News

Call for Papers The Winter’s Tale: From Page to Stage

IASEMS Tempera Seminar 2027 University of Padova, Department of Language and Literary Studies 7-9 June 2027 The University of Padova is pleased to announce that, on 7-9 June 2027, it will be hosting the next IASEMS Tempera Seminar, with a focus on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. This is one of Shakespeare’s best-known romances, or late plays, which straddles tragedy and comedy along with a conflictual court and serene, reconciliatory pastoral setting. Such division is emphasised by the remarkable location and time changes between the first and second part of the play: changes which also help the concept of human transformation emerge. The play prompts many questions about the human mind, gender, sin, nature, storytelling and lying, and about death and art. It includes one of the most wondrous and confusing scenes in Shakespeare’s whole canon, that of Hermione’s revival from statue form, in which faith and art come together to bring back to life what seemed forever lost, and where the play’s syncretic potential between Christian and pagan elements reaches its peak. Of significant interest is also Shakespeare’s reshaping of the sources, from Elizabethan prose romance to classical myth and tragedy, and even Italianate novella. The complex stage history of the play, as well as its largely uncharted cultural history, are also important areas of scholarly enquiry. 20-minute papers are invited on any aspect of the play, including, but not limited to: Selected papers will be published in a new open-access instalment of the series Shakespeare dal Testo alla Scena (Pacini) inaugurated by Mariangela Tempera. Deadline for proposals: 28 February 2027 Notification of acceptance: 15 March 2027 Keynote Speakers: Please send a 200-word proposal with a short bio to Alice Equestri (alice.equestri@unipd.it), Alessandra Petrina (alessandra.petrina@unipd.it) and Rocco Coronato (rocco.coronato@unipd.it) before the specified deadline. Information about the conference will be available on the IASEMS website: www.iasems.org

Call for Papers The Winter’s Tale: From Page to Stage Read More »

Call for Abstracts ‘Neo-Victorianism and Gaming’

Special Issue of Victoriographies: A Journal of the Long Nineteenth Century Guest Edited by Paolo D’Indinosante and Federica Perazzini Games play a significant role in shaping contemporary understandings of the Victorian age across different generations. Yet, although research on Victorian-inspired games has expanded considerably in recent years (see, e.g., Napolitano 2019; Folléa 2020; Crofts 2023; Esser 2024; Beyvers 2025; Beyvers and Faber 2025; Bispo 2026; D’Indinosante 2026), gaming remains peripheral to the field of neo-Victorian studies, which is still predominantly concerned with literature, cinema, and television. This special issue of Victoriographies seeks to redress the imbalance and advance the field by bringing it into sustained dialogue with game studies through a collection of essays on neo-Victorian game and game-related adaptations, appropriations, and transmedia storytelling (Flanagan 2017; Stobbart 2018; Elleström 2019; Fehrle and Schäfke-Zell 2019; Sanders 2026). Building on recent scholarly work exploring the relationship between gaming and the long nineteenth century, including Cameron and Young (2024; 2025) and Pereira (2025), this special issue will constitute the first collective effort to adopt the neo-Victorian as its primary theoretical and analytical lens for examining the diverse intersections and interactions between contemporary global gaming and the Victorian past. It will also be the first collection of essays on Victorian-related games to foreground adaptations, appropriations, and transmedia storytelling as its primary objects of investigation. We invite scholarly contributions that explore and map the relatively uncharted region at the intersection of neo-Victorian studies and game studies. We particularly encourage contributions that examine forms underrepresented in the area of inquiry at the intersection of neo-Victorian and game studies, including analogue games, indie digital games, and (graphic) novelisations of popular Victorian-inspired video games, such as Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate (Ubisoft Quebec 2015) and the Dishonored games (Arkane Studios 2012; Arkane Lyon 2016; 2017). We are especially interested in contributions that offer new theoretical and methodological perspectives for analysing and teaching a wider range of previously overlooked neo-Victorian games and related cultural artefacts. We also welcome contributions that foster productive exchanges with recent developments in the field of game studies, particularly feminist, historical, postcolonial, queer, trans, and ecocritical game studies (Shaw 2014; Chapman 2016; Mukherjee 2017; Ruberg and Shaw 2017; Ruberg 2022; op de Beke et al. 2024). Topics may include, but are not limited to: Submission Guidelines We invite abstracts of approximately 300 words, accompanied by a list of works cited and a brief biographical sketch (about 100 words). Abstracts should be submitted as a PDF file to paolo.dindinosante@uniroma1.it by 4th September 2026. Authors will be notified of the outcome of the selection process by 21st September 2026. Accepted authors will then be invited to submit full articles by 13th December 2026, which should be 7,000–8,000 words (including endnotes) and prepared according to the journal’s style guide. Accepted authors will also be asked to read the journal’s submission guidelines carefully and to provide an abstract of about 200 words, 5–7 keywords (preferably not all words used in the title) for online searches, and a brief biographical sketch (about 50–100 words). If you have any questions, please write to paolo.dindinosante@uniroma1.it. Timeline For further info, check here

Call for Abstracts ‘Neo-Victorianism and Gaming’ Read More »

New publication: Mariaconcetta Costantini, Ruth Heholt, Gothic Masculinities in the Victorian Age temporary free access 8th July 2026 – 22nd July 2026

Mariaconcetta Costantini, Ruth Heholt, Gothic Masculinities in the Victorian Age, Cambridge Elements, Cambridge University Press, July 2026 Gothic Masculinities in the Victorian Age explores masculinity and the Gothic in the literature of the long nineteenth century. In recent criticism masculinity in the Gothic is most usually discussed as being fractured, unstable, and threatened. Gothic Masculinities examines this fragmentation of gendered identity, but it also considers other types of arguments and representations of men in Gothic literature. The Gothic (genre and mode) is multiple, shifting, changing, multifaceted, and intertextual, and there are significant differences in the types of masculinity depicted. This Element examines the myth and deconstruction of an idealised conception of one whole, unified, hegemonically powerful masculinity, but it also examines some of the many other identities available within the practices of masculinity. The Gothic has always allowed space for subversion and the unconventional and Gothic Masculinities explores and celebrates some unexpected representations of men and their many different and sometimes surprising forms of masculine identity. https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/gothic-masculinities-in-the-victorian-age/47C0EC66D371DEF1FC08A9686BDA1244

New publication: Mariaconcetta Costantini, Ruth Heholt, Gothic Masculinities in the Victorian Age temporary free access 8th July 2026 – 22nd July 2026 Read More »

Extended deadlines 5th International ELT Conference (Brescia, 2-3 October 2026)

5th International ELT Conference New Trends in English Teaching, Learning and Education University of Brescia, Italy 2-3 October 2026 The 5th International ELT Conference “New Trends in English Teaching, Learning and Education” will be held at the University of Brescia on 2-3 October 2026. The event follows the international debate launched by the four editions of the Conference hosted by the “L’Orientale” University of Naples (2022), the “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara (2023), the University of Ferrara (2024) and the “Parthenope” University of Naples (2025). The fifth International ELT Conference aims to foster ongoing debates on the challenges of language teaching, language learning, and special needs education with a particular focus on variants of English for Academic and Professional Purposes. Conference Theme: English(es) for Academic and Professional Purposes Call for papers English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and training is focused too often on general disciplinary skills rather than the specific professional needs required by the workplace. The conference intends to address emerging and developing variants of “English Linguistics for Academicians and Professionals” (ELAP) resulting from innovative approaches to teaching and learning, new needs and skills of the job market, and the increasingly complex implementation of interactive technology and Artificial Intelligence in all phases of course planning, delivering, and applying in the professions.   Key speakers ·       Prof. Ofelia Palermo – Professor of Relational Leadership, MSc International Business Leader – Nottingham Trent University Ofelia Palermo | Nottingham Trent University ·       Prof. Helen Xanthaki – Professor at the Faculty of Laws, UCL London, Dean of the Postgraduate Laws Programmes of the University of London (Worldwide) Helen Xanthaki | About | University College London ·       Prof. David Tual – Professor of Language Education, Director of the Centre for Languages and Inter-Communication at the University of Cambridge David Tual | Department of Engineering Key topics We welcome contributions that engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes related to ELAP: ·       Changes in teaching methods, approaches, and strategies in view of novel and growing professions ·       New skills and learning needs of students within a professional perspective ·       Innovations in online, blended, and hybrid courses ·       Uses of AI in implementing ELAP ·       Interdisciplinary methodologies for innovative ELT (English Language Teaching) ·       Higher Education (HE) and the professions ·       Best practices in English language communication in professional contexts ·       Reskilling and upskilling in HE ·       ELAP in lifelong learning Submission Guidelines We invite submissions of abstracts relevant to the conference themes at the e-mail address elt2026@unibs.it. More information is provided on the conference website https://www.unibs.it/it/node/13635. Word count: 300 words, excluding bibliography. Language: English. Format: Include title, author(s), affiliation(s), e-mail address(es), and 3-5 keywords. Key Dates Abstract submission deadline: 30 June 2026 15 July 2026 Notification of acceptance: 15 July 2026 31 July 2026 Registration deadline: 20 September 2026 Conference dates: 2-3 October 2026

Extended deadlines 5th International ELT Conference (Brescia, 2-3 October 2026) Read More »

CALL FOR PAPERS and Issue Publication Cross-Media Languages. Applied Research, Digital Tools and Methodologies

We are pleased to announce that Issue 4 (2026) of the international double-blind peer-reviwed accademic journal Cross-Media Languages. Applied Research, Digital Tools and Methodologies (E-ISSN:2974-8933) is now online: https://ojs.uniba.it/index.php/cml/issue/view/229. The journal explores the intersections between research, critical reflection, and pedagogical experimentation concerning the application of digital tools and methodologies in language education. It adopts a multilingual perspective, welcoming contributions focused on English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Arabic, and Polish.Recognizesd by ANVUR in 2025 as a scientific journal, CML also publishes research findings on the use of non-verbal and visual language across different linguistic and cultural contexts, through a variety of genres and text types. The call for papers for the 2027 issue is now open. Details can be found at: https://ojs.uniba.it/index.php/cml/callpapersThe deadline for the submission of abstract proposals is 12th July 2026.Issue 5 (2027) will be published in Spring 2027.

CALL FOR PAPERS and Issue Publication Cross-Media Languages. Applied Research, Digital Tools and Methodologies Read More »

New AIA Interview – Caterina Daolio discusses with Sabrina Fusari, A Corpus Linguistic Approach to Analyzing ‘Empathy’ (AIA Youtube channel)

AIA INTERVIEWS In this video of the AIA Interviews series, Caterina Daolio sits down with Sabrina Fusari, University of Bologna, to discuss her latest book, A Corpus Linguistic Approach to Analyzing ‘Empathy’, available in OPEN ACCESS at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003632399

New AIA Interview – Caterina Daolio discusses with Sabrina Fusari, A Corpus Linguistic Approach to Analyzing ‘Empathy’ (AIA Youtube channel) Read More »

AIA Summer School 2026: Re-Mix, Re-Appropriation, Re-Imagination. University of Salerno, 15-17 July

Registrations are open! Please check the programme and registration procedures here: AIA Summer School 2026 Programme   Practical information:  Hotels close to main station and centro storico Hotel 4 stelle Montestella – camera singola – € 114,00 Hotel 3 stelle BnB  

AIA Summer School 2026: Re-Mix, Re-Appropriation, Re-Imagination. University of Salerno, 15-17 July Read More »

AIA FOR SCHOOLS — SEMINARIO: ECOSTYLISTICS IN/ACROSS THE ANGLOSPHERE 19 maggio 2026, ore 14:00-16:00

Relatore: Prof. Esterino Adami – Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche, Università di Torino Docente promotrice: Prof.ssa Giuseppina Balossi 19 maggio 2026, ore 14:00-16:00 Aula Magna, Liceo Scientifico e Musicale “G. B. Grassi” – L.go Montenero 3 – 23900, Lecco Destinatari/e Il seminario è rivolto ai/alle docenti di lingua inglese, ma aperto anche a docenti di altre discipline, in un’ottica di raccordo multidisciplinare nell’ambito delle aree umanistiche. L’iniziativa è destinata non solo ai/alle docenti del Liceo Scientifico e Musicale “G.B. Grassi”, ma anche a docenti degli istituti secondari di secondo grado della provincia di Lecco. Descrizione del seminario Il seminario ha lo scopo di promuovere un dialogo interdisciplinare nell’ambito delle Humanities e mostra come campi di studio quali l’ecostilistica e l’ecolinguistica possano contribuire a una migliore comprensione del discorso ecologico contemporaneo nelle sue molteplici forme, sia letterarie sia non letterarie. Esso introduce inizialmente teorie linguistiche e metodi di analisi, per poi affrontare tematiche ambientali attraverso l’analisi di una selezione di generi e testi provenienti dalla più ampia Anglosfera. Seminar description Promoting an interdisciplinary dialogue within the Humanities, this seminar shows how fields such as ecostylistics and ecolinguistics can contribute to a deeper understanding of contemporary ecological discourse in its many fictional and non-fictional forms. It first introduces key linguistic theories and analytical methods, and then addresses environmental issues through the analysis of a selection of genres and texts from the broader Anglosphere.

AIA FOR SCHOOLS — SEMINARIO: ECOSTYLISTICS IN/ACROSS THE ANGLOSPHERE 19 maggio 2026, ore 14:00-16:00 Read More »

Torna in alto