This September saw the start of a new talk series dedicated to exploring new ways of thinking about Italy. The series, organized in partnership with the Leatherby Libraries, consists of four annual talks alternating renowned scholars from outside Chapman and Ferrucci Institute Fellows who are interfacing with Italy from their disciplinary angles.
Introducing the series’s concept, Institute Director Dr. Federico Pacchioni said: “We are all familiar with the symbol of the window, omnipresent on the Chapman campus, known by the Latin word fenestra. Fenestra now turns into the Italian finestra as we come together to intellectually glimpse new Italian vistas and, simultaneously, ideas that can help us return to humanistic and interdisciplinary teaching and learning with a fresh pair of eyes.”
The inaugural talk was delivered by Dr. Thomas Harrison from UCLA, author of the acclaimed book Of Bridges: A Poetic and Philosophical Account (Chicago University Press, 2021). In the words of John Razzano, Chair of the Institute’s Leadership Board, “Dr. Harrison’s talk centered on the importance of bridges in Italy. He examined the use of bridges in a physical sense, with the Italian peninsula itself acting as a bridge, the metaphor of bridges in time and space in literature and poetry, and finally, the imagery of bridges in film.” Indeed, the bridge is a core symbol in the mission of the Ferrucci Institute, evoking “the link between Chapman and Italy, between fields of knowledge, and between generations,” as can be read on the homepage.
The audience had a good representation of faculty, senior administrators, including Provost Norma Bouchard and President Daniele Struppa, and students. The professors present came from various departments and schools, including engineering, theater, music, mathematics, food science, history, and philosophy, demonstrating the Ferrucci Institute’s strides in activating the intellectual potential of Italy as a transdisciplinary reservoir and common ground.
The series will resume on October 18 with a talk by Dr. Bouchard titled “The Global Italian Diaspora: Texts and Contexts of Italianness in an Era of Global Migration.” For more details, click here.
