On 9-10 November, 2023, the conference “Desde los márgenes: retos, devenires, representaciones” took place in the Co-working room and room T.1. This research-sharing event focused on exploring the concept of the margin in its various forms—including geopolitical, cultural, and linguistic—in the Latin American context.
The conference, organized by Prof. Luca Salvi—an expert in Latin American Literature—and Sara Trentini, opened with a keynote lecture by Pablo Montoya, a renowned writer and professor of Literature at the University of Antioquia. Born in Colombia in 1963, Pablo Montoya has published several collections of essays and short stories, as well as novels such as La sed del ojo (2004), Lejos de Roma (2008), and Los derrotados (2012), which focuses on the wars of independence and the emergence of guerrilla warfare in his country. In 2015, he achieved sudden fame in Latin America by winning the Rómulo Gallegos Prize, one of the most prestigious awards for Spanish-language fiction (previously won by authors like Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Roberto Bolaño).
The conference, adopting an interdisciplinary approach, featured the participation of numerous experts in Latin American literature.
The first edition of “Festivabìlia: the theater of potential abilities” will be held from Monday, 4 December, to Tuesday, 19 December, at the Teatro Camploy (via Cantarane, 32 Verona) and the University of Verona. This theatre festival is organized by the university’s theatre company Teatro a Rotelle, in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures – University of Verona.
The first edition of Festivabìlia coincides with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which takes place on 3 December, and offers performances, discussions, and events to reflect on the body as a tool of communication with others. In the case of disabilities, the body challenges prejudices and calls for a conceptual, cultural, and social rethinking.
An initial event was held on Thursday, 23 November, with the preview presentation of Festivabìlia during the study day “Inclusion on Stage: Inclusive Theater Experiences in Comparison”.
The festival will open on 4 December at 8:30 p.m. at Teatro Camploy with the Emit Flesti company from Trento, performing “Con voce nuova, l’inferno di Dante” (With a New Voice, Dante’s Inferno).
The program continues on 6 December at 4:30 p.m. in room Smt.06 of the Polo Santa Marta with “Making Music in an Inclusive Way: All-in Rock – The Integrated Concert Told by the Organizers”.
On 11 December at 4 p.m., also at Santa Marta, there will be the presentation of the book Self Help, l’utopia dei matti – da invisibili a cittadini (Self Help, The Utopia of the Mad – From Invisible to Citizens) by psychiatrist Paolo Vanzini (Gabrielli Editore, 2022).
The festival continues on Wednesday, 13 December, at Teatro Camploy with the performance Triangoli (Triangles), a contemporary reinterpretation of Cyrano de Bergerac, staged by the Teatro a Rotelle group from the University of Verona.
On 18 December at 4 p.m. at Santa Marta, there will be a presentation of “I Fiori Blu: Musicateatro”, an interdisciplinary course in musical and theatrical training led by director Martina Palmieri.
The final event will be on 19 December at 8:30 p.m. at Camploy with the Gruppo Elettrogeno from Bologna performing Amuri (Love).
The festival, sponsored by the City of Verona and Esu of Verona, is part of the activities of the “Inclusive Humanities” Excellence Project of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, aimed at promoting inclusion in research and teaching to eliminate social, cultural, and economic disparities both within and outside the university.
Registrations are now open for the 1 CFU accredited activity “Promoting Inclusion and Accessibility through the Sharing of Accessible Support Materials”, an innovative initiative aimed at raising awareness among students at the University of Verona about university inclusion and the accessibility of study materials.
The course will begin on 6 October, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. via Zoom. Students interested in sharing and making their notes accessible can attend an initial training session on how to adapt their materials to the most common accessibility and inclusion standards, and then share them with those who request them. Starting with their lecture notes, participants will provide educational support materials for at least two courses they are attending during the 2023-2024 academic year (based on the needs or requests of the designated contact person, and according to a schedule agreed upon with them). The support materials must be complete, comprehensive, and easy to understand. They should also be written in a clear, narrative style, typed on a computer, and meet accessibility criteria.
The activity includes an initial 2-hour seminar training (to be held on October 6 at 12:00 p.m. via Zoomand a practical component. Finally, Prof. Manuel Boschiero – the faculty advisor for the activity – will assess the accuracy of the educational support materials provided, including their accessibility.
For more information and to participate in the selection, click here. 1 CFU (type D) will be awarded to all undergraduate and graduate courses in the Languages area.
On 17-21 July, Prof. Tunde Ope-Davies from the University of Lagos (Nigeria) visited the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature. Prof. Tunde Ope-Davies teaches English, digital cultures, and discourse studies.
Tunde Ope-Davies is the founding director and principal researcher of the Center for Digital Humanities (CEDHUL) at the same university. He is a member of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. He has been a visiting researcher/professor at Westminster University in London, Chemnitz University of Technology in Germany, and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, UK. Prof. Ope-Davies is also the founding president of the Digital Humanities Association of Nigeria (DHAN) and a member of the executive committee of the Global Outlook for Digital Humanities (GO::DH). His research interests include digital cultures, digital scholarship, new media and society, discourse studies, and sociolinguistics.
Ope-Davies’ visit led to the signing of an inter-university cooperation agreement and the planning of an intercontinental Summer School on the theme of Inclusive Humanities, set to begin in 2024.
On Tuesday, 18 July, 2023, starting at 11:00 a.m., a press conference will be held at the Walter Busch Library of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (Lungadige Porta Vittoria 41). The event is titled:
“Foreign Languages and Literatures – Department of Excellence: Presentation of the Development Project for the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Verona”.
Speakers include:
Roberta Facchinetti – Department Director and Recruitment Team Leader,
Massimo Salgaro – Project Manager,
Giovanni Tallarico – Third Mission Team Leader,
Andrea Padovan – Communication Team Leader,
Chiara Battisti – Teaching Team Leader,
Anna Cappellotto – International Cooperation Representative,
Marco Rospocher – Infrastructures Team Leader and Director of the Digital Arena for Inclusive Humanities (DAIH).
This project is supported by funding from the Ministry of Universities and Research, amounting to over 6.5 million euros, obtained through the financing for departments of excellence for the five-year period 2023-2027.
On Tuesday, 18 July, 2023, at the Walter Busch Library of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, the press conference for the presentation of the five-year Excellence Project, supported by the Ministry of Universities and Research, “Inclusive Humanities: Development Perspectives in Research and Teaching of Foreign Languages and Literatures”, was held. During the press meeting, the department outlined the project’s objectives and goals, describing the development actions planned.
“The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures has been selected as a department of excellence by ANVUR for the second time”, said Roberta Facchinetti, the department director. “The university has received 6.5 million euros, which will be used in the best possible way in terms of inclusion and accessibility. The current project builds on the previous one, focused on digital humanities, and is founded on the skills and knowledge already developed, this time dedicated to inclusive humanities”.
The department’s 2023–2027 Excellence Project is titled “Inclusive Humanities” to emphasize the commitment to promoting inclusion and overcoming gender, economic, social, and cultural disparities, both within the university—among faculty, students, and staff—and externally, with the city of Verona and its surrounding area. The project’s objectives particularly aim to strengthen an academic culture rooted in the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and to adapt its digital infrastructure to the latest accessibility guidelines for users and students with disabilities or specific learning needs (SLN). The department also plans to implement measures aligned with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), aiming to bridge the digital divide, enhance the innovation of teaching methods and languages, improve the quality and effectiveness of education, and increase inclusiveness.
Among its first actions to concretely support these goals, the department is already developing the “Digital Arena for Inclusive Humanities”, an interdisciplinary research centre of excellence in the field of digital technologies and computational analysis applied to languages and literatures, with a particular focus on adopting and developing open-source and accessible technologies. The centre will be equipped with the tools, scientific expertise, and personnel to support projects that can be made available to the entire university, fostering the creation and enhancement of platforms and digital tools for data archiving and analysis (also leveraging emerging Artificial Intelligence research) and for their online publication.
To ensure the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge and skills in the project’s implementation, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures is preparing to hire new teaching and research staff, including in the areas of computer science and the teaching of languages and literatures from a comparative perspective.
The project was presented by:
– Roberta Facchinetti, Department Director and Recruitment Team Leader, – Massimo Salgaro, Project Manager,
– Giovanni Tallarico, Third Mission Team Leader, – Andrea Padovan, Communication Team Leader, – Chiara Battisti, Teaching Team Leader, – Anna Cappellotto, International Cooperation Representative, – Marco Rospocher, Infrastructures Team Leader and Director of the Digital Arena for Inclusive Humanities (DAIH).
