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Re-imagining the future of Italian Studies: Experts and community share strategies to raise the profile of Italian during the 7th ACIS Conference, Adelaide

The 7th Australasian Centre for Italian Studies (ACIS) conference, on the theme of ‘Re-imagining Italian Studies’, was recently organised and hosted by Flinders University and the University of South Australia. Professor David Moss, President of ACIS, complimented the organisers for an interesting, insightful, and smooth-running event: over 90 participants, around 70 papers presented, and a breadth of topics which ranged from crime and legality to literature, theatre and cinema, migration, language and linguistics, translation, cultural studies, and teaching all of the above. The list of keynote speakers included: Fiat-Serena Professor Martin McLaughlin (University of Oxford), Professor David Forgacs (New York University), Professor Gabriele Pallotti (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), and Professor and filmmaker Vito Zagarrio (University of Rome – Roma Tre). Professor Joe Lo Bianco, from the University of Melbourne, also participated in the final roundtable.The 7th ACIS conference was co-convened by Dr Luciana d’Arcangeli and Dr Isobel Grave. The organising committee comprised Italian Staff from Flinders University (Professor Diana Glenn, Dr Daniela Rose, Dr Antonella Strambi) and UniSA (Associate Professor Angela Scarino, Dr Giancarlo Chiro, Dr Enza Tudini).Financial support was received from

ADSA Conference: Staging Changes: Translation as Innovation and Intervention

In July 2013, the Drama Department at Flinders University with the financial support of FIRtH hosted the annual conference of the Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies (ADSA). Organised around the theme ‘Staging Changes: Translation as Innovation and Intervention’, the program featured keynote presentations by Haresh Sharma, Resident Playwright at The Necessary Stage and Co-Artistic Director of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival; James Ashcroft, Tumuaki/Artistic Director of New Zealand’s Taki Rua Productions; and Dr Christine Evans, playwright and Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, USA. More than 80 scholars and practitioners participated with presentations that sought to promote and enhance a dialogue between creative practice and critical reflection, focusing on the opportunities translation and adaptation present for creating and disrupting collective identities, and for diversifying mainstream audiences and performance practices.Having organised the inaugural ADSA conference back in 1977, the Drama Department demonstrated its unwavering commitment by showcasing the creative and research achievements of its staff and

ACIS, Flinders University (Faculty of EHL, School of Humanities and Creative Arts, and FIRTH), UniSA (Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences and Research Centre for Languages and Cultures), the Dante Alighieri Society, Intext publishing and Serafino Wines.

Conferences Held in 2013

students. With the further financial support of a Helpmann Academy grant, Rosalba Clemente, Head of Acting, and Dr Maggie Ivanova, Drama Lecturer, collaborated with third-year Drama Centre students and Dr Christine Evans on a production of her Trojan Barbie, an adaptation of Euripides’ play Trojan Women.

Haresh Sharma, Resident Playwright at The Necessary Stage and Co-Artistic Director of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival.

Keynote Presenters; Dr Christine Evans, Playwright, Georgetown University and James Ashcroft, Artistic Director of Taki Rua Productions, The National Màori Theatre Company.

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10th International Conference on Greek Research and 2nd International Conference on Ageing in a Foreign Land

The conferences held in June 2013 attracted presenters from state, national and international universities and organisations, who came together to share their knowledge, discuss their research and experiences and network with other delegates.

Aims of the conference included promoting current issues in the areas of teaching, education, communities and ageing. In total there were over 100 presentations over the four days on Greek and ageing themes including a symposium on Ancient Greek Philosophy, Greek Food and Culture, Migration and Education, Ageing in Australia from CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) perspectives: health, families, culture and language, ageing actively and positively, age-friendly cities and communities and nutrition.

Over 400 people attended the conference and it was supported by numerous sponsors, including the Government of South Australia, the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and many others from the business sector and community organisations.

Postgraduate students were encouraged to participate and to further support them the conference registration fee was waived. A professional development

workshop for teachers was also organised regarding language and literacy, intercultural awareness and language online.

The Hon Mark Butler MP, Minister for Mental Health and Ageing sent a pre-recorded video message to open the conference and welcome all the delegates.

During the conference the publication of Greek Research in Australia Proceedings of the Biennial International Conference of Greek Studies was launched. This is a refereed publication of 45 papers, presented during the previous conference (June 2011). This biennial conference is one of the most prestigious international Greek conferences and has been held at Flinders for the last 20 years. During these conferences more than 1000 papers have been presented and more than 500 refereed papers been published. All papers are available online and have been accessed many thousands of times. In fact this is one of the most popular Flinders online sites for an international audience. Over the last twenty years the conference has received financial support in excess of a million dollars.

This biennial conference is one of the most

prestigious international Greek conferences and

has been held at Flinders for the last

20 years.

Images above taken at the 10th International Conference on Greek Research and 2nd International Conference on Ageing in a Foreign Land.

Image top left page: Front: Professor Diana Glenn (Flinders University), Professor Richard Maltby (Flinders University), Professor Joe Lo Bianco (University of Melbourne), Professor David Moss (President of ACIS), Dr Luciana d’Arcangeli (Flinders University). Back: Professor David Forgacs (New York University), Professor Martin McLaughlin (Oxford University) and Professor Gabriele Pallotti (Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia).