Research

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • 20th and 21st century Italian literature and romance literatures
  • Transcultural Studies
  • Comparative Literature
  • Translation Studies
  • Creative Writing
  • Cultural Anthropology

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Self-translation of prose fiction in a transcultural perspective (from romance languages to English and vice-versa).

Elements of transculturality in contemporary Italian works of fiction.

Filmic adaptation of transnational works of fiction

PUBLICATIONS

Book Chapters – peer-reviewed

“Self-translation in Transcultural Mode: Francesca Duranti on How to Put ‘a Scent of Basil’ into one’s Translations.” In Narratives Crossing Borders: Transcultural Perspectives. Eds. Herbert Jonsson et al. Bern: Peter Lang Publishing Group. Forthcoming.

‘Transpatriation Processes and Early Twenty-First Century Transcultural Novels in the Global Age.’ In Border Crossings. Mile End, South Australia: Wakefield Press, 2016, pp. 204-217.

“Nomadi transculturali, caravanserragli urbani e spazi pubblici di quartiere.” In Interni Inclusivi. Dialoghi Trasversali. Santarcangelo di Romagna (RN): Politecnica/Maggioli Editore, 2016, pp. 12-28.

Articles – peer-reviewed

“Dialogic Assisted Self-Translation in the Translab. A Case Study in the Italian-English Language Combination.” mTm. A Translation Journal. Special Issue: TransCollaborate:  Collaborative Translation, a Model for Inclusion.10: 1-19. Forthcoming.

Urban Caravanserais, Translational Practices and Transcultural Commons in the Age of Global Mobility.” Skepsi, 8 (2018/2019): 1-18.

Re-discovering Alessandro Spina’s Transculture/ality in The Young Maronite.” Special Issue: “Transcultural Literary Studies: Politics, Theory, and Literary Analysis.” Humanities, 5.42 (2016): 1-11

Contemporary Transcultural Auto/biography and Creative Nonfiction Writing on the Neonomadic Frontier.” Transcultural Studies: A Series in Interdisciplinary Research (Brill). 11 (2015): 93-107.

Transcultural Literature and Contemporary World Literature(s).” World Literatures from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-first Century.
Ed. Marko Juvan. Special Issue CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.5 (2013): <http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.2339>.

Global Mobility, Transcultural Literature, and Multiple Modes of Modernity.’ Transcultural Studies, 2 (2013): 130-160, http://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/transcultural/article/view/9940

Transcultural Writers, World Literature and Multicultural Australia in the Global Age.’ Transpostcross. Thematic Issue, ‘World Literature, Translation and New Media,’ 3.1 (2013): 1-14, http://www.transpostcross.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96:transcultural- writers&catid=8:interventi&Itemid=11

‘Transculturalism and Transcultural Literature in the 21st Century.’ Position Paper. Transcultural Studies. A Series in Interdisciplinary;Research.  Special Issue, ‘Transcultural Perspectives on Literature, Music, Cinema and Culturology,’ 8 (2012): 1-14,

Comparative Literary Studies in the Twenty-First Century: Towards a Transcultural Perspective?’ CSAA 2011 Conference Proceedings. ‘Cultural ReOrientations and Comparative Colonialities,’ 22-24 November, 2011, Adelaide, South Australia, 2012, 1-16,
http://www.unisa.edu.au/Documents/EASS/MnM/csaa-proceedings/Dagnino.pdf

Transcultural Writers and Transcultural Fiction in the Age of Global Modernity.’ Transnational Literature Journal, 4, 2 (2012): 1-14,

http://dspace.flinders.edu.au/xmlui/bitstream/handle/2328/25881/Transcultural_Write rs.pdf;jsessionid=0BA7CB7B0D96CB206E9A41AD24F9D75C?sequence=3

non peer-reviewed:

‘When and Why Writers Self-Translate.’ TransLetter, Vancouver: Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia, January 2017 (Winter Issue).

Long Reviews
‘Mikhail Epstein, The Transformative Humanities: A Manifesto. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012.’ A review. Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge, 27(2014).

Academic Conferences, Seminars, and Workshops

Keynote Speaker

  • Dagnino, A. “Transcultural Nomads, Urban Caravanserais and Neighbourhood  Commons.”Interiors Forum World 2015 – Nomadic Interiors. Living and Inhabiting in    

            an Age of Migrations.Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy. May 21-22.

Panel organizer

  • “Perché autotradursi?” Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Italian Studies (CSIS), The University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 11-13 May 2018.

Peer-reviewed conference papers

“Bilingual Self-Translation as Transcultural Mediation.” Traditions and
Transitions. International conference for the 90th anniversary of the Department of English and
American Studies. Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski,” Sofia, Bulgaria, 28-30 September 2018.

“Language is not Enough: The Need for Bicultural Literacy in Literary
(Self-)Translation.” Symposium of The Cultural Literacy in Europe Forum 2018, Monash University Prato Centre, Prato, Italy,  10-13 July 2018.

“Transcultural Mediation, Identity Building, and Translingualism in Francesca Marciano’s Self-Translations.” Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Italian Studies (CSIS), The University of Ottawa, Ottawa,  11-13 May 2018.

‘Breaking the Linguistic Minority Complex through Self-Translation.’ Translation & Minority 2: Freedom and Difference. The University of Ottawa, School of Translation and Interpretation, Ottawa, 10-11 November 2017.  Link.

‘Self-translation as Transcultural Mediation in Francesca Duranti’s Left-Handed Dreams.’ 9th ACIS Biennial Conference, Monash University, Prato, Italy, 4-7 July 2017.

‘Self-translating Writers and Transcultural Mediation.’ The Proximity of Cultures. St. John’s College, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 8 April 2017.

‘Deprovincializing Alessandro Spina: A transcultural reading of The Young Maronite in English translation.’ Regional Identities on a Global Scale: Translation, Audiences, Reception. Transnational Perspectives in Italian Studies. Thea Koerner House, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 31 March- 2 April 2016.

Manifesto for a Transcultural Humanism,’ Beyond Crisis: Visions for the New Humanities, Inaugural conference, Centre for Humanities Innovation (CHI), Durham University, UK, 7-9 July  2014.
https://www.dur.ac.uk/chi/tasks/8/

21st Century Transcultural Novels and Intercultural Reading Habits.’ Intercultural Research: Looking Back, Looking Forward. 10th Annual Symposium, Centre for Intercultural Language Studies (CILS), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 9 May 2014.
http://cils.educ.ubc.ca/files/2014/04/CILS-10AnnSymp-May9-2014.pdf

‘Writing Across Cultural Borders: Transcultural Authors and Transcultural Novels in the Early 21st Century Literature of Global Mobility.’ Border Crossings Conference, Flinders University, 10-12 December 2012, Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, Australia.
http://www.flinders.edu.au/ehl/fms/hums_research/firthfocus/KIConf_Abstracts_2012v6.pdf

‘Neonomadism and the Transcultural Turn in the Literature of Mobility.’ Digital Crossroads Conference, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, 28-30 June 2012.

‘Comparative Literary Studies in the Twenty-First Century: Towards a Transcultural Perspective?’ CSAA 2011 Annual Conference: Cultural ReOrientations and Comparative Colonialities, Adelaide, University of South Australia, 22-24 November 2011.

Invited Talks

“Writing and Self-Translating in Transcultural Mode.” Contract Faculty Colloquium & Publication Display. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver,  14 March 2018.

From Doom to Bloom. Dante’s Teachings for (our) Troubled Times.” Q&A with Prof. Daniela Boccassini. The Dante Alighieri Society of British Columbia. The Roundhouse Creative and Community Centre. 5 December 2017. Link

“Transcultural Caravanserais and the Culture of Hospitality.” Festival della Crescita. Sestri Levante (Genova), Italy,  26 June 2017.

“Pirandello and Sicily.” In cerca d’autore: Pirandello nostro contemporaneo. Seminar. Italian Studies. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 31 March 2017.

“Chopin and Italy,” pre-show talk, inaugural concert of the Dante Alighieri Society, Pyatt Hall, Vancouver, December 4, 2015.

“Flamenco and the diasporic soul,” pre-show talk to Paco Peña’s show “Flamencura,” The Chan Centre of the Performing Arts, Vancouver, October 24, 2015.