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STAFF, PHD
& GRADUATE NEWS
Division of European Languages &
Cultures, School of LLC April 2013 Issue 2, 2012/13
DELC NEWSLETTER
WELCOME In the second issue of our 2012/13 Newsletter we bring you reports
of our most recent staff news and the many events which have taken
place across DELC. We’re pleased to be able to provide details of
our very successful language plays, which you’ll find on page 6. A
current student offers some advice on studying in Russia and we have
information on a UoE society founded by DELC students. This
issue also provides details of new publications by our staff.
A big thank you to all contributors, please keep your input coming:
IN THIS ISSUE:
Staff, PhD & Graduate News p1
EUSA Teaching Award Nominations p3
Year Abroad Experience p4
Language Plays p6
Events p9
Societies p14
Staff Publications p15
Dr Leanne Dawson, DELC Postdoctoral Fel low – KE Grant
Dr. Leanne Dawson has received a Knowledge Exchange Grant (£2500) for her Queer Transcultural Film project, which aims to disseminate research on queer film beyond the academy. The first event will feature German filmmaker, Monika Treut in conversation after a screening of Treut's ‘Ghosted’ . This will take place on 2nd July at the Edinburgh Filmhouse.
Aaron Tregellis Hodgson,
Doctoral Candidate – AHRC Award
Aaron Tregellis Hodgson, a doctoral candidate under the supervision of Dr Alexandra Smith, has recently been awarded
a grant to participate in the prestigious 'Russian Archive Training Scheme (RATS)' course, to be held in Moscow 9-14
April 2013. The scheme is being run by Dr Polly Jones (University of Oxford), and the grant was awarded on a
competitive basis by CRCEES (sponsored by the AHRC). The scheme offers an intensive program of visits and tours of
various major state archives and libraries in Russia, with the aim of familiarising students with the procedures for carrying out research in a Russian context. The course promises to be an
invaluable experience for current and future research.
Dr José Saval, Hispanic Studies Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Grant
José Saval was awarded a research grant by The Royal
Society of Edinburgh to complete a book on Manuel
Vázquez Montalbán, ten years after his untimely death. The
book will be published by the Barcelonian Publishing House
"Alrevés", and launch in October in Barcelona and
Manchester.
PhD Viva Success On 30th January, Varvara Christie successfully defended
her PhD thesis, entitled “Styling Identities in Post-Soviet
Cinema: The Use of Slang, Argo and Obscenities in
Contemporary Russian Films”.
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PhD Scholarship in Francophone Belgian Cinema or Video Art
The Centre for Francophone Belgian Studies is delighted to invite applications for a fees only PhD scholarship in the area of Francophone Belgian cinema or video art. The scholarship will be funded by the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures and will cover tuition fees at the Home/EU rate (currently £3,900 p.a. for 2013-2014). The Centre was created in 1995 with a view to promoting the field of Francophone Belgian studies and is the only such center in the UK. It offers a vibrant research culture with regular talks and events and benefits from close institutional ties with the Archives et Musée de la littérature, Brussels, and the Cinémathèque royale de Belgique. Depending on his or her qualifications, the successful candidate will be registered for either a PhD in French or in Film Studies and will be supervised by colleagues in both Subject Areas as appropriate. S/he will join the lively postgraduate community in the Graduate School for Literatures, Languages and Cultures. Applications can be made via the online admissions portal at the URL address given below, and should be completed by 15 April 2013. Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to Prof Marion Schmid ([email protected]). For information on the Centre please consult http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/delc/french/research-projects/centre-de-recherches-francophones
For how to apply please consult http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/graduate-school/fees-and-funding/funding/phd-students/school-scholarships/belgian-
cinema-phd-scholarship
Eleanor McKeegan MA Hons French and History, Graduated 2012 – Scholarship Award
Each year Wallonia Brussels International, the public institution in charge of the cultural and educational policies of Francophone Belgium, offers
scholarships to students of the French Department to attend a Summer course in L'Université de Louvain and L'Université de Liège. Last year Eleanor
McKeegan, 4th year student, went to Louvain to live a course fully immersed in a French speaking academic environment. She has enjoyed so much her
experience in Belgium that she has decided to stay... Here is her testimony written from Brussels where she is now working.
Thanks to a bursary from Wallonie-Bruxelles Internationale I spent three weeks of the summer holidays at a French teaching
course in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. I had the opportunity to study a range of interesting modules, on topics including
intercultural communication, varieties of French in La Francophonie and contemporary literature.
The enthusiasm and expertise of the staff made even the module on teaching grammar really enjoyable and it was, of course, a
chance to work on my French, which had been lying rather dormant since my oral exam in April. My three week stay in Louvain-
la-Neuve was made especially fun by the presence of other international students in my halls. Wallonie-Bruxelles Internationale’s
bursary scheme had attracted participants from Chile, Brazil, Tunisia and Iran, in addition to most European countries, and
everyone had a thoroughly good time. Perhaps keen to ensure that we didn’t spend every night sampling Belgian beers together,
the organisers of the course also organised an array of cultural activities for us. Having spent my Erasmus year at the Université
Libre de Bruxelles I already considered myself something of an expert on Belgian culture. However, for such a small country
Belgium is very diverse, and I learned a lot (whilst, of course, doing my best to impart glowing examples of Scottish culture to my
classmates). I would absolutely recommend that others with the opportunity to take part in the course at Louvain-la-Neuve take
full advantage of it, even if unsure of whether they want a career in teaching.
On the first day of the course I was offered a job in Brussels, so spent the weekends dragging my newly acquired student friends
around flat viewings. Life as a policy intern at Scotland Europa, a membership organisation that promotes Scottish interests in the
European Union is certainly different to my student experiences. Many in the European affairs bubble feel very detached from
Belgium itself, and are yet to get round to learning either of the country’s official languages (French and Dutch). Having bruxellois
friends from the summer course – and from my Erasmus year – has made it much easier for me to feel integrated in the city.
Although I would sometimes prefer a three hour grammar lecture to an afternoon of deciphering EU legislation, working in
Brussels is another excellent experience.
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FORUM
FORUM, the University of Edinburgh’s Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts, was recently awarded an Innovation
Initiative Grant by the Edinburgh Fund to support the third FORUM conference ‘ReVision: Editing Across Disciplines’. This
interdisciplinary postgraduate conference will take place on the 15th and 16th July here in Edinburgh. It will allow participants to
explore practices and concepts of editing as they appear in different historical and cultural contexts, as well as to reflect on the
opportunities, goals and challenges of contemporary editing and publishing. In addition to postgraduate papers, the conference
will include workshops with industry professionals and leading scholars in the field such as Dr Kenna Olsen and Dr Padmini Ray
Murray. Confirmed Keynote Speakers include Professor Jeremy Smith and filmmaker Boris Gerrets. All are very welcome to
attend! More details about registration will be available shortly on the conference website: www.forumjournal.org/conference/.
Enquiries can be sent to [email protected].
FORUM also received funding from the LLC Student-Led Initiative Fund last semester which will provide support the journal
over the course of the next three years. This is great news as FORUM continues to be a valuable resource for postgraduate
students not only at Edinburgh but also around the world. William Christopher Brown, a lecturer at the University of Minnesota
and previous contributor to FORUM, recently drew attention to the importance of postgraduate journals and the positive effect
which FORUM in particular had on his experience of publishing his research in his article ‘Developing Professionally through
Graduate Student Publications’:
‘Of all of the CFPs for journals that I found, I kept coming back to a then-new peer-reviewed online journal called Forum: The
University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts. [...] Recognizing a connection between my own research interests at
the time and the interests of my peers at another institution allowed me to push beyond the psychological blockages. Instead of
focusing on myself and my own apprehensiveness at the idea of publishing, I began to think in terms of communicating with
peers I had never met. I no longer viewed my writing as a part of the classroom or as a potential line on a curriculum vitae.
Instead, I viewed my writing as an opportunity to connect with others.’ For more see William Christopher Brown , ‘Developing
Professionally through Graduate Student Publications’, In Progress, 2 (2012)
<http://inprogressjournal.net/inprogressjournal.net/Developing_Professionally.html>.
Well done to all DELC staff nominated in the following categories…
As an individual…
Dr Leanne Dawson
Dr Véronique Desnain
Dr Emmanuelle Lacore-Martin
Dr Ylva Olausson
Dr Sabine Rolle
Dr Jane Yeoman
For Best Course… 17th Century French Theatre (Course Organiser Véronique Desnain, French)
Hannibal Lectures: Pasolini and the Cannibal Writers (Course Organiser Dr Davide Messina, Italian)
Swedish 1 (Course Organiser Dr Ylva Olausson, Scandinavian Studies)
The Golden & Silver Ages of Russian Literature (Course Organiser Dr Alexandra Smith, Russian Studies)
The Nibelungenlied and its reception in Modern Germany (Course Organiser Dr Sabine Rolle, German)
For Best Feedback…
Rose France, Russian Studies
For Best Department…
Scandinavian Studies
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YEAR ABROAD EXPERIENCE
Elizabeth Louis – 4 th Year Russian
Studies and English Language
Studied at Moscow State University in 2011/12
PASSPORT CONTROL
Your passport is like a safety jacket and should come
to your rescue in any sticky situations, therefore be sure to have it (or a copy) on you at all times - especially as a foreigner because sadly we apparently stick out like sore thumbs. Even after living in Moscow for 9 months, people would often commence conversation in English before I had even opened my mouth - whether they were simply welcoming me in, asking whether I wanted to sit in the smoking or non-smoking area, or directing me to the cloakrooms “on your right”, something about me must look English, or at least not Russian.
Once I went to meet my friends in a restaurant-come-bar and on entering I was asked for my documents, but a wave of panic washed over me as I observed that, to my horror, the little
passport shaped pocket in my bag was lacking my actual passport – I must have left it in my other handbag… “Umm, I don’t have it” I whispered in terror. Ok well can we see some form of ID? Without even my driver’s license to hand I reluctantly replied “I don’t have any…” even quieter than before, starting to become flustered “–you don’t have any documents or identification on you whatsoever?” the bouncer quizzed me, eyebrows raised with a questioning look, as if perhaps this was my attempt at ‘English humour’ which baffles the Russians so. I looked up at him shaking my head and then dashed
outside, heading straight back towards the metro. However, now aware that I was passport-less I felt like it was stamped across my forehead, convinced that this would be the one time I got stopped by the police. I ran back to halls never looking up, and even here I was faced with the militant Babushkas and a slight problem – I was missing both my ID and hall pass, my keys were all I had as proof of residency. Luckily they let me past giving me a 5-minute time limit and asking me to leave something of value with them - the best I could offer was my £15 Nokia – and breathed a sigh of a relief when I located my beloved passport (not in my bag as initially predicted however, but in my coat pocket). Phew. I have heard various tales of people getting stopped by the police and asked to produce their documents, and then after handing over the necessary paper the naive foreigner has then had to bribe the police in order to reclaim their passport; for this reason it is more sensible to carry around photocopies of your passport and visa. On the other hand an acquaintance told me how he was once stopped and had no ID on him but when the police realized he was English, they apologized: “oh you’re English? Sorry sir.” And let him carry on… If you plan on staying in the country for more than 6 days, you will be required to ‘register’ your passport and visa. This requires handing over your documents within 7 working days of arrival (it used to be 3!) either to the hotel/hostel where you are staying, the organization that invited you or even the post office. Your passport will then be returned, accompanied by a long rectangular piece of paper – this is your registration. Your registration, along with your migration card (obtained on arrival at passport control) – are almost as important as your passport. The registration is proof that you are not an illegal immigrant, and if you plan on leaving the country you are going to need your migration card to pass through passport control. After almost 4 months of carrying my migration card around in my passport with me, it was not in the best of conditions; the edges were in tatters, the ink had faded and there were a couple of tears in the paper. When I reached passport control, very much ready to fly home for Christmas, I slid the controller my passport with visa and migration card inside and he
“…I was asked for my
documents, but a wave of panic
washed over me as I observed
that, to my horror, the little
passport shaped pocket in my
bag was lacking my actual
passport… “Umm, I don’t
have it” I whispered in terror.”
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was anything but impressed: “what is this?” he asked whipping out the scruffy piece of paper – “my migration card…” I hesitantly replied, praying this wouldn’t lead to me being dragged off for questioning somewhere and stranded in Russia over the holidays. He patronizingly held up a new migration card next to mine to highlight the contrasting conditions of the two, but thankfully a smile eventually broke out onto his face and he let me off with a warning. The man next to me who had been overlooking the situation told me how lucky I was to be a girl, and had it been his migration card he would have been in serious trouble. This was an interesting observation but not much of a conversation starter, unaware how to respond I just laughed…an awkward silence followed and that was that. But at least I was going to be home for Christmas! Your registration is more complicated because the only time you might need it is if you were to be stopped by the police, and no one ever seems to carry theirs around with them. Similarly when crossing the border you are supposed to have your registration on you, but not once have I or any of my friends been asked to supply it. Nevertheless, if you’re asked for it and don’t have it then you are in trouuuuuble! It is also worth noting that you need to re-register upon re-entering the country – unfortunately this was not brought to my attention until 10 days after returning and settling back in to Muscovite life, when Lydia asked me whether I had been asked for 2000 rubles to re-register my visa? I had not, and considering the location of my residency had not changed and I still had my original registration I didn’t see any problems. Following my discussion with Lydia, the next day I went to ask the woman running the language school I attended about this re-registration business. She told me I had missed the 7-day deadline for registration but that I would be fine just so long as the police didn’t stop me. Unsurprisingly I wasn’t filled with much confidence as this meant that technically as of January, I was living as an illegal immigrant, in Russia. This was somewhat problematic to say the least and after going back to this same woman in charge asking if there was any way of getting registered, she informed me that the inviting party would be fined a very large sum of money for not registering – so no.
I had to take matters into my own hands, sort of – Uncle Anthony played a huge role in operation re-registration. We headed over to the Moscow State University and were directed from one building to another, one room to the next, one person to a different one until finally we managed to get somewhere (metaphorically speaking of course; thankfully no more travelling was involved). The director we spoke to was furious that no one had registered me and having never had to deal with such a situation, it took a fair few phone calls before we were informed of how to proceed. Because I had come off my own accord to re-new my registration, rather than ignoring the fact as I had been advised, I was not going to get deported or blacklisted, which is always good to hear. However, I had indirectly acted against the law so some sort of action needed to be taken. I had to return the following week having paid a £40 fine to the bank (plus commission) and then a woman used a paint roller to cover both my hands in thick black ink and proceeded to take two copies of
my finger prints from each hand, then hand prints, then a few more finger prints, then my signature sealed off with my thumb print. I had to sign and fill in a form in Russian basically saying that I’m a stupid foreigner and didn’t realize I had to re-register but promise it won’t happen again. I was then entered into their system and given
a square piece of lined paper, perhaps 10cm x 10cm with the words ‘штраф 2000р’ (fine 2000r) and the MGU blue stamp, which could have been made by a 5 year old. There’s nothing quite like bureaucracy. My last mention is visas – make sure you’re out of the country before your visa expires, because one preposition means until and including the final date (по), but the other preposition, which confusingly also means until (до) requires you to have already left the country by that date. And of course noting the number of entries would be wise, desperate as I was to fly home for a long weekend during my first 3-month stint, my single entry visa meant that should I decide to leave I would not be able to come back. Not for a while at least, so would have perhaps been slightly counter-intuitive in terms of improving my Russian.
http://lizzainrussia.blogspot.co.uk
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LANGUAGE PLAYS Organised and performed by DELC students and staff
French Play
“Ubu Roi” by Alfred Jarry,
Performances: 20th – 23rd March 2013, Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street
This year we, 'Les Escogriffes, put on a performance
of ‘Ubu Roi’ by the French surrealist dramatist, Alfred
Jarry. The main character, Ubu, is based on Jarry’s
tyrannical school teacher, creating a ridiculous and
disgusting figure who after usurping a polish king becomes
a horrible dictator. His selfish and snappy wife reminds us
of the guilty Lady Macbeth, a scottish reference which we
tried to allude to through dressing Père Ubu in a kilt!
Whenever I told anyone that the play was written in 1895,
they have been surprised by the fact. Jarry was ahead of his
time, using old theatre tradions in a new and bizarre way, and even manipulating language. His alterations of spelling,
like to the first (and most common) word of the play 'merdre', or 'physique' 'phynance' - emphasizes the
arbitrariness of language. He uses them in ways which mimick real langauge, but make no real sense ' baton à
physique' ' corne à merdre'.
Perhaps people were all the more surprised because we tried to break the '4th' wall in theatre, by engaging with the
audience, and making the play spontaneous. I think the absurd
aspects of the piece help to show how ridiculous it is to abuse
power. We tried to convey this arbitrary abuse of power by using
the same actor for each noble and magistrate that Ubu massacres:
he really doesn't care who he kills.
At the end of the day, Père Ubu was a subject of laughter and
mockery, rather than of contempt. He did not seem evil, because
he was simply playing around on stage, as much as Jarry was
playing around with language. It just goes to show the dangers of
treating power like a game!
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German Play
"Der Reigen" by Arthur Schnitzler
Performances: 21st & 22nd February 2013, Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street
Reflections on a saucy Austrian extravaganza: The German Play 2013
Story: Lydia Pauley; Photography: Caitlin Warther
With the final swish of a feather boa to tie it all together, the creation of The
German Play 2013 was a lot of fun and, if we may say so ourselves, a roaring
success! Schnitzler's skillfully self-deceptive characters are presented in a world of
little caution and much temptation, offering the artist a bough of freedom to
create a choatic realm of music, colour and a fair dose of madness.
Aesthetics were the key to making language secondary, so even if an audience
member didn't speak a word of German, they could still share a taste of
Schnitzler's world. Week on week,
our artistic ideas became ever more
absurd and extreme, and both our actors/actresses and backstage team rose to the
challenge with remarkable professionalism and grace. If you are interested in
taking part in the German Play 2014, let me assure you that friendship, laughter
and a huge improvement in your German fluency and confidence lay in store for
you. With thanks to every person who gave their skills and time, spirit of fun and
quirky contributions. It was a pleasure to direct and a delight to watch unfold!
Hispanic Studies Play
"El Florido Pensil" by Sopeña Andres Monsalve
Performances: 6th, 7th & 8th March 2013 Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street
On the 6th, 7th and 8th of March the students of Hispanic Studies represented the play ‘El Florido Pensil’ at Adam House by Andrés Sopeña Montalbe and adapted for the stage by the Basque group Tanttaka.
The play takes place in the Basque Country in 1950s when Franco was at the peak of his power. His ideology was soaking up every aspect of Spanish life. Languages, apart from Castilian, were forbidden and the education system was strongly influenced
by his politics.
The play was mainly set in a classroom and portrayed this era through the eyes of five
children. It showed the difficulties this group had as they faced the absurd and
partly illogical education system. In different lessons such as maths, religion or
PE, the audience felt the impact of the totalitarian regime on the pupils ‘learning’. Most of the time the children struggled to understand what their teachers wished to
convey.
8
Italian
“Il bugiardo” by Carlo Goldoni
Performances: 14th and 15th March, 2013 Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street
After the success of last year’s Renaissance comedy “La Mandragola”, the
Italian Theatre Society of Edinburgh University chose to produce another
classic, this time an 18th century play by Carlo Goldoni: Il bugiardo (The
Liar). While the original script was slightly abridged and adapted, it still
provided quite a challenge in terms of language and pace. Goldoni’s witty
and elaborate turn of phrase and the minuet of constant entries and exits
were tackled with gusto by the cast, the directors and backstage hands, all
of them students in DELC. Their team work, creativity and commitment to the project resulted in a polished and
highly entertaining show, which received excellent feedback from the audience. Among them, Peter Brand,
Emeritus Professor of Italian, commented: “The best Goldoni production I have seen”.
From left: Francesco Ridolfi (2nd yr), Jonathan Oldfield (1st yr), Beatrix Newsome (4th yr), Ainsley Lynch (2nd yr), Chris Dyer (4th yr), Frances Bromage (4th yr), Robbie Pagani (Erasmus),
Camilo Montoya-Guevara (3rd yr), Elisabeth Gear (2nd yr), Paul Collins (4th yr).
Correction Merlin James, “Charchoune’s Trans-Modernism”, Talbot Rice Gallery,
November 2012 – February 2013 In the last edition of the DELC Newsletter we wrongly gave the impression that this exhibition was run
in conjunction with the Dashkova Centre. In fact the Centre offered a related, but independent, talk. We would like to apologise for this misunderstanding.
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EVENTS
DELC’s flagship research project, which we share with Celtic and Scottish Studies, is the Edge of Words. Since its inaugural
Study Day, which we reported on in the last DELC Newsletter, it has hosted some fascinating seminars which have really
concentrated minds on the question: how can we think about what goes beyond words? Ella Leith showed us how story-telling
in British Sign Language simply doesn’t work in the same way as story-telling in words – and perhaps it works better. Emily
Lyle took us into a cosmology hidden behind words. Martine Beugnet talked us through cinema beyond language. And Carl
Lindahl, telling some wonderful stories himself, demonstrated how during natural disasters such as the Japanese tsunami and
Hurricane Katrina, people experience moments when their identity and their actions seem to come together without the
intermediary of words – and how those moments subsequently turn into stories that have to be told. Before the end of this
semester, we have a seminar on music in Scandinavian crime novels to look forward to, and two Study Days: one on
Translation, Trauma and Silence; and another on Gender and Sexuality. All open to everyone in DELC, students as well as
staff! More information on all of this on the Edge of Words web site:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/edge-of-words
And we already have a full programme planned for next year. Come and join us!
This semester, Iona Macintyre, Charlotte Matthews, and Fiona Mackintosh (Hispanic Studies), together with Camillia Cowling (History), organized an interdisciplinary seminar series of five talks on the subject: One Region, Many Peoples, which set out to explore the changing roles of race and race-making in the construction of the diverse regions, nations and cultures of Latin America. The series began with sociologist Steve Garner discussing ‘Latin American “Race” and “Race”-Making in Context’. Historian Caroline Dodds Pennock gave a fascinating case study of the Aztec Atlantic, and this was followed by literary scholar Conrad James’ reading of race in post-revolutionary Cuban culture. Andrew Canessa explored the contradictory politics of indigeneity in Bolivia from an anthropological perspective, and the series finished with Denise Ferreira da Silva’s examination of strategies for rethinking race in contemporary Brazil through the figures of Zumbi and Isabel. The series was well attended by staff and students from a wide range of disciplines. The talks were organized in association with CLARE (Caribbean and Latin American Research at Edinburgh); the School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh; the section of Hispanic Studies, University of Edinburgh; and the Society for Latin American Studies, UK.
2013 Honorary Dashkova Lecture
The 2013 Honorary Dashkova Lecture was given on 21st
February by Professor Evgeny Dobrenko, head of Russian and
Slavonic Studies at the University of Sheffield. Professor
Dobrenko’s lecture, entitled The Art of Hatred: Limits of
Humanity and Violence in Soviet Wartime Culture drew upon
his long-term interests in Soviet visual culture, examining the
ways in which the new ideological context of WWII changed
poster, painting and film.
College Registrar Frank Gribben introduces Professor Dobrenko.
10
Nicole Malinconi Visit, French Department, 21 March 2013
Report by Kim Beasley, 4th year student Photo by James McKenna, 4th year student Most literature students spend the majority of their time studying the work of dead people who, unfortunately, aren’t very chatty; so it was quite exciting for the French 4 students taking the Belgian Identities option to actually be able to meet an author they had been reading about! Yet it was also quite daunting, normally you can come up with a theory about a book without any fear of the author telling you it’s wrong. Fortunately that fear proved unfounded as Malinconi was open to everyone’s ideas and not at all scary. The visit started with a brief talk from Malinconi about the works we’ve been studying (Nous deux and Da solo for any Belgian literature fans) and how she began writing. The latter was particularly interesting, as Malinconi began to write after losing her job working in a hospital with women who were having abortions. She described her fascination with the way the women spoke, their use of simple language and how she felt compelled to give them a voice. Her motivations for writing and interest in language remained a theme throughout the entire visit, which certainly isn’t surprising considering her bicultural heritage of a Belgian mother and Italian father. Nous deux and Da solo deal with Malinconi’s relationship with her mother and father respectively, making the opportunity to speak with her all the more pertinent. It was very interesting how she spoke about la mère, le père and la fille and never ma mere or mon père, perhaps confirming that she distanced herself from the reality to write these books. She described in more detail the suffocating mother/daughter relationship of Nous deux and the later role reversal caused by her mother’s illness. In describing her father and the writing of Da solo she noted the importance of Italian to her relationship with language. One of her motivations for writing, pour sortir du magma (to leave ‘the magma’ or confusion), seems highly relevant when considering her autobiographical works and parental relationships. Inevitably a question was asked about her contentious work on Michelle Martin, who was imprisoned for her involvement in Marc Dutroux’s crimes (Dutroux is a notorious serial killer in Belgium). Malinconi said she visited Martin “pour des mots” and noted that Martin never took any responsibility for her crimes and was initially more interested in her own treatment in prison than what sent her there. As well as being a writer Malinconi has a strong interest in psychoanalysis which is certainly linked to her most controversial work. Perhaps it is an obvious comment to say that an author is primarily concerned with language, after all words are to an author what flour is to Mary Berry. However Malinconi truly is enraptured by words and language. This is not often evident in her sparse writing style but in talking to her it becomes obvious, demonstrating the value of a visit like this pour sortir du magma that often comes from the study of literature.
11
INNOVATIVE LEARNING WEEK
Hispanic Studies – Portuguese Language Centre
On the 20th of February, as part of Innovative Learning Week, nine of us got
together to cook some traditional Portuguese dishes at Pollock Halls.
We made: Caldo Verde - or Green Broth - a nutritious, tasty and easy to make
soup that warms up your body and soul on a cold winter evening; Bolinhos de
Bacalhau - Little Salted Cod Cakes - one of more than 1,000 different Portuguese
recipes for salted cod (arguably the oldest ingredient in Portuguese cuisine, and
certainly the smelliest); Rabanadas - fried bread dipped in sugar, then sprinkled
with sugar and then soaked in even more sugar - a traditional Christmas treat;
and Marmelada - a sort of thick preserve or paste made from quince (marmelo in
Portuguese), and the origin of the English word marmalade.
We cooked together, talked and laughed and finally ate everything.
A big thank you to Kirstin Hunger from Accommodation Services and her team
for helping us organizing this event and also to the residents of Holland Annexe
in Pollock Halls for allowing us to use their kitchen.
Slovo Festival in Edinburgh
From 13th-15th March, the Dashkova
Centre hosted the Slovo Festival in
Edinburgh, in association with our long-
term collaborators, Academia Rossica. The
first event of the festival was An Evening
with Dmitry Bykov, the Russian writer, poet
and journalist. To a sold-out audience in the
McEwan Hall reception room, Bykov first
read a number of poems and then answered
a wide range of questions, on subjects such
as the literary scene in Russia and his
opinion of the recent Russian protest
movement. The centrepiece of the festival
was an international symposium, The Writer
as a ‘Language Laboratory: Experiment,
Reflection and Construction of Social
Meaning’. The symposium combined literary
and academic approaches, with a series of
papers by international scholars being
followed by a roundtable session, during
which participants, including filmkaker and
writer Mikhail Segal, discussed literary
practice and use of language. A large
audience attended the screening of the film
Rasskazy (Short Stories) and Q&A session
with its director and scriptwriter, Mikhail
Segal. Mikhail spoke engagingly about his
film work and his literary activities.
Dmitry Bykov
Gender and Sexuality at The Edge of Words is a full-day research event,
which aims to explore the variety of research on gender and sexuality that is
conducted within Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of
Edinburgh, with the aim of creating a Gender, Sexuality and Culture research
hub in order to locate synergies and identify possibilities for future collaboration.
The event will take place on Thursday 2 May at IASH seminar room. Please
contact event organiser, Dr. Leanne Dawson [email protected] if you
would like to participate.
Dr Severine Genieys-Kirk, French, gave a Research semininar at Aoyama
Gakuin University, Tokyo, in July 2012 entitled ‘Les dessous exquis de la
littérature dite précieuse: érotisme voilé dans l’œuvre scudérienne’.
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Made by Italo-Scots – The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, Tuesday 16 April, 6.00pm to 8.00pm
The new Italo-Scottish Research Cluster (ISRC) will have its official inaugural event at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday
16 April, 6.00pm to 8.00pm.
The event is entitled Made by Italo-Scots. The Italian factor in Scotland today. MSP Linda Fabiani will be the official
event Host. She will be joined by Vice-Principal and Head of College Prof Dorothy Miell, the Italian Consul General Mauro
Carfagnini and a number of guest speakers.
Guests speakers include Dr Terri Colpi, author of The Italian Factor (1991), QC Lorenzo Alonzi, entrepreneur Gio
Benedetti, screenwriter Sergio Casci, Archbishop Conti, entrepreneur Tony Crolla, solicitor Cesidio Di Ciacca, playwright Ann
Marie Di Mambro and BBC journalist Giancarlo Rinaldi.
Italy and Scotland are great migrant nations. Scots-Italians are an integral part of Scotland's socio-economical success. Made
by Italo-Scots celebrates this by inviting our guest speakers to rethink migrant identities in the light of current debates on
nation and nationhood, people’s mobility and integration “elsewhere”.
Project funded by The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.
Project Director – Professor Federica G. Pedriali
All info Dr Carlo Pirozzi - [email protected]
Global Russian: New Research Perspectives
The first large event of the year for the Princess Dashkova Centre was an international Symposium entitled Global Russian: New
Research Perspectives, held from 24th-25th January. The symposium was attended by a mix of new and established speakers and
some external attendees. In four panels and a theoretical roundtable session, the symposium examined how the Russian
language can be said to function as a global language, touching upon issues globalization, post-colonialism and identity-
formation. Papers explored topics such as the use of Russian outside the Russian Federation, the use of Russian in tourism
and the governmental exercise of ‘soft power’ in the cultural sphere and on the Internet. The keynote speech was delivered
by Vladimir Alpatov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who spoke on historical attempts to replace the Cyrillic alphabet
with the Latin one. Podcasts of papers will shortly be available from the Princess Dashkova Centre website.
l-r: Lara Ryazanova-Clarke
(Edinburgh), Vladimir Alpatov
(Russian Academy of Sciences),
Victoria Hudson (Birmingham)
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To keep up with DELC events…
Visit our website: www.delc.ed.ac.uk
(Conferences, Seminars and Events)
and
Follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/UniversityOfEdinburghEuropeanLanguages
Dr Davide Messina, Italian gave the keynote address at a
conference in February at the University of Liege organised
to discuss his latest publication on Pasolini, ‘Corpus XXX:
Pasolini, Petrolio, Salò’.
The European Cinema Research Forum annual conference
will take place on 1-2 July 2013 at the University of Edinburgh.
The theme of this year’s conference is The Other and keynote
speakers include Professor Richard Dyer and filmmaker, Monika
Treut. Staff and postgraduate students who are interested in
contributing in any way are welcome to contact the conference
organiser, Dr. Leanne Dawson [email protected].
No-Where-Next | War-Diaspora-Origin – The British
Embassy, Rome, and Montecassino Abbey, 4-5 May 2013
Five interconnected events make up the current edition of the Edinburgh Gadda Prize - Montecassino 2013. Our aim in this project is to make bold new connections between cultures employing concepts such as community, social responsibility, identity, memory, mobility, freedom, war and migration – all central to Carlo Emilio Gadda’s work – to engage the wider community, young people especially. Our five event platforms – conference, public debate, recital by Nicola Benedetti, exhibition of unseen ISRC photographic material, junior live installation and award ceremony – all in turn address the edition's title: No-Where-Next | War-Diaspora-Origin. Further intersections between Gadda and the ISRC migration project will be through the official presentations made at the award ceremony. These will include the first ISRC publication – the catalogue of the exhibition -, the first volume of the new series Detecting Italy. La narrativa ultraesordiente del Gadda Giovani, and the presentation of the ISRC itself. The edition will open officially on Saturday 4 May at the British Embassy in Rome. Project Director – Professor Federica G. Pedriali All info - [email protected]
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SOCIETIES
To find related societies…
Visit http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/listings/
DELC Students Create European Union Society
Several DELC Students, along with students from other schools, have started the European Union Society.
Founded in October 2012, the Society is dedicated to the promotion of discussion and awareness of the European
Union, in a fair and balanced manner, as an essential part of the government of its Member States. It fosters an
environment of knowledge transfer and debate among the students of the Edinburgh community on topics related
to the EU, including on matters of law, politics, language, culture and international relations. The organisation
does this through its lectures, debates, panel discussions, networking and social events, study groups, field trips,
conferences and more. Students have the chance to meet and get to know one another, while also engaging with
real practitioners from EU institutions, national and regional governments, academia, the private sector and
beyond. At the same time it provides its student leaders with the chance to develop their professional skills in
project planning, event organisation, sustainable management and experience with high-profile interactions.
Highlights this year include its Inaugural Debate and Reception on the UK’s Place in the EU and a panel debate
and discussion on Scotland and Two Unions, featuring three MEPs and one MSP with an audience of over 175
people. Its primary objectives are to deliver on its mission statement and to develop a durable and lasting presence
in the community.
The Executive Committee for 2012 – 2013 has been: Anthony Salamone (French and German and European
Union Studies) as President; Marko Supronyuk (International Relations and Law) as Secretary; Hannah Furness
(Law) as Treasurer; Isabel O’Hagan (German and Spanish) as Publicity Coordinator; Ed Prosser (Spanish and
Portuguese and European Union Studies) as Social Coordinator; Markus Hell (Spanish and Russian and
European Union Studies) and Paul Togerni (Politics) as Ordinary Committee Members.
15
STAFF PUBLICATIONS
Since our last Newsletter, DELC staff have published the following pieces:
ARTICLES, ESSAYS & BOOK CHAPTERS
‘The Swedish Precursor of the Spanish Esperpento: Strindberg’s
Spöksonaten and Valle-Inclán’s Luces de Bohemia’, Revue de Littérature comparée,
86.3 (2012), 283-301
‘Unamuno, el monólogo interior y el flujo de conciencia: de William
James y Amor y pedagogía a Knut Hamsun y Niebla’, Hispanic Review, 80.3
(2012), 445-466.
‘La novela áurea ante el Siglo de las Luces’, Edad de Oro, 31 (2012), 31-52.
‘Unamuno, Freud y Strindberg: los sueños en Amor y pedagogía y Niebla’,
Neophilologus, 96.1 (2012), 47-64.
‘Cien años de Strindberg’, Hoy (21 October 2012), 55.
‘Leer a Unamuno’, Hoy (16 December 2012), 48.
‘La patria de Pascual Duarte’, Hoy (28 March 2013), 18.
(ed. and introduction), Pío Baroja, Camino de perfección. Madrid: Alianza,
2013.
Dr John Ardila (Hispanic Studies)
‘Challenging Censorship through Creativity: Responses to the Ban on
Sputnik in the GDR’, Modern Language Review, 108.2 (April 2013), 577-97
‘East German Theatre Censorship: The Role of the Audience’, Theatre
Journal, 65.2 (March 2013), 39-56
‘Serial Murder in Cold-War Berlin: Leichensache Zernik and the Struggle
for Panoptic Control’, German Life and Letters, 66.1 (January 2013), 93-
110
Dr Laura Bradley (German)
‘Aimée, Jaguar and Gender Melancholia’ In: Studies in European Cinema
9:1, pp. 35 – 52.
Dr Leanne Dawson (DELC)
‘Different music, same condition: Hofstadter and Lyotard’, in Thinking
Verse volume 2, pp. 9-26, see:
http://www.thinkingverse.com/issue02/Peter%20Dayan,%20Differen
t%20music,%20same%20condition.pdf
Prof Peter Dayan (French)
'Gabrielle Suchon: Militant Philosophy in Seventeenth Century', in Forum for Modern Language Studies (2012) (First published online: November 15, 2012)
Dr Véronique Desnain (French)
‘Madeleine-Angélique de Gomez: une militante oubliée... :‘J’ai beau
prendre la plus éclatante de mes voix, les hommes ne veulent point l’entendre’, in
M. E Henneau and D. Haas-Dubosc (eds), Revisiter la « querelle des
femmes ». Discours sur l’égalité/inégalité des sexes, de 1600 à 1750, (Saint
Etienne : Publications de l’Université de Saint-Etienne, Coll. L’Ecole
du genre, 2013) 139-149 and 151-7.
‘Bertaud de Motteville , Françoise,’ in Mary Hays, Female Biography; or,
Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women, of All Ages and
Countries (1803). Chawton House Library Series: Women’s Memoirs. Gina
Luria Walker, ed. Memoirs of Women Writers (London: Pickering &
Chatto), vol. 5, pp. 321-323.
‘Brégy, Charlotte Saumaize de Chazan de’, in Mary Hays, Female Biography; or, Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women, of All Ages and Countries (1803). Chawton House Library Series: Women’s Memoirs. Gina Luria Walker, ed. Memoirs of Women Writers ( London: Pickering & Chatto), Vol. 6, pp. 46-51.
Dr Severine Genieyes-Kirk (French)
‘Intermedial Proust: Harold Pinter and Di Trevis’s Stage Adaptation of A la recherche du temps perdu’, in Nathalie Aubert, ed., Proust and the Visual (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2013), pp. 219-37
Prof Marion Schmid (French)
"Мемуарная проза Марины Цветаевой как анти-памятник: очерк
Живое о живом (1932 г.) в контексте мифотворческих тенденций
российского и европейского модернизма 1910х-30х годов"
(Tsvetaeva's Memoir "The Living About the Living" in the Context
Of Mythopoeic Tendencies of Russian and European Modernism),
AvtobiografiЯ, volume 1, 2012, pp.167–210.
[http://www.padovauniversitypress.it/riviste/avtobiografija/]
“Consuming Utopian Thought in an Anti-Utopian Age: The
Reception of Andrej Platonovʼs Čevengur in Todayʼs Russia", Russian
Literature, volume 73, issue 1/2, 2013, pp.209-227
"The Image of Marina Tsvetaeva in the Émigré Memoirs, Criticism
and Scholarship," in Adamovitch, Marina; Smotodinska, Tatiana;
Ermolaev, Natalia, eds. Russian Emigration at the Crossroads of the XX-
XXI Centuries: Proceeding of the International Conference Dedicated to the 70th
Anniversary of the New Review/Novyj Zhurnal, New York: The New
Review Publishing, 2012, pp.186-201.
"Russian Women Poets on the Death of the Poet, the Modernist Canon and the Postmodern Condition," in Marsh, Rosalind. New Women's Writing in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe: Gender, Generations and Identities, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishers, 2012, pp.300-319.
Dr Alexandra Smith (Russian Studies)
‘Countermemory and the (Turkish-)German Theatrical Archive: Reading the Documentary Remains of Emine Sevgi Özdamar’s Karagöz in Alamania (1986),’ Transit, Special Issue on Participatory Media and Public Memory, 8.2 (March 2013) <http://german.berkeley.edu/transit/2013/stewart.html>.
Elizabeth Stewart (German)
For more information on Publications,
see our staff profile pages: www.delc.ed.ac.uk
