International Italian Webinar 2020- Flipbook

THE ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGAUGES UNIVERSITY, HYDERABAD- 500007 INTERNATIONAL ITALIAN WEBINAR 2020

About the Webinar (English Edition) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “And the plague gathered strength as it was transmitted from the sick to the healthy through normal intercourse, just as fire catches on to any dry or greasy object placed too close to it. Nor did it stop there: not only did the healthy incur the disease and with it the prevailing mortality by talking to or keeping company with the sick--they had only to touch the clothing or anything else that had come into contact with or been used by the sick and the plague evidently was passed to the one who handled those things.” ---Giovanni Boccaccio The Renaissance Humanist Decameron, Day One, Introduction With the dawn of 2020, the outbreak of the infamous, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has led to a rebirth to the older contradistinctive alliances such as “social distancing” and “emotional affinity.” With the common public confined to their homes, brand marketers busy finding new ways to promote their products and services, schools and other academic institutions busy with online classes in an overall shutdown state, and so on, webinars have now become the new normal: they are a great way to manage professional activities while maintaining the norms of social distancing. We know epidemics have often changed the societies which they have spread through, affecting personal relationships, the work of artists and intellectuals, and the man-made and natural environments. History is replete with instances of disease outbreaks in wide areas, and each of these has taught us something about how to contain their spread and survive their onslaught. Whether we are following those lessons today is a different story. The Italian crisis provoked by COVID-19 was the greatest challenge in Italian history since World War II, even though Italy has had a long history of paying a high price for fighting against disease outbreaks. Giovanni Boccaccio’s Italy has once again been one of the countries most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. It has been one of the first countries in Europe to face this crisis and to be forced to take strong confinement measures. As Boccaccio’s Decameron tells us, a small group of ten young people take a shelter to the countryside away from their home city, Florence, in order to escape from physical proximity and the ravages of bubonic plague of 1348.

Over a course of ten days, these ten young people- seven ladies and three gentlemen -narrate ten stories, one each day. Like any capable epidemiologist, Boccaccio realised that self quarantine must be pivotal to avoiding the contagion. So many centuries ago, he had already advised us to practise the quarantine strategy. Giovanni Boccaccio’s Florentine villa isolation has starling analogies between the currently prevailing mandates to follow ‘social distancing’ and ‘conscious quarantine.’ This deadly pandemic is definitely not the first nor will it be the last. In this new millennium, the centuries-old strategy of quarantine (from the Italian “quaranta,” meaning 40) has become a key component of the public health response to the emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. In order to understand how the human psyche reacts --- and how human beings dealt with the fear of death and confinement in the past --- the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies is organizing a two-day International Webinar on “Reviewing Pandemics during COVID-19: The Italian Experience” on September 10 and 11, 2020. While we all are living in a lockdown state, the proposed webinar looks forward to interrogating the challenge of revisiting the history of epidemics and quarantine strategy, both theoretical and practical, in order to come to terms with reality. There will be an attempt to understand, over the centuries, in what ways writers have explored the impact of epidemics in prose, verse and theatres? How cinema and media have also dealt with a whole gamut of feelings that rage against the onslaught of disease and death? How, in turn, poets and writers are now chronicling the current difficult times? How does a pandemic in nations, languages, cultures and genres reproduce meanings and affect a text? How do people living in coronavirus quarantine believe in self-motivation for learning from masterpieces inspired by the historic pestilences, great influenza, cholera and other pandemics in Europe and the world? These are some of the many questions that the webinar looks forward to exploring. This proposed webinar is expected to generate empathy and compassion, with synergy, and show a way of dealing with the prevailing human sufferings. Analogous to the approach of life upheld by Boccaccio’s small group, the blend of social distancing and pleasant interactions through the proposed webinar may make it possible for us to survive the catastrophic days of the current Corona pandemic and maintain robust mental health by overcoming anxieties.

Su di Webinar (Edizione Italiana) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “E fu questa pestilenza di maggior forza per ciò che essa dagli infermi di quella per lo comunicare insieme s'avventava a' sani, non altramenti che faccia il fuoco alle cose secche o unte quando molto gli sono avvicinate. E più avanti ancora ebbe di male: ché non solamente il parlare e l'usare cogli infermi dava a' sani infermità o cagione di comune morte, ma ancora il toccare i panni o qualunque altra cosa da quegli infermi stata tocca o adoperata pareva seco quella cotale infermità nel toccator transportare.” --- Giovanni Boccaccio Il Precursore dell'umanesimo Decameron, prima giornata, Introduzione Con l'alba del 2020, lo scoppio della famigerata malattia da coronavirus (COVID-19) ha portato a una rinascita delle vecchie alleanze contraddittorie come \"distanziamento sociale\" e \"affinità emotiva\". Con il pubblico comune confinato nelle loro case, i brandmarketer impegnati a trovare nuovi modi per promuovere i loro prodotti e servizi, scuole e altre istituzioni accademiche impegnate con lezioni online in uno stato di chiusura generale e così via, i webinar sono diventati la nuova normalità: loro sono un ottimo modo per gestire le attività professionali mantenendo le norme di allontanamento sociale. Sappiamo che le epidemie hanno spesso cambiato le società in cui si sono diffuse, influenzando le relazioni personali, il lavoro di artisti e intellettuali e gli ambienti artificiali e naturali. La storia è piena di casi di epidemie in vaste aree, e ognuno di questi ci ha insegnato qualcosa su come contenere la loro diffusione e sopravvivere al loro assalto. Se stiamo seguendo queste lezioni oggi è una storia diversa. La crisi italiana provocata dalla COVID-19 è stata la più grande sfida nella storia italiana dalla seconda guerra mondiale, anche se l'Italia ha avuto una lunga storia di pagare un prezzo elevato per la lotta contro i focolai di malattie. L'Italia di Giovanni Boccaccio è stata ancora una volta uno dei paesi più colpiti dalla pandemia COVID-19 in Europa. È stato uno dei primi paesi in Europa ad affrontare questa crisi e ad essere costretto a prendere forti misure di confinamento. Come racconta il Decameron di Boccaccio, un piccolo gruppo di dieci giovani si rifugia in campagna lontano dalla loro città nativa, Firenze, per sfuggire dalla vicinanza fisica e dalle devastazioni della peste bubbonica del 1348.

In dieci giorni, questi dieci giovani - sette signore e tre gentiluomini - raccontano dieci storie, una ciascun giorno. Come ogni bravo epidemiologo, Boccaccio si rese conto che l'auto quarantena deve essere fondamentale per evitare il contagio. Tanti secoli fa, ci aveva già consigliato di mettere in pratica la strategia di quarantena. L'isolamento della villa fiorentina di Giovanni Boccaccio ha sorprendenti analogie tra le norme attualmente prevalenti di seguire il \"distacco sociale\" e la \"quarantena cosciente\". Questa pandemia mortale non è sicuramente la prima né sarà l'ultima. In questo nuovo millennio, la secolare strategia di quarantena (derivata dall'italiano “quaranta”, che significa 40) è diventata una componente chiave della risposta della sanità pubblica alle malattie infettive emergenti e riemergenti. Per capire come reagisce la psiche umana - e come gli esseri umani hanno affrontato la paura della morte e della reclusione in passato - la Sezione di Studi Italiani, Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies sta organizzando un webinar internazionale di due giorni su \"Rivedere le Pandemie durante COVID-19: L’esperienza Italiana\" il 10 e 11 settembre 2020. Mentre viviamo tutti in uno stato di blocco, il webinar proposto non vede l'ora di interrogare la sfida di rivisitare la storia delle epidemie e la strategia di quarantena, sia teorica che pratica, al fine di venire a patti con la realtà. Ci sarà un tentativo di capire, nel corso dei secoli, in che modo gli scrittori hanno esplorato l'impatto delle epidemie in prosa, versi e teatri? In che modo anche il cinema e i media hanno affrontato un'intera gamma di sentimenti che imperversano contro l'assalto della malattia e della morte? In che modo, a loro volta, poeti e scrittori stanno raccontando i tempi difficili d'oggi? In che modo una pandemia in nazioni, lingue, culture e generi riproduce i nuovi significati e influenza un testo? In che modo le persone che vivono in quarantena per il coronavirus credono nell'auto-motivazione per imparare dai capolavori ispirati dalle storiche pestilenze, la grande influenza, il colera e altre pandemie in Europa e nel mondo? Queste sono alcune delle tante domande che il webinar tenta di esplorare. Questo webinar proposto dovrebbe generare empatia e compassione, con sinergia, e mostrare un modo di affrontare le sofferenze umane prevalenti. Analogamente all'approccio alla vita sostenuto dal piccolo gruppo di Boccaccio, la miscela di allontanamento sociale e piacevoli interazioni attraverso il webinar proposto potrebbe consentirci di sopravvivere ai giorni catastrofici dell'attuale pandemia di Corona e mantenere una solida salute mentale superando le ansie.

The webinar is proposed to be divided into the following broad categories: Italian Cinema Italian Art & Heritage Italian Philology Italian Literature Dante Alighieri

Special Thanks KEYNOTE SPEAKER Dr. Andrea Baldi Director, Italian Institute of Culture, New Delhi, India

Day 1: September 10 Eminent Speaker 1 Speakers Dr. Fabio Melelli Dr. Fabio Melelli, the Professor of History of Italian cinema at University for Foreigners, Perugia, Italy is a journalist and a film critic. He has published several articles and essays and he is the author of over thirty books. He’s got a degree in sociology and a master degree in Cinema, Television and Multimedia Production. Title of the paper (in Italian): “Cinema italiano ed epidemia, L’ultimo uomo della terra” Title of the paper (in English): “Italian Cinema and Epidemic, the Last Man of Earth” Day 1: September 10 Speaker 2 Dr. Chiara Rostagno Dr. Chiara Rostagno  is an Architect and a PhD specialized in the restoration of monuments. She is the expert of the studies of Leonardo da Vinci. She spearheaded a preservation project of Leonardo da Vinci's \"The Last Supper\" between 2016 and 2018. She is the former Director of Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano (2015-2018), Milan, Italy. Title of paper (in Italian) : \"Timore, Bellezza e Fiducia. Arte e Beni Culturali in Italia, nella Stagione del Covid-19\" Title of paper (in English) : \"Fear, Beauty and Trust. Art and Cultural Heritage in Italy, in the season of Covid -19\"

Day 2: September 11 Speaker 1 Dr. Natale Fioretto Dr. Natale Fioretto, is a professor of Italian and Russian translation at the University for Foreigners, Perugia, Italy. Dr. Fioretto is the expert of methodology of teaching Italian as L2 and he has the experience of several years. He is visiting professor at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre and at the Pontifical Universidade Catolica del Paraná, both in Brazil, the Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara in Romania and the Universitatea Konštantína Filozofa in Nitra in Slovakia. In addition to various publications, he oversaw the translation into Italian of Japanese folk tales of Adriana Lisboa. Title of the paper (in Italian): “Covid-19 e Poesia di Guerra” Title of the paper (in English): “Covid-19 and Poetry of War” Day 2: September 11 Speaker 2 Dr. Ramesh Kumar Dr. Ramesh Kumar, is the Assistant Professor of Italian Language and Studies, at the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies, University of Delhi, India. He is the expert of the studies of Italian writer, Leonardo Sciascia. He deals with translation from Italian to Indian languages and vice versa. He has published several articles and essays. Title of the paper (in Italian): ''I Consigli di Manzoni nei Promessi Sposi: Atteggiamento Sociale verso Pandemie; Ora e Allora.” Title of the paper (in English): “Manzoni's Advice in Promessi Sposi: Social Attitude towards Pandemics; Now and Then.''

Day 2: September 11 Speaker 3 Dr. Marino Alberto Balducci Marino Alberto Balducci currently works at the Italian Studies / Theology, University of Stettin, Poland. He is the Director of Carla Rossi Academy, Florence, Italy. Marino does research in Italian Literature mainly focusing on the hermeneutics of Dante's Divine Comedy. Title of the paper (in Italian): “'Pandemia e Alchimia nell'Inferno di Dante” Title of the paper (in English): “Pandemic and Alchemy in Dante’s Hell”

Tentative Schedule September 10th, 2020 Inaugural Session 3:00pm IST Welcome Address 11:30am GMT Ms. Sandal Bhardwaj  3:15pm IST Assistant Professor, Italian Studies 11:45am GMT Introductory Remarks 3:30pm IST Dr. T. Srivani 12:00noon GMT Head, Dept. of Hispanic and Italian Studies 4:00pm IST 12:30pm GMT Keynote Address Dr. Andrea Baldi Director, Italian Institute of Culture, New Delhi Vote of Thanks Mr. Satyajeet Prakash Assistant Professor, Italian Studies

Lectures Session September 10th, 2020 4:15pm IST Dr. Fabio Melelli 12:45 GMT (Expert on Italian Cinema) 4:45pm IST University for Foreigners, Perugia, Italy 13:15 GMT Session for Discussion 5:00pm IST Dr. Chiara Rostagno 13:30 GMT (Expert on Leonardo da Vinci) 5:30pm IST Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano, Milan, Italy 14:00 GMT Session for Discussion

Lectures Session September 11th, 2020 3:15pm IST Dr. Natale Fioretto 11:45am GMT (Expert on Didactics and Pedagogy) University for Foreigners, Perugia, Italy 3:45pm IST Session for Discussion 12:15 GMT 4:00pm IST Dr. Ramesh Kumar 12:30pm GMT (Expert on Leonardo Sciascia) 4:30pm IST University of Delhi, India 13:00 GMT Session for Discussion 4:45pm IST Dr. Marino Alberto Balducci 13:15pm GMT (Expert on Dante Alighieri) 5:15pm IST University of Stettin, Poland 13:45 GMT Session for Discussion 5:30 pm IST Closing Session 14:00 GMT

Guidelines for Participants Dear Participants! Greetings from the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India. The Department really appreciate you for registering, in Two Day International Italian Webinar 2020. We appreciate your passion towards Italian Language, Literature, Art, Cinema and Culture. Instructions to be followed:- Participants are requested to mute their audio and video. It is requested to not to create any disturbance intentionally during the program. Participants to put their questions in the chat box. The questions will be answered after every lecture. Submission of feedback form is mandatory to generate E- Certificates. Link to submit feedback form will be shared at the end of the webinar. Participants are requested not to ask for the feedback form unless and until the entire program gets over Please enter your personal details carefully to avoid mistakes in the Certificates The E- Certificates will be issued within  few weeks.

Organizing Team INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Dr. T. Srivani Head of the Department (Organizer) COORDINATORS Ms. Sandal Bhardwaj Assistant Professor (Convener / Moderator) Mr. Satyajeet Prakash Assistant Professor (Convener / Co- Moderator)

DEPARTMENT OF HISPANIC & ITALIAN STUDIES ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD, INDIA- 500007 (A Central University)