Author: martina

On Wednesday, 26 June, the conference “Afrikas Wortergreifung auf Deutsch! Zur deutschsprachigen Literatur afrikanischer MigrantenautorInnen in Europa. Ein Beitrag zum Glokalisierungsdiskurs” given by Prof. Lacina Yéo, Associate Professor of German and Global Studies at Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny Abidjan-Cocody (Ivory Coast).

The lecture, which explored some of the phenomena of glocalization, dialogue between Africa and Europe, and German-language literature of African migrant authors in Europe, brought insights and encounters on the topics of the role of African Germanistics in cultural transfers between Africa and Europe and culture and sustainable development in German-African literary relations.

The lecturer’s visit is part of a strategic line promoted by the Inclusive Humanities Excellence Project and is funded by the MoCoSvi – Mobility for International Development Cooperation project of the University of Verona. Yéo will be a guest for a period of 3 months with the aim of promoting a scientific and educational exchange between the two partner universities. Thanks to Prof. Yéo, it was also possible to sign an agreement between the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and his department in Abidijan for purposes related to the Project of Excellence.

The new website of the Interdisciplinary Research Centre Digital Arena for Inclusive Humanities (DAIH) is online. The DAIH is an interdisciplinary research centre of excellence in digital technologies and computational methods applied to languages and literature, with a focus on inclusion.

Established under the Departments of Excellence 2023-2027 funding program of the Ministry of University and Research, the centre serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary collaboration, with research goals at the intersection of computer science, particularly artificial intelligence, humanities, language studies and literary studies. DAIH aims to foster and promote inclusion in research, infrastructure, education, and dissemination of scientific content to overcome disparities, inequalities, and discrimination in modern society.

Learn about the research and initiatives of DAIH at www.daih.eu.

Good premiere for “In principio era la Rupe” (In the beginning there was a cliff) the new show of Teatro a Rotelle (Theatre on Wheels) directed by Jana Karšaiová and Nicoletta Vicentini. On Tuesday, 11 June, the actresses and actors of the university theatre company made their debut at the Veronetta Contemporanea Festival in Santa Marta, with a show that comes to life from the research on the perception of disability in different eras up to the present day.

The title of the show, “In principio era la rupe”, staged by people with disabilities, is an ironic and provocative reference to the Spartan practice of abandoning infants considered weak or disabled on Mount Taygetus, a cliff, to let them die. Starting with this historical reference, the theatre group wanted to emphasize within its performance how much the perception of people with disabilities has changed over time. The self-mockery of the title highlights the absurdity and injustice of discrimination, reversing the historical narrative to highlight the strength and determination of people with disabilities in claiming their place in society.

The performance offered an evening of intense emotion: through acting, choreography and engaging music, the performers entertained and amused the audience, demonstrating that art knows no barriers. The main objective was to forcefully claim their rights and dignity, highlighting that people with disabilities have the same abilities and potential as so-called “healthy” people, although they need additional support.

The seminar “In the Dock of discrimination: confronting structural inequalities in law and literature” was held on 4-6 June at the Santa Marta University Campus. The joint seminar with Universität Osnabrück in Lower Saxony coincides with the start of the new Erasmus exchange that will be active from A.Y. 2024-2025, taking advantage of the faculty and student mobility agreement for the event.

The seminar, organized by Prof. Sidia Fiorato in collaboration with Dr. Laura Zander and Prof. Peter Schneck, took place in the interdisciplinary context of law, literature and culture and represented a first event to consolidate the scientific collaboration of the two departments in the direction of collaborative research-based teaching in an international context.

The seminar activities focused on legal issues found in literary works and films related particularly to the judicial context and the concept of justice.

An in-house professional development workshop funded by the Project of Excellence “Inclusive Humanities” kicked off on Wednesday, 5 June, and will enable faculty members to acquire the most appropriate communication skills for disseminating their research.

The first lecture, delivered by Luca Barbieri, a trainer for Niuko – Innovation & Knowledge (the organizers of the course), addressed the concepts of: newsworthiness, media communication best practices, media and social media, effective formats and writing techniques for social networks. Luca Barbieri is a communications consultant for research centres, innovative SMEs and startups, and an entrepreneur and journalist. He is founder of Blum, a consulting firm that helps large and small innovative companies and research centres grow through communications, media relations and events.