The 13th Annual University College Cork International Postgraduate Conference in Italian Studies took place at University College Cork on 4–5 September 2026. Now in its thirteenth year, the conference has established itself as a platform for postgraduate researchers to present and discuss their work, fostering scholarly exchange and contributing to the field of Italian Studies by engaging with key themes in Italian history, culture and thought. This year’s conference was entitled Approdi: Navigating the Crisis and was dedicated to exploring the multifaceted nature of crisis from a range of disciplinary perspectives, bringing together scholars working in contemporary studies, literature, philosophy, political science and history.
The event was sponsored by the Society for Italian Studies and the UCC Department of Italian. This year’s edition welcomed doctoral scholars from eight universities, providing them with the opportunity to present their latest research, exchange ideas with fellow postgraduate scholars and receive valuable feedback from established academics. It also welcomed a roundtable, two workshops led by Dr. Brice Catherin and Dr. Yvon Bonefant and a screening of a film followed by a Q&A.
The conference opened on Friday 4 September with a roundtable discussion featuring Prof Vittorio Bufacchi (UCC), Dr Chiara Giuliani (UCC), Dr Evelien Geerts (UCC), Prof Ger Mullally (UCC), Prof Declan Jordan (UCC). Following the panelists’ presentations, the roundtable opened up a broader discussion on the nature of crisis, addressing questions of accountability, power and oppression, as well as the potential for crisis to generate new beginnings and forms of social and political change. The discussion also explored how literature and the humanities can help us navigate interconnected global crises, from ecological and political instability to linguistic and representational limitations, while questioning who defines a crisis and when it can be considered resolved.
The first panel of the day, ‘On the Threshold of Language’, was chaired by Dr Daragh O’ Connell and featured papers by Berenice Daniele (TCD) and Elisa Rosati (UCC). The second panel, ‘Uprooted Identities, Writing Selves’ was chaired by Dr Marco Amici and featured papers by Anna Golfari (UNIMI), Silvia Cercarelli (Oxford) and Angelica Crosato (UNIPD). The day concluded with Body Parts in Crisis, a hands-on workshop led by Dr Brice Catherin, which explored the relationship between bodies and public space through embodied research and collective artistic interventions. Using modelling clay to create fictive body parts, participants engaged with questions of consent, care, coexistence and discomfort, before installing their creations in Cork city centre to observe how passers-by responded. The workshop offered an innovative, participatory approach to exploring how tensions and negotiations in shared spaces can reflect broader dynamics of crisis.
The second day, Saturday, 5 September, began with a workshop led by Dr Yvon Bonenfant, which introduced the emerging field of Interdisciplinary Voice Studies and explored the role of the voice in arts and humanities research through theoretical discussion and practical exercises. The first panel of the day, ‘Imagined Futures and Genre Transformations’ was chaired by Prof Silvia Ross and featured papers by Gian Luca Rampazzo (UNIUD) and Giulia Bernuzzi (UCC). The second panel ‘Bringing Trouble into the Classroom’ was chaired by Dr Barbara Siller and featured papers by Tommaso Verga (UCC) and Chiara Cigliano (UNINA). The last panel, ‘Problematizing Italian History through Narrative and Memory’ was chaired by Dr Mark Chu and featured papers by Giacomo Frazzetta (UCLA) and Joseph Muratore (TCD). The event concluded with a screening of a film by Aoife Desmond exploring the River Lee, which flows through Cork, and its surrounding landscape. Through journeys along the river, the film examines the intersections of environmental degradation, industrial development, land privatization and the histories of colonization, also reflecting on the relationship between landscape, language and Irish identity. The screening was followed by a Q&A.
The 13th Annual UCC International Postgraduate Conference in Italian Studies successfully brought together emerging scholars, showcasing innovative doctoral research and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue. By creating a space for critical exchange and collaboration, Approdi: Navigating the Crisis highlighted the value of postgraduate research in engaging with contemporary challenges and opened up new perspectives for future research in Italian Studies.