalle origini al postmoderno (1999); Pirandello romanziere (2001); L’Europa in Sicilia. Saggi su Federico De Roberto (2005); L’America italiana, Epos e Storytelling in Helen Barolini (2010–English new edition in 2015).

Title: "Re-appropriating the Forget-me-nots: The [Mis-]state of Affairs of Italian/American Studies"

Bio: Anthony Julian Tamburri is Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute (Queens College, CUNY) and Distinguished Professor of European Languages and Literatures. He is co-founder and co-director of Bordighera Press, past president of the Italian American Studies Association and of the American Association of Teachers of Italian. Concentrating on cinema, literature, and semiotics, he has authored more than a dozen books, which include: Of Saltimbanchi and Incendiari: Aldo Palazzeschi and Avant-Gardism in Italy (Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 1990); To Hyphenate or not to Hyphenate (Guernica, 1991); A Semiotic of Ethnicity: In (Re)cognition of the Italian/American Writer (SUNY, 1998); Italian/American Short Films & Videos: A Semiotic Reading (Purdue UP, 2002); Semiotics of Re-reading: Guido Gozzano, Aldo Palazzeschi, and Italo Calvino (Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2003); Narrare altrove: diverse segnalature letterarie (Cesati, 2007); Una semiotica dell’etnicità (Cesati, 2007); Re-viewing Italian Americana: Generalities and Specificities on Cinema (Bordighera, 2011); and Re-reading Italian Americana: Specificities and Generalities on Literature and Criticism (Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2014). He is executive producer and host of the Calandra Institute’s TV program, Italics, produced in collaboration with CUNY TV. He was also one of the founders of i-Italy.org (www.i-Italy.org). He currently writes a column for La Voce di New York (www.lavocedinewyork.com).

Call for Papers: Theorizing Italian Diaspora Studies
Italian American Studies Association 2017
University of Calabria, Arcavacata, Italy
June 15-18, 2017

In the last twenty years, the term diaspora has become increasingly popular within academia. The scholarly appropriation of a term
historically associated with the tragic dispersal of a people has been re-appropriated to facilitate the study of complex transnational identities; the term itself appeals because it gives emphasis to the relationship that is the connection of the migrant to his or her homeland. Donna Gabaccia’s Italy’s Many Diasporas is considered a remarkable work of scholarship, effectively charting the emergence of this “once regionally fragmented diaspora,” and thereby positioning the modern Italian diaspora within a historical context, and recognizing it as a “nationally conscious cultural group.” Still, scholars of Italian America and Italian Canadian are hesitant to claim Gabaccia’s theoretical constructs of the “diaspora” as their own. The Italian American Studies Association (IASA) plans to gather this summer in an effort to delve into the complexity of the diasporic condition. The University of Calabria (UNICAL) has generously agreed to host “Theorizing Italian Diaspora Studies,” and this two-day symposium will be an opportunity to revisit similar concerns that were considered in March of 2014 at the Rockefeller Foundation Center in Bellagio.

The program committee seeks proposals for scholarly and/or creative presentations, as well as, interactive creative workshops. Considerations of class, gender, multi-ethnic and racial identity, are welcomed and strongly encouraged.

We invite a wide array of proposals, but are especially interested in proposals that touch on the following issues:

• Italian American, Italian Canadian, Italian Australian, etc.
• Brain drain/emigration and contemporary immigration
• Approaches to ethnic studies; limitations of essentialism

IASA encourages proposals in diverse formats, including round tables, debates, workshops, teaching sessions, and performances. We prefer fully formed sessions, although we also encourage people to submit individual presentations, as well as we encourage submission of individuals who would prefer to moderate or to comment. If this is your interest, please submit a CV and statement of areas of interest and expertise. We are especially interested in linking scholars across fields and we welcome participants from multiple disciplines, roles, and backgrounds.

Guidelines for Proposals:

Sessions will be 60 minutes and we will ask presenter to limit his or her remarks to 15 minutes each so there is ample time for Q&A and discussion. Proposals may be for one of three forms:

• Individual presentation, paper, or talk.
• Panel session or workshop, featuring multiple presenters.
• Performance, reading, or screening of creative work.

Proposals should include:

• Proposal title and a brief (200-250 word description)           
• Suggested topic category (see list above)      
• Brief biographical statement: address and e-mail     
• Technology needs, if any.

All submissions should be made via Submittable (https://italianamericanstudies.submittable.com/submit), no later than March 21, 2017. will be notified of all decisions no later than April 1, 2017.

Keynote Presentations

This symposium will host two keynote presentations, one each day.

Directions

The University of Calabria, Arcavacata is located outside of Cosenza, Calabria (20 minutes by car). By air, it is suggested to fly into Lamezia Terme or by train, Paola station. A shuttle will be available for those traveling into either Lamezia Terme or the Paola train station.

Questions?

Contact either Ryan Calabretta-Sajder (calabret@uark.edu) or Alan Gravano (Alan.Gravano@outlook.com)

IASA Submittable Link