AISCLI Summer School: World Cultures & Literatures In English September 2013 (University of Torino) INFO AND PROGRAMME:

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 uninfinità quantità di spunti di approfondimento, utili bibliografie, suggerimenti di lettura. Non posso che augurarmi che lAISCLI 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 socio- linguistic 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.