Featured GALA partner: Udine University

Posted on November 16, 2016

Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society

The Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society (DILL) is based on a strategic alliance among three core macro-areas of the University of Udine, namely, i) languages and literatures; ii) communication; and iii) education. Born from the synergetic interrelations among the degree courses in Foreign Languages and Literatures ((L11, L12, LM37, LM94), Communication (L20, LM59) and Education (LMCU 85bis), DILL has always privileged interdisciplinarity and international relations, thereby contributing greatly to internationalization.

DILL has its roots in the University of Udine’s historic Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures which was created in 1978 and which, according to Censis ranking, was the best faculty of its kind in Italy for over a decade, thereby attracting students from all over Italy and abroad. The common core area of foreign languages and literatures is then enriched by the contributions of sociologists, geographers and anthropologists who investigate topics related to society, the territory, culture and communication through a number of noteworthy regional and trans-border projects. Finally, the Department can count on the contribution of colleagues from the area of Teacher Training and Education, whose expertise in teaching and research is a precious asset for the University of Udine.

Currently DILL counts 70 permanent teaching staff members (professors and lecturers) whose research fields comprise: modern languages, linguistics, glottology, philology, Latin, Italian literature, foreign literatures, pedagogy, communication, sociology, geography, psychology, anthropology and musicology.

Research topics within GALA

Transnational Writing

Over the years DILL has enhanced its high quality linguistic, literary and cultural studies programmes and research in the four main European languages studied and spoken worldwide (English, French, German and Spanish), in the Central-Eastern European languages (Czech, Polish, Rumanian, Serbian-Croatian, Slovene, Russian, and Hungarian) and in local ‘minority’ languages (Friulian, Slovene and German). DILL collaborates with international institutions and Universities (https://www.uniud.it/it/didattica/area-servizi-studenti/servizi-studenti/opportunita-allestero-/studiare-allestero/erasmus-studio/informazioni-generali/accordi-bilaterali-erasmus-mobilita-per-studio-1/lingue-e-letterature-straniere) and hosts different research centres:

All and Partnership Studies Group

Since 1998 the Alumni Association of Languages and Literatures (ALL, http://all.uniud.it/) of the University of Udine has promoted the international research network known as Partnership Studies Group (PSG, (http://all.uniud.it/?page_id=195). Directed by Antonella Riem, the PSG unites scholars, research centres and universities that collaborate in interdisciplinary and transcultural projects on aspects of partnership across languages, literatures and world cultures. In 2014 the Global Academy of Liberal Arts (http://gala.network/members/) joined the PSG network with the intent of developing further research collaborations. Since 2002 the PSG has promoted interdisciplinary studies on languages and literatures through a publishing series (ALL http://www.forumeditrice.it/percorsi/lingua-e-letteratura/all/?text=all-english), which combines literary criticism, linguistics (applied and theoretical) and creative writing to create an experimental, multidisciplinary, poetic and artistic laboratory. Since 2003 the PSG has also fostered the development of a partnership culture through the DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals, https://doaj.org/) international online journal Le Simplegadi (http://all.uniud.it/simplegadi/), which promotes innovative academic research on various aspects of modern languages and literatures, especially those of the English-speaking world. Le Simplegadi has been included among the Class A journals by ANVUR and is listed in the main international databanks, including ERIHPlus, AUSTLIT, Harward, GIGA, and Google Scholar.

Centre for Canadian Culture (CCC, http://ccc.uniud.it/)

The Centre for Canadian Culture at the University of Udine was founded in 1998 by a group of professors and lecturers from the universities of Udine and Milan, who had been working on Canadian studies in both English and French. Currently directed by Alessandra Ferraro, the Centre promotes multidisciplinary research (in literature, theatre, art, anthropology, linguistics, geography and history) on Canada and its relations with Europe. It also promotes academic exchanges as well as cultural, teaching and research relationships with Canada. The CCC has a plurilingual series published by FORUM Editrice Universitaria (http://www.forumeditrice.it/percorsi/lingua-e-letteratura/centro-di-cultura-canadese).

Centre for Italian Language and Culture for Foreigners

The Centre for Italian Language and Culture for Foreigners (CISU) of the University of Udine was founded in 2010 with the intent of promoting training and research on Italian as a foreign language (LS) in the world and as a second language (L2) in Italy. Currently directed by Carla Marcato, Professor of Italian Linguistics and Rector’s Delegate for the Promotion of the Italian Language and Plurilingualism, the Centre aims at organizing educational projects and exchanges, advanced linguistic training activities for foreign students and scholars, training courses for teachers working in plurilingual classes, and scientific seminars and publications.

Overseas – ICML International Centre for Migrant Literatures (http://oltreoceano.uniud.it/it)

The Centre was founded in 2008 by some Professors of Literature from the University of Udine who were particularly interested in exploring migrant literatures. Directed by Silvana Serafin, the Centre is the first of its kind in Italy and aims at investigating the literary, linguistic and cultural expressions of the Italian immigrant communities in the world. Through various seminars, conferences and publications the Centre has focused, in particular, on promoting the plurilingual literature (in Italian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Friulian and other regional dialects) produced by Italian migrant communities overseas in the Americas (North, Central and South) and Australia.

Centre for Rumanian Culture Studies

The Centre for Rumanian Culture Studies was founded in 2012 by professor Sergio Vatteroni with the intent of promoting the extensive research carried out  by professor Alexandru Niculescu at the University of Udine for over thirty years. A transnational reference point for Rumanian linguistic and literary studies, it organizes conferences, meetings and seminars on Rumanian culture, history and cinema.

Alpine Network

Established on November 11th 2000 in Belluno, upon the initiative of the G. Angelini Foundation the Alpine Network (www.alpinenetwork.org) is an international association that brings together institutes, organizations and research centres which focus on mountain issues and which are engaged in collecting, coordinating and promoting cultural heritage so as to promote debate and mutual updates on programs and activities. The main goal of the Alpine Network is to document and compare different lifestyles and behaviours in the Alps and in other mountain areas.

Curatorial Practice and The Digital

MIRAGE (http://mirage.uniud.it) is a DILL research Lab, founded in 1995 by Professor Angelo Orcalli. Its mission is the preservation and promotion of audiovisual heritage. Research and development activities focus on re-recording, digitisation, restoration and publishing of audio document. For over a decade, the goal of MIRAGE has been to equip audio with that methodological baggage and to imbue it with the capacity for historical-critical reflection that has enabled other traditions to tackle the problems of preserving, publishing and promoting documents using multiple interpretative approaches, guided by awareness of the internal history of such documents and by making a study of the material and technological conditions that produced them. MIRAGE research projects: http://mirage.uniud.it/progetti-di-ricerca

Subjects/specialisms for shared teaching and research

Language and literature;

  • History;
  • Preservation and promotion of musical and audio-visual heritage;
  • Music publishing in the digital age.

 

Staff/student mobility opportunities

The University of Udine encourage the internationalisation with several international agreements all over the world. More than 400 agreements have been signed within the framework of Erasmus+ and many other international agreements for the mobility of students and professors have been drawn up. Moreover, the Department has a Double Degree on World Languages and Literatures with the University of Ottawa (http://artsites.uottawa.ca/lcm/en), a double degree with the University of Klagenfurt on Austrian Literature (https://www.uniud.it/it/international-area/didattica-international/doppi-titoli-titoli-congiunti?set_language=it).

DILL agreements:

Language and Literature: https://www.uniud.it/it/didattica/area-servizi-studenti/servizi-studenti/opportunita-allestero-/studiare-allestero/erasmus-studio/informazioni-generali/accordi-bilaterali-erasmus-mobilita-per-studio-1/lingue-e-letterature-straniere

Education Sciences: https://www.uniud.it/it/didattica/area-servizi-studenti/servizi-studenti/opportunita-allestero-/studiare-allestero/erasmus-studio/informazioni-generali/accordi-bilaterali-erasmus-mobilita-per-studio-1/scienze-della-formazione

Upcoming events/lectures/festivals:

Conoscenza in Festa (July 2017) organized by University of Udine: http://www.conoscenzainfesta.eu

DILL collaborates with a large number of local, national and international institutions and festivals. In the Udine and Pordenone area in particular:

Literature

 

Music & Prose

 

Film Festivals

 

Local Culture

 

Key staff contacts

Prof. Antonella Riem, Director DILL, Pro-Vice-Chancellor International, President of ANDA, President of the Italian Conference of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Full Professor of English Literature: https://people.uniud.it/page/antonella.riem

Photograph by Conrad Del Villar

Dott. Luca Cossettini, Coordinator of the Audio Archive – MIRAGE Lab, researcher in Music and Musicology: https://people.uniud.it/page/luca.cossettini

luc

Department website address: https://www.uniud.it/it/ateneo-uniud/ateneo-uniud-organizzazione/dipartimenti/dill

Mirage Lab website address (audio preservation, restoration and publishing): http://mirage.uniud.it/

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