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Information on several papers discussed at the 2010 American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS) Conference held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on April 22-25, 2010 is presented. Topics include Italian cinema genre, Italian literature and the cinema discipline within the field of Italian studies. The conference featured several notable individuals including Anna Paparcone, Maria Teresa Maenza, and Elena Past.

Information about the American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS) Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 7-9, 2011 is presented. The article mentions that the event was attended by scholars from various countries to share and discuss views on Italian film, culture and literature research. It also featured speakers Marcia Landy of University of Pittsburgh as well as Andrea Bini and Christopher White of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

From the farthest north to the deepest south, the cities, towns, and countryside of Italy have provided set locations which show us images of an Italy that is multiform and various. Based on a massive database of more than 5000 Italian-set films from 1988 to 2016, this paper explores the geography of Italian set locations and their related cinematic landscapes. In order to achieve this goal, the study proceeds in two phases. First, the paper identifies the concentrations of set locations (filmogenic spots) overall and by genre in particular areas through spatial analysis tools. Second, it presents a qualitative analysis of the representation of selected locations, underlining the different roles played by the landscape in film narratives. By using an integrated quali-quantitative perspective, the paper offers an analysis that combines the spatial and the representational dimensions of Italian set locations over a wide area for a long period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 13rd October 2016 the Chiostergi-Tuscher archive and library, originating from the heirs' house located in France (Saint-Cergues Les Voirons), was transferred to the Centro cooperativo mazziniano "Pensiero e Azione" in Senigallia. The paper reports about how this remarkable heritage of Chiostergi-Tuscher was retrieved and returned to Italy after thirty years. The collection includes correspondences, letters, diaries, documents, journals and papers, pictures, books, posters and other archival and bibliographic materials of great historical value to learn about the political, civic and cultural activities of Giuseppe Chiostergi (1899-1961), anti-fascist, member of the Italian Constituent Assembly and of Parliament, ambassador, pro-European and statesman, friend and correspondent to leading Italian and European personalities in the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of reporting verbs in the Harry Potter series and their translation in Italian. It offers quantitative and qualitative perspectives on how the English verbs have been translated by two Italian translators, who worked on different books of the series. This study first analyses verb usage across the three protagonists of the series (Harry, Ron, and Hermione) in English and Italian; then, it employs Caldas-Coulthard's (1987) taxonomy of reporting verbs and compares verb categories between source and target texts to identify tendencies in the translation of this textual feature. It finally discusses the stylistic implications of translation alterations and their potential effect on character development. As such, this paper contributes not only to the limited literature on reporting verbs in translation (especially in Italian), but it also furthers the understanding of the role of reporting verbs as a characterisation device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on some basic questions related to the field of actors' training in Italy. In order to investigate the various trajectories followed by young actors in their professional apprenticeship, the paper briefly illustrates what is specific to the Italian landscape, which features both a strong tradition in enrolling non-professional actors and a fluid professional interchange between actors who have a stage-oriented training and actors trained in film acting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Written in response to the French and English critics of the 17th and 18th centuries, Ludovico Muratori published the Della Perfetta Poesia Italiana in 1706. In this work, the academic sought to defend Italian poetry, reviewing the main poets that wrote in his language. Based on Muratori’s writings, this paper intends to discuss the reception of Dante Alighieri in Italy in the beginning of the 18th century. We will first discuss some of the features and topics of the poetic art in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. We will then proceed to report some of the Muratori’s comments about the notion of ingenium, a key concept in poetic theory. Finally, we will discuss Muratori’s critique of Dante Alighieri’s poetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines naming variation in several Italian translations of Erich Kastner's novel Das doppelte Lottchen. Starting from the analysis of proper names and naming processes in Kästner's book, this study aims to show how the onomastic dissimilarity occurring in its different Italian versions has to do not only with the ever shifting translation methods and techniques in the way of adapting names to the target culture, but mostly with the constantly renewed critical (and editorial) approach to the novel over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the two films of the Taviani brothers through which the Tuscan directors have narrated the early 20th century Italian diaspora in the United States: the first episode of Kaos, the 1984 film based partly on Pirandello’s Novelle per un anno, and the 1987 film Good morning, Babylon. Besides analyzing various sequences of the films, especially those related to the departure, arrival and pursuit of the American dream, in this paper I explain how both films aimed not only to recall the relevance of a social-historical phenomenon such as the great migration, but also by reflecting on the present and the future, the films force us to focus on the drama of those who today are forced to leave their homeland in search of a better future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the transnational industry of migrant cinema. It particularly addresses the production and 'guerrilla film-making' of this genre in Italy, whilst analysing the effects of cultural policies on productions and representation. After defining the genre of migrant cinema—or 'accented cinema', as Hamid Naficy terms it—by positioning it within the wider theoretical framework of Third Cinema, I concentrate on aspects of representation and diversity, identity and cultural participation. I focus on the means of production and distribution as they have expanded in a transnational strategy of international co-productions beyond post-colonial communication and cooperation flows, and within new dynamics created by digital technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the collaboration between the Italian and Anglophone academies in relation to Italian films, the importance of Italian films, and the account of film papers.