Tag: Italy

CFP LRI Workshop for Early-Career Researchers: Oral Communication and Plurilingualism (Italy)

ConferencesCall for papers: 8th LRI Workshop for Early-Career Researchers: Oral Communication and Plurilingualism, Merano, Italy, 11-12 June 2026. Submission deadline: 15 January 2026.

The Linguistic Colloquium Language, Region, Identity aims to foster scientific exchanges within the Alpine region and beyond. It is specifically targeted at early career researchers (PhD students and post-docs). The colloquia, jointly organised by a team from six universities and research centres in Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, intend to offer a forum for discussing current and recently concluded projects. The biennial editions are organised around three keywords: language, region and identity.

Each Linguistic Colloquium workshop has a specific topic of interest. The 8th edition will address topics related to oral communication and plurilingualism. In contexts characterised by territorial multilingualism and/or increasing levels of linguistic diversity, language manifests itself as a complex dialogical process involving multiple resources – registers, varieties, and discourses – which speakers select to engage in processes of meaning-making, identity negotiation, and to act upon their realities.

With this in mind, organizers welcome contributions that deal with orality and spoken language, focusing in particular on oral communication in connection with:
• communicative acts within a specific genre of private or institutional communication, e.g., family talk, communication at school and university, with public authorities, medical practitioners, etc.;
• the linguistic features of spoken language from a phonetic-phonological, lexical, morphological, syntactical, pragmatic, or interactional point of view; this may also include the contrast between different languages and varieties or between spoken and written languages;
• the teaching and learning of oral competences in formal and informal contexts;
• the positioning of speakers from a sociolinguistic or variational linguistic perspective;
• translanguaging and mediation practices among plurilingual speakers in private or institutional settings;
• oral communication and spoken language in experiences of mobility and migration;
• methodological, epistemological and/or ontological challenges in research on oral communication and spoken language.

Different languages and varieties in the Alpine region will provide the focal points of the workshop; however, the workshop is also open to related topics and projects, including overarching dimensions such as language ideologies and Artificial Intelligence in connection with spoken language and orality.

EUI: Project Assistant for Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (Italy)

“Job

Project Assistant in the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Deadline: 1 September 2025.

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) is an inter-disciplinary research centre at the
heart of the European University Institute (EUI). It was established in 1992 to complement the four EUI
disciplinary departments (Economics, History and Civilization, Law, Political and Social Sciences) with the aim to be involved in both basic and policy research, collaborate with other centres of excellence in Europe, provide opportunities for young scholars and promote dialogue with the world of practice. The Centre’s goal is to maintain an environment and support structure that fosters intellectual curiosity and excellent research. The research agenda of the Centre is currently guided by three major themes: Integration, Governance and Democracy; Regulating Markets and Governing Money; and 21st Century World Politics and Europe.

The Project Assistant will be based at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) which is part of the Schuman Centre. It conducts advanced research and monitoring on media pluralism across Europe to support democracy, accountability, and fundamental rights. The CMPF is also a research and training centre that aims to develop innovative and relevant lines of research on media freedom and pluralism in Europe and beyond, and to provide knowledge support to the international, European and national policy and rulemaking processes

Marist U: Associate Director, Marist Italy (Italy)

“JobAssociate Director, Marist Italy, Marist University, Florence, Italy. Deadline: 23 August 2025.

The Associate Director will assist the Interim Director of Marist Italy to manage branch campus operations. Major duties will include supporting day-to-day operations, developing office procedures and schedules, bookkeeping, and developing and helping to lead high impact educational experiences including internships, a lecture series, senior seminar, the honors program, and community engagement.

Applicants must be European Union (EU) citizens or have prior and ongoing permission to work in Italy – visa sponsorship is not possible at this time.

Maria Flora Mangano: Standing for Peace Without Weapons

Guest PostsStanding for Peace Without Weapons. Guest post by Maria Flora Mangano.

In 2025, we are celebrating the eightieth anniversary of several events related to the end of World War II, including the launch of the bombs which devastated Japan. Oppenheimer immediately realized the need to avoid global destruction, and soon he stepped back from atomic weapons, instead promoting disarmament and peace among the international community of physicists and scientists. His commitment to peace encountered strong opposition among the political and government contexts of that time. At the end of the war, he was removed from government and academic positions, and he charged with supporting communism through his pacifist ideas. He was rehabilitated, teaching in the US before his death. A few months after the creation of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer delivered a speech in the same place where the group of physicists worked and helped to create the Association of Los Alamos Scientists. They, in turn, mobilized the scientists of the world to support a peaceful use of science and knowledge, arguing for global disarmament.

What may his words suggest to us, in this tragic and dark time for the whole world, when it seems that history has taught us nothing?

Are we really powerless and inexorably in the hands of our politicians’ choices, as the obvious vision of the world seems to suggest? Do we really believe that the end of the wars come from those with the loudest voices and as a result of weapons?

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Maria Flora Mangano: Gratitude is My Attitude

Guest PostsGratitude is My Attitude. Guest post by Maria Flora Mangano.

Thankfulness may become mutual, as it is focused on our approach to the Other.

Working with students can be more than a job; it may become a life choice, an answer to a call, which we choose every day. It may turn into an attitude, a perspective on reality, a vision of the world centered on the Other rather than on us. This approach may also change our relationship to our students, and, far more broadly, with our daily lives.

…If we can shift the center of gravity from ourselves to the Other, we may experience gratitude as a pure feeling which does not depend on us, thus on our abilities, successes, or results. It reminded me of the I-Thou relationship as theorized by Martin Buber (1937), thus, the basic idea that the relationship lies in the between, perhaps in the hyphen between, the I and the Thou (Mangano, 2018, p. 27). It is a space which depends neither on the I, nor on the Thou; it is in the middle, in the between, in the “space of us.”

When we are able to decenter ourselves and put the Other at the center of the scene, we may also see what already exists, rather than what is missing. We may experience wonder, as we do not expect a gift: the Other may already be a gift, and we do not need any additional expectation. This approach, that of an unexpected surprise, may provide a new perspective on reality as a glass half-full; sometimes even completely full. In this attitude, gratitude sounds likely to be close to hope, an endless source of water although just a few drops may be enough, as they can guarantee the strength to carry on.

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FMSH: Trilateral “Villa Vigoni” Workshops (France, Italy, Germany)

GrantsTrilateral “Villa Vigoni” workshops (France, Germany, Italy), Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH), Paris, France. Deadline: 13 April 2025.

In order to promote the exchange between researchers active in France, Germany, and Italy and the construction of scientific networks within the humanities and social sciences, as well as to explicitly encourage the use of French, German, and Italian as scientific languages, the Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme (FMSH), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), and the Villa Vigoni have set up the “Trilateral Workshops” program. Applications for this program can come from all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. They will be selected on the basis of a competitive evaluation procedure.

Each trilateral workshop consists of a series of three scientific meetings, organized at the rate of one meeting per year. They will all take place at Villa Vigoni (located on the shores of Lake Como). The participants in the Workshops form a core group of 12 (minimum) to 16 (maximum) researchers coming, if possible in a balanced way, from the three partner countries and from different institutions within the same country. This group will remain the same for all meetings.

The submission of the project and the coordination of each workshop are ensured by a group of three researchers active respectively in France, Germany and Italy. The project leaders guarantee that they have an institutional affiliation (university, research organization, etc.) for the duration of the proposed project.

The participation of researchers at the beginning of their career is highly desirable. In order to facilitate the submission of a project, postdocs (up to 6 years after the defense of the thesis) may choose to submit their application in a reduced format. This variant is only possible if at least two of the three project leaders and at least half of the participants are in the post-doctoral phase defined above. In this case, the conditions are as follows: support for two years for two (instead of three) meetings and with a group of 9 (minimum) to 12 (maximum) participants; each of the three partner countries must be represented by at least 2 (if there are more than 9 participants, by at least 3) persons.

U Bologna: Mediating Italy in Global Culture 2025 (Italy)


Study AbroadMediating Italy in Global Culture, University of Bologna, Lecce, Apulia, Italy, 8-11 June 2025. Application deadline: 21 March 2025.

The Department of the Arts of the University of Bologna, in collaboration with Brown University, Dickinson College, University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and Wesleyan University, invites applications for the 2025 edition of the “Mediating Italy in Global Culture” Summer School. This intensive program will be held in Lecce, Apulia, from Sunday, June 8th, to Wednesday, June 11th, 2025, and is specifically tailored for graduate and post-graduate students seeking an enriching academic experience.

The summer school is designed to enhance participants’ theoretical and methodological skills while facilitating dynamic discussions on the creation, dissemination, and reception of Italian cultural and media products. These discussions will be contextualized within various global frameworks, including but not limited to the United States, the UK, the European Union, the Mediterranean, and the Global South, with a focus on how these regions influence and shape global perceptions of Italy.

Through a combination of lectures, seminars, and roundtable discussions centered on specific topics and case studies, the program offers a platform for students to engage actively by presenting and discussing their research with our esteemed international faculty. Dedicated Q&A sessions, alongside individual and group activities, further foster interdisciplinary dialogue and engagement throughout the course.

CFP 5th International Conference on the Sociolinguistics of Immigration (Italy)

Conferences

Call for papers: 5th International Conference on the Sociolinguistics of Immigration, 16-17 June 2025, Sestri Levante, Italy. Deadline: 31 January 2025.

This conference addresses the complexities of migration research amidst global challenges such as economic disparities, climate change, and displacement. The event aims to foster dialogue on reflexivity, ethics, and arts-based methodologies in migration studies. The language of the conference is English.

Participants will explore:

  • Representation and power dynamics.
  • Researchers’ responsibilities when working with vulnerable populations.
  • Innovative, interdisciplinary methods to amplify migrants’ voices.

European U Institute: Fellowship in Political & Social Sciences (Italy)

Fellowships

Research Fellow in Political & Social Sciences: Ethnic Discrimination in the Job Search Process, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Deadline: 26 June 2024.

For an ERC-funded project (‘TARGETS’), EUI conducts longitudinal research on the impact of ethnic discrimination on the job search process. Ethnic discrimination in the labour market is persistent and pervasive. The job search experiences of ethnic minorities, in particular, are rife with rejections and second tries. On average, they have to apply more often as the majority group to receive an equal number of positive callbacks and face substantial discrimination at the interview and job offer stages. Previous research, however, has paid little attention to the job search behaviour of members of vulnerable groups, and the strategies they may adopt to avoid discriminatory employers. For example, job seekers may conceal ethnic cues in their resumes or target organizations that signal a commitment to diversity in their recruitment material. In this project, researchers rely on experience sampling methods (digital daily diaries) to analyze job search behaviour as it unfolds over time. They will track the type of organizations that job seekers apply to, how they react to the information reported in the vacancies and the feedback received from employers and whether they adapt their job search strategies in response to perceived discrimination or expectations of success and failure. Drawing on sociological and socio-psychological research on stigmatization, social identity and discrimination, they will examine the coping strategies of vulnerable groups as they try to find employment (preferably, the
research will focus on the Dutch context).

Florida International U: Program Manager (Italy)

“JobProgram Manager, Florida International University, Genoa, Italy. Deadline: 6 July 2024.

The Florida International University in Genoa program, with 19 years of operation in Genoa and approximately 700 participating students as of summer 2024, is searching to fill the position of Program Manager. The program manager’s primary responsibilities are the day-to-day operations of FIU in Genoa, including but not limited to: coordination of the activities and use of the program center, participation in group activities and trips, arranging student and faculty housing, addressing the legal requirements of the program, managing the maintenance of the physical facilities, and availability in case of emergency.

Genoa is a port city between sea and mountains, with a layered history of medieval, Renaissance, modern and contemporary conditions offering a rich context for life and learning experiences. FIU has semester and summer FIU faculty-led programs in architecture, social sciences, and hospitality and tourism management, as well as a semester program for undergraduates of any major with courses in political science, European history and art history taught by Italian professors.