AISCLI Summer School: World Cultures & Literatures In English
16 - 21 September 2013 (University of Torino)
INFO AND PROGRAMME:
http://www.uep.corep.it/ss_world_cultures_2013
AISCLI SUMMER SCHOOL
World Cultures & Literatures In English,
September 2013 Edition
Students’ reports and feedback
1) Nel complesso, è stata una bellissima esperienza. Ho
molto apprezzato la varietà degli interventi, che hanno
coperto un ampio ventaglio di contesti, autori e
approcci critici. Inoltre ho trovato particolarmente utile
l'impostazione dialogica e/o seminariale delle lezioni: le
discussioni sono sempre state molto interessanti. La
possibilità di incontrare e discutere con un gran numero
di esperti del campo delle letterature postcoloniali (e
non solo) è stata un'esperienza molto utile e
stimolante. Tutti sono stati disponibili ed esaustivi…
… Tra i suggerimenti per la prossima volta, penso che
sarebbe interessante se tutti i relatori mettessero a
disposizione una bibliografia (anche critica), di modo
che sia più facile approfondire un argomento che
abbia destato particolare interesse. Un altro appunto
riguarda l'elenco di letture consigliate: alcune letture
consigliate sono state trattate di sfuggita nel corso
della discussione, altre non sono proprio trattate (es.
To Every Birth Its Blood). Dovendo in molti casi fare
una selezione delle opere da leggere, sarebbe utile
avere una lista di letture consigliate leggermente più
mirata in modo da organizzare meglio il lavoro di
preparazione.
Si tratta comunque di dettagli secondari. Spero che la
Summer school venga organizzata ancora, mi
piacerebbe senz'altro ripetere l'esperienza.
2) Il programma di interventi e workshop è stato ricco,
pieno di stimoli, straordinariamente vario per metodi e
contenuti. Allo stesso tempo i docenti sono stati in grado
di “tradurre” anche gli elementi di maggiore complessità
e spessore teorico, rendendoli fruibili pure a chi, come
me, aveva scarsa familiarità con questo ambito
disciplinare. Un ulteriore merito di questo corso, a mio
parere, è stato quello di offrire agli studenti un’infinità
quantità di spunti di approfondimento, utili bibliografie,
suggerimenti di lettura.
Non posso che augurarmi che l’AISCLI continui a
svolgere le sue attività di studio, formazione e ricerca con
la stessa passione, competenza e professionalità che
docenti e organizzatori della summer school hanno
dimostrato in questa edizione 2013.
3) It was a very interesting experience. I have
translated something related to post-colonial
thanks to my translator teacher but now I have a
better idea than before of what this kind of
literature can offer. In my opinion, it is a field that
could be analyzed more in universities and at least
in part at school. Regarding the logistic aspects,
the course was well organized and the activities
were various and absorbing. I appreciated the fact
that the course has taken into account every
aspect of the post-colonial field, from literature to
cinema and music.
4) The AISCLI summer school in postcolonial studies was a
very challenging and extremely productive experience. In
six very intense days I was able to enlarge my knowledge of
the postcolonial world becoming acquainted with the
works of several literary authors and philosophers.
The organization of the summer school was flawless and
punctual: lectures began on time and were very dense and
well-structured. Each one of them was followed by a very
interesting debate that would last for at least 30 minutes.
The school had also a very international profile. All the
speakers involved in the conferences were great scholars
who came from universities from all above the world and
every class was taken in English. Each lecturer was truly
passionate and enthusiastic about his research and
available to engage in one-on-one conversations with each
interested student, even outside of the conference room.
What I found particularly interesting about this school was its
all-around didactic perspective. Some lecturers successfully
tackled the world of postcolonial studies from a sociolinguistic perspective, pointing at ethno-linguistic issues and
the problem of translation in contemporary postcolonial texts.
Others analysed the literary works some internationally
acclaimed contemporary postcolonial authors. Other more
experimental lectures were focused on filmmaking, music and
visual art in the postcolonial contemporary reality. We also
had the chance to speak with professional filmmakers and
visual artists and to comment their works with them. Finally,
we attend the official presentation of “The Lowland”, the
acclaimed last novel of the renown Indian-American author
Jhumpa Lahiri.
Although before attending this summer school I did not know
much about postcolonial studies, in only six days I have grown
very passionate about the postcolonial world.
I would warmly suggest to every student involved
in humanistic studies with a basic knowledge of
the English language, to attend the ASCLI summer
school. In fact, I believe that nowadays being
acquainted with the postcolonial paradigm is
more than a necessary condition for every
humanist scholar inhabiting our postmodern
reality. Personally, I think that I will try to attend
this summer school every time I could. Not simply
in order to inspire my next academic researches,
but also to have a chance to live again this intense
and challenging experience.