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A new book edited by Hazel Andrews and Les Roberts has just appeared in print: Liminal Landscapes: Travel, Experience and Spaces In-between (Routledge). The volume is the outcome of a symposium held at Liverpool John Moores University in July 2010, “Liminal Landscapes: Remapping the Field”. Ideas and concepts of liminality have long shaped debates around the uses and practices of space in constructions of identity, particularly in relation to different forms of travel such as tourism, migration and pilgrimage, and the social, cultural and experiential landscapes associated with these and other mobilities. The ritual, performative and embodied geographies of borderzones, non-places, transitional spaces, or ‘spaces in-between’ are often discussed in terms of the liminal, yet there have been few attempts to problematize the concept, or to rethink how ideas of the liminal might find critical resonance with contemporary developments in the study of place, space and mobility.

Liminal Landscapes fills this void by bringing together a variety of new and emerging methodological approaches of liminality to explore new theoretical perspectives on mobility, space and socio-cultural experience. By doing so it offers new insight into contemporary questions about technology, surveillance, power, the city, and post-industrial modernity.

Professor Thomassen’s chapter is entitled “Revisiting liminality: the danger of empty spaces”. In this chapter, Thomassen suggests a typology of liminal experiences and indicate different topic areas in which the concept of liminality is currently applied in the social sciences. The chapter critically reviews how liminality has come to signal fluid and hybrid culture and the playful, carnivalesque, inversion of normality, without due attention to the clearly dangerous and problematic aspects of liminality. The chapter suggests that a crucial feature of modernity relates to what has been paradoxically termed ‘permanent liminality’. Building on this diagnosis, it is further suggested that this fixation of liminal conditions has a joint temporal and spatial dimension that underpins the modern episteme, leading to an implosion of non-places.

Guccini is today regarded as one of Italy’s most prominent cultural icons. He will be recognized for his long and varied career as a multi-talented artist, whose lyrics have inspired generations of people in Italy from the 1960s to the modern day. Guccini has addressed both personal and public aspects of Italian society with intelligence and irony, singing about deeply felt truths. Unafraid of taking positions and often labeled as a political songwriter, he is considered one of the most important Italian cantautori, whose storytelling draws on popular and literary traditions such as the ballad, with its sophisticated verse composition techniques.

Guccini’s lyrics have been praised for their poetic and literary value and have entered into the canon of modern Italian poetry. In 1992 he was awarded the Librex-Guggenheim Eugenio Montale prize for the section “Verses in Music”, one of several awards received for his work. During the four decades of his musical career he has produced 22 albums, on many of which the acoustic guitar features as the main accompanying instrument.

Inspired by musicians such as Bob Dylan, Guccini’s beautiful songs have also contributed to bringing to Italy a piece of America, which he discovered first through the stories of his emigrant great uncle Amerigo, and later through the literature and music of the US beat generation.

Guccini is also an accomplished writer, and among his works are his autobiography and a number of novels. His latest book, Il Dizionario delle cose perdute (The Dictionary of lost things) was published this year to critical acclaim.

AUR will be pleased to welcome as guest of honor and Honorary Degree recipient one of Italy’s most renowned cultural figures, Francesco Guccini, who will be recognized for his long career as a song writer, singer and author.

The special, produced by RAI journalist Lisa Marzoli for RAI 3, highlights the university’s academic strength and the benefits of an American style education and Campus life in the heart of Rome. Faculty, staff, students and alumni contributed to the production of the program and illustrated the benefits of an AUR eduction to great effect.

The program is the property of Italy’s national broadcaster RAI Television.

The exhibition will be curated by Prof. Lidia Reghini di Pontremoli, historian and art critic and the catalogue will be curated by Simona Gentile and AUR student Nicole Dal Porto. The exhibition management team will also include Nicole and Valentina Castellani.

The Irish Ambassador to Italy, H.E. Patrick Hennessy, will be present at the inauguration, with the Cultural Attache Amal Kaoua and Dr. Andrew Thompson, AUR’s President ad Interim.

The works in the exhibition will include oil paintings, prints and mixed media realized between 2004 and 2012. The basic theme is trees and nature in general with an introspective analysis of reality. Prof. Ennis will show around 22 pieces covering the latest period of her research.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to l p.m. (closed sundays)

For further information contact Prof. Ennis b.ennis@aur.edu or Lidia Reghini di Pontremoli.

• Download the exhibition poster in PDF format.

New and upcoming features on the blog include:

• More and better content displayed in a visual way that reflects better what is going on in The Department of Communication and English.
• Student Film and Digital Media work featured on the home page in a rotating video carousel and available in channels.
• A gallery of student photography, graphic design, illustration, and digital art.
• Featured faculty work
• A gallery with links to featured student web and interactive projects.
• A Careers Resources page to help point our students in the right direction when looking for jobs and internships in their chosen field.
• A new Facebook Page to go with the blog that will be updated regularly. (Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/aurcomblog )

Please stop by and pay the site a visit.  More student and faculty work, posts, and resources will be added in the days and weeks ahead.

By Marielle Lunde Berntsen

After a weekend filled with laughter, learning, and visiting businesses, cultural and historical sites and politicians, AUR students returned from the Business Field Trip to Sicily. Prof Aldo Patania and Department Chair Prof Kathleen Fitzsimmons organized the trip, packed full of adventures, as we wound our way through many of the beautiful cities on the island and a great deal of learning. Many of the students were taking the related course one-credit elective course BUS 381 “The Economic and Political Environment of Sicily.”

Participants included students from a variety of different majors, and were about evenly split between resident and study abroad students, which brought a great diversity to the group, as well as to the questions asked at the numerous businesses that hosted us. Key to our understanding and appreciation of the visits was Prof. Patania’s encyclopedia knowledge of the economic, political, historical and cultural aspects of this oft-misunderstood region of Italy, as well as his boundless energy, enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity. The trip started off with a bang. After arriving in Catania, Prof. Patania, who is from Sicily and studied in the city, wasted no time in informing us all about everything from social issues, the best restaurants, the history, and the various businesses in the area. He answered all our questions and shared loads of fun facts.

After a great (but early!) breakfast at our hotel in the heart of Catania, we launched our packed and eventful day. First stop: the SASOL chemical plant in Augusta. The managers there offered snacks and coffee and a great deal of information about the plant and the industry, which is thriving, despite the economic recession. After the presentation we toured the plant, which was interesting and something most of us had never experienced before. After this we were once again on the Sicilian road, astonished by the mesmerizing beauty and history of Sicily. Our next stop was Oranfresh; a company that creates machines to supply freshly squeezed orange juice, for companies and households alike! The company let us drink as much freshly squeezed orange juice as we could consume, which all the students (and professors) took full advantage of! After a short presentation, we were shown around the factory, and saw from start to finish the production of their newest line – vending machines. After the tour, we all agreed, we need one of those vending machines on the AUR campus!

Back on the road we headed to Oro d’Etna, a small firm that specializes in “apicultura” (bee keeping), managing 900 “families” of honey bees. They then produce and distribute an array of honey-related products and other typical Sicilian food products. Walking around the factory and being able to see the different foods specific to the area made us all hungry, so our next stop was lunch, where we had a typical Sicilian meal. Then it was off to the dairy company “Latte Sole,” a unit of the Parmalat multinational corporation, where we saw how milk is processed and packaged for delivery. We had to put on hairnets and coats, which provided for one of the funniest moments of the day, and some of the best photos! We all left with some milk, souvenirs, and lots of great pictures! Our last stop on the agenda was Palazzo dell’Elefante, which is the location of Catania’s City Hall. When we arrived there, the Major of Catania, Raffaele Stancanelli, welcomed us enthusiastically, offered some advice on where to get the best food, allowed us to step out onto the balcony used only on special occasions, overlooking the piazza, and sent us off with best wishes for the rest of our trip. For the rest of the night we all explored Catania, ate great food, and basked in the magic the city of Catania had to offer.

The next morning we went inland to Sortino to visit the Colleroni Company, part of a cooperative of orange producing and packing companies. We enjoyed a walk through the beautiful country side, saw the orange fields, watched the local workers picking the fruit (and tried to understand a little of the Sicilian dialect they all spoke!) and were told to pick we could pick as many oranges as we pleased. We then went to the Colleroni facility where the oranges are delivered, inspected, sorted, washed, waxed and packaged on an automatic assembly line, and from which they are sent to grocery stores throughout Italy. The owner shared with us his marketing and distribution strategy and discussed the unique strategic alliance the cooperative has formed with Conad Supermarkets that provides incentives for small orange farmers to stay in business despite their lack of the kind of economies of scale normally required in the agricultural sector. The day was glorious, and we headed up into the rocky hills to Buccheri, where we had lunch at a beautiful restaurant. The only thing that outshone the spectacular view, was the food! After a great meal and good company, we headed to Noto for the afternoon. Noto is UNESCO’s world heritage list for its unique baroque architecture.

Our last day in Sicily was featured what became perhaps the highlights for many of the students – visits to Mt. Etna and Taormina. Mt. Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. We hiked up the black hills to peer into the smaller craters (not the active one, which was still emitting smoke!) picked up some lava rocks, and enjoyed the cool refreshing air. Back on the bus, we headed to Taomina, one of the most beautiful cities in Sicily! We strolled, ate lunch, enjoyed a tour of the ancient Greek theater towering over the sea, and ate that most classic of Sicilian sweets, cannoli. Until, sadly, our trip was at an end and we once again boarded a plane, headed for Rome. But I am sure I speak for everyone on the trip, it was an amazing trip, filled with experiences and sites most of us had only seen in books.

Additional Resources

• View our photo album on Facebook
• Get more information on the course BUS 381 “The Economic and Political Environment of Sicily.”

Professors Patania (left) and Fitzsimmons (right) with AUR students and Catania Mayor Raffaele Stancanelli (center).

Iddar belongs to a Tuareg nomad tribe and grew up between Mali, Niger, Algeria and Libya before moving to Italy, where he received his high school diploma with the highest grade. He will graduate in International Relations in 2014. Meanwhile, he has been working as an interpreter for the Italian Interior Ministry and has been accepted on an internship in the Emergencies Department of the FAO for 3 months, starting in June.

In this publication Professor Hodges makes use of recent archaeological discoveries to advance a new thesis about the shift from the consumption economies of Antiquity to the emphasis on production in the Middle Ages. He looks in particular at evolving archaeological evidence for managing agrarian economies and how this shaped the evolution of the earliest medieval urban communities. The Christian Church had a particularly important role as an agent of change throughout western Europe during this period and the book explores this aspect as well.

• View the book cover: Dark Age Economics in PDF

Some of the papers from that conference have now been published as a special issue in Symposium (volume 3, number 2), in the peer-reviewed journal, Bulletin of Italian Politics. The issue is edited by Isabella Clough-Marinaro and James Walston. The articles look at the history of the process which led to unification and at how the process continued after the formal proclamation of the kingdom of Italy. They also look at the ways in which interpretations of the Risorgimento have changed over the last century and a half. One of the articles is by Bjørn Thomassen from the Department of International Relations, co-authored with Rosario Forlenza (NYU), “From Myth to Reality and Back Again: The Fascist and Post-Fascist Reading of Garibaldi and the Risorgimento,”, while James Walston is author of the general Introduction.

The Bulletin of Italian Politics is an open access journal, so enjoy the reading!