AIA INTERVIEWS SERIES January 2026 In this video of the AIA Interviews series, Carolina Celeste Granini speaks with Daniela Cesiri about her latest book, Communicating Food to Children: Linguistic and Socio-Cultural Perspectives. You can find Daniela Cesiri’s book here
AIA Interviews Series – Carolina Celeste Granini interviews Daniela Cesiri Read More »
Please remember that the 18th ESSE Conference will take place from 31st August to 4th September 2026 at the Department of English and German Philology at the University of Santiago de Compostela. The deadline for sending Posters, Papers and for the Doctoral Symposium is 31 January. More details can be found at the following pages: Call for Posters and Seminar Papers Call for the Doctoral Symposium
Reminder CFP ESSE Conference Santiago de Compostela – deadline 31 January 2026 Read More »
Torna la Summer School in Science Mapping (IV edizione) dal 25 al 29 maggio 2026. Quest’anno il focus è sulle nuove frontiere metodologiche: AI-Enhanced Knowledge Synthesis. Non solo software, ma un vero percorso nelle metodologie di sintesi della conoscenza:Bibliometria Avanzata AI-enhancedText Mining e Analisi Semantica (Embedding models)Analisi del Contenuto Qualitativa e automatizzataWorkflow Unificati per la Evidence Synthesis Un’occasione imperdibile per dottorandi, ricercatori e professionisti per padroneggiare i metodi che stanno trasformando la ricerca scientifica.Iscrizioni entro il 30 aprile 2026. *****SCONTO 15% PER I SOCI AIA!!!***** Info e dettagli: https://www.bibliometrix.org/sssm
SSSM (Summer School in Science Mapping) – Napoli, 25-29 maggio 2026 Read More »
Tourism Communication Across Time and Space: Languages, Cultural Mediations, and Historical DevelopmentsMay 18–19, 2026 | Treviso, Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, Via Cornarotta, 7, 31100, Treviso (TV). The PRIN 2020 project DIETALY (Destination Italy in Tourism Translation Over the Years) hasinvestigated how Italy has been represented, translated, and circulated as a destination for internationaltourists across languages and media over the past century. Focusing in particular on the period from the1920s to the 1950s, the project has examined the role of language and translation in shaping Italy’sinternational image during years marked by Fascism, economic crisis, and post-war reconstruction. Theanalysis has drawn on brochures, booklets, magazines, and related materials produced for English-speakingaudiences, placing institutional communication and multilingual mediation at the centre of historical inquiry.A key outcome of the project is the DIETALY database: https://pric.unive.it/projects/dietaly/home,a digital resource that systematises the metadata of a dispersed body of materials. By indexing more than 600brochures, magazines, and promotional texts, the database offers searchable and cross-referenced metadatathat support customised research across bibliographic descriptions, tourism-specific categories, languages,and genres, enabling users to trace discursive patterns and reconstruct how Italy was presented to foreignpublics. Beyond documenting Italy’s tourism promotion, the database also carries comparative potential: itopens avenues for cross-national studies and invites dialogue with similar collections relating to othercountries, particularly within Europe, where parallel historical developments shaped the internationalpromotion of national identities.Tourism studies have gained renewed significance in recent years, not only because tourism remainsa crucial economic and cultural sector but also because it offers a productive lens through which to examineprocesses of identity-making, cultural translation, mediation, and heritage communication. Understandingthese dynamics requires perspectives that bring together linguistic, historical, and media-orientedapproaches. Another area that has gained increasing importance relates to the legal frameworks and nationaland international regulatory contexts governing tourism and heritage communication, as well as theirimplications for research practices, cultural mediation, and cross-border circulation.On this basis, the conference Tourism Communication Across Time and Space: Languages,Cultural Mediations, and Historical Developments seeks to offers an opportunity to engage with theresults of the DIETALY project, to extend its questions to other national and regional contexts, and to fosterwider interdisciplinary discussion on the processes through which tourist destinations are represented,mediated, and imagined across time and space.We welcome contributions that address the historical evolution of tourism communication, withparticular attention to Europe and the Mediterranean. Proposals may explore institutional, visual, anddiscursive strategies that shaped tourism images across the 20th century, or examine how earlier practicesinformed or transitioned into later developments in tourism communication. Possible topics include (but are not limited to):● Historical perspectives on tourism communication across languages and media● Institutional tourism discourse and nation branding across time ● Heritage communication and the mediation of cultural identity● Translation and multilingual mediation in the construction of tourist destinations● The role of language professionals, mediators, and translators in tourism contexts● Archives, corpora, and methodologies for historical tourism research● Legal frameworks and regulatory contexts shaping tourism and heritage communication● National and international regulations affecting research, dissemination, and access in heritage andtourism contexts● Legal, ethical, and institutional constraints on multilingual tourism communication Submission guidelinesAbstract length: 250-300 wordsLanguage: EnglishInclude: 5 keywords + short bio (max 150 words) Presentation format: 15-minute presentation + 10 minutes Q&APlease submit abstracts through the following form: https://forms.gle/EGsY2JPD2BtHLgDDA Deadline for submission: March 15, 2026Notification of acceptance: April 1, 2026Registration: April 1-30, 2026Please note that participation is free of charge. No submission, registration, or attendance fees apply. Selected bibliographyAgorni, M., & Parini, I. (Eds.). (2025). Destination Italy in English Translation and Language over the Years(1919-1959) [Special issue]. Altre Modernità.Aliano, D. (2018). American Travel Encounters with Fascist Italy: Being in transit. In R. Scapp & B. Seitz(Eds.), Philosophy, Travel, and Place. Palgrave Macmillan (pp. 227-259)Berrino, A. (2011). Storia del turismo in Italia. Il Mulino.Cimorelli, D., & Villa, G. C. F. (Eds.). (2025). Visitate l’Italia! Promozione e pubblicità turistica 1900-1950. Silvana Editoriale.Syrjämaa, T. (1997). Visitez l’Italie: Italian state tourist propaganda abroad, 1919-1943: Administrativestructure and practical realization. Turun yliopiston julkaisuja.Zuelow, E. G. E. (2022). Tourism, Nations, and ationalism. In E. G. E. Zuelow & K. J. James (Eds.), TheOxford Handbook of Tourism History. Oxford University Press. CfP final conference DIETALY [updated]
Scuola invernale di italiano e traduzione giuridica IusDA, Italiano per gli usi del diritto e dell’amministrazione. Scrittura, semplificazione, traduzione, che partirà il prossimo febbraio sotto la direzione della Prof.ssa Maria Vittoria Dell’Anna (in cc) nell’ambito dell’offerta formativa del Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche dell’Università del Salento. Le lezioni si svolgeranno esclusivamente online. La scadenza di presentazione delle domande è fissata al 15 gennaio 2026. La Scuola invernale propone, tra gli altri, un percorso di Italiano giuridico e un percorso di traduzione giuridica italiano-inglese e inglese-italiano, di cui ci occuperemo anche io e la collega Carla Quinci (in cc). La Scuola ha ricevuto, tra gli altri, il prestigioso patrocinio dell’Accademia della Crusca ed è accreditata presso Ordini e Associazioni professionali con il riconoscimento di crediti professionali. Altri crediti, universitari, sono riconosciuti agli studenti magistrali (il titolo di accesso è la laurea triennale/di I livello). titolo/requisito di accesso: laurea triennale/di I livello in qualunque classe di laurea; – articolazione: sette percorsi indipendenti, a scelta: percorso I, 𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐨 𝐞 𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐨 e percorsi II-VII, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐳𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚 italiano-inglese/francese/tedesco/spagnolo/portoghese/russo; – possibilità di 𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐢, il calendario non presenta sovrapposizioni orarie; – modalità: 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 via Teams; – durata: 𝟐𝟎 𝐨𝐫𝐞, orario pomeridiano; periodo lezioni: 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚̀ 𝐟𝐞𝐛𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐨-𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚̀ 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐳𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔; – costo: 𝟓𝟎 𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐨 anche in caso di iscrizione a più percorsi;– crediti: 𝟐 CFU per ogni percorso per gli studenti di corsi di studio magistrali/di II livello; altri crediti professionali riconosciuti da Ordini e Associazioni (ad esempio l’Associazione Italiana Traduttori e Interpreti riconosce 8 crediti); – attestato finale: sì; – prova finale: no; – frequenza: obbligatoria; consentito il 25% di assenza;– docenti: giuristi, linguisti e docenti/traduttori esperti di linguistica/scrittura/traduzione giuridica. – info e contatti: scuolainvernaleiusda@unisalento.it; mariavittoria.dellanna@unisalento.it ; – la Scuola si concluderà con un 𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐨 𝐝𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 presso le sedi delle istituzioni europee, compreso nella quota di iscrizione (la partecipazione al viaggio è facoltativa; periodo viaggio: prima metà maggio 2026); – link a bando, domanda ammissione e allegati: https://trasparenza.unisalento.it/page/5/details/11173/dsg-bando-per-lammissione-alla-scuola-invernale-internazionale-iusda-italiano-per-gli-usi-del-diritto-e-dellamministrazione-scrittura-semplificazione-traduzione-aa202425-programma-safi3-sinergie-per-orientare-e-promuovere-unalta-formazione-innovativa-interdisciplinare-internazionale-pnrr-missione-4-componente-a-investimento-34-didattica-e-competenze-universitarie-avanzate-sub-investimento-3-rafforzamento-delle-scuole-universitarie-superiori-cup-di-progetto-f87g24000360006.html
Narratives of Crisis Past and Present: Exploring Memory, Nostalgia and Transformations across Discourses University of Trieste 18-20 February 2026 The new AIA Winter School will take place at the University of Trieste from 18 February to 20 February 2026. This intensive three-day programme brings together leading voices in English Studies, with keynote talks from Esterino Adami (University of Torino), Chiara Battisti (University of Verona) and Robert Young (New York University). Invited experts, including Gino Scatasta (University of Bologna), Emma Sdegno (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) and Nicoletta Vasta (University of Udine), will present on key topics in Linguistics and Translation, Literature, and Cultural Studies. These speakers will also lead interactive laboratory sessions designed to enhance participants’ practical skills. Please find the programme here The registration fee of €180 covers coffee breaks and lunches throughout the event, ensuring a comfortable and engaging experience for all participants. Payment must be made via PagoPA through this link between 2 January and 5 February 2026 (reason for payment: Your name – AIA Winter School 2026 – Università di Trieste). In addition, between 7 January and 10 February, please complete the related registration form you can find by clicking here. Regarding accommodation, both recommended hotels are located in the city centre and are within walking distance of the School venue. Please find contact details and indicative reduced rates below: Capitelli Hotel (https://www.hotelcapitelli.it – tel. 040 064 4221 ‒ approximately 25 rooms): €50–70 per night, depending on room type (double, triple or small apartments suitable for sharing). Urban Hotel (www.urbanhotel.it – tel. +39 040 302065): €105 per night. Our hosts, Roberta Gefter (roberta.gefter@units.it) and Piergiorgio Trevisan (ptrevisan@units.it), will be happy to suggest other accommodation options. Please feel free to contact them for further information. Finally, we are pleased to announce that, as in previous years, AIA will offer two €300 grants to eligible participants, encouraging broad participation in this valuable academic gathering. To apply and for info, write to aiasegreteria@unito.it Join us in Trieste for an opportunity to deepen your expertise, network with peers, and gain insights from leaders in English Studies!
AIA Winter School 18-20 February 2026 TRIESTE Narratives of Crisis Read More »
Università di Palermo, Aula Magna, Complesso universitario di Sant’Antonino, Centro Linguistico d’Ateneo Piazzetta Sant’Antonino, 1 – Palermo Welcome address: Concetta Giliberto – Head of the Department of Humanities Daniela Tononi – Director of the University Language Centre GIUSEPPE BALIRANO, University of Naples L’Orientale WHEN CRIMINALS SPEAK: AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION ON THE EDGE Chair: Giulia A. Pennisi, Department of Politics and International Relations – UniPA JORGE DÍAZ CINTAS, University College London THE OTT REVOLUTION AND ITS IMPACT ON AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION Chair: Alessandra Rizzo, Department of Humanities – UniPA
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force across domains, reshaping professional practices, academic debates, and user experiences. Audiovisual Translation (AVT), with its multimodal and interdisciplinary nature, stands at the forefront of this transformation. AI-driven tools such as automatic speech recognition, machine translation, text-to-speech systems, synthetic voices and AI dubbing, among others, are redefining how AVT is conceived, produced, and consumed, from dubbing and subtitling to audio description (AD), subtitling for people who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing (SDH), voiceover, and live subtitling. The connection between AI and AVT is now central not only to advancing research, but also to forging sustainable ties with the AVT industry. Cloud-based platforms, automated workflows, and AI-enhanced translation environments are revolutionising professional practice while reshaping student training. Preparing the next generation of audiovisual translators requires embedding AI literacy, practical competence, and industry collaboration into curricula to ensure a smooth transition into the professional world. This conference invites scholars, students, practitioners, and industry stakeholders to explore, critically and concretely, the synergies and tensions between AI technologies and AVT. We aim to assess the state of the art, interrogate emerging challenges, and envision the future of AVT in a world increasingly shaped by automation and algorithmic mediation. Particular attention will be devoted to practical applications not only in the media and entertainment industries (film, television, streaming platforms, gaming), but also in the arts and cultural heritage sectors, such as museums, galleries, and live performance, where AI-enhanced AVT practices are opening unprecedented avenues for accessibility and cultural engagement. Focus will be also on the origins of the earliest chat systems within audiovisual and cinematic products. We welcome studies and research that foreground the historical significance of chats both as a digital tool and a writing/narrative device within audiovisual texts. Suggested themes include, but are not limited to:– AI in dubbing and voiceover: neural speech synthesis; synthetic voices; implications for authenticity, authorship, and reception.– AI in subtitling and SDH: automatic speech recognition; MT in subtitling; quality assurance; accessibility challenges.– AI in audio description: multimodal AI for scene understanding; automation in descriptive practice; cultural representation.– AI for the arts and cultural heritage: AVT applications in museums, galleries, and live performance mediation.– Multimodality in AVT research: how AI engages with diverse semiotic resources and reshapes multimodal translation practices.– Cloud-based ecosystems and industry connections: collaborative workflows; training opportunities; professional accreditations; professionalisation of students.– Accessibility and inclusion: AI as driver and/or barrier across global contexts.– Creativity vs automation: tensions between human expertise and machine-generated outputs.– Pedagogy and training: integrating AI in AVT curricula; fostering critical and creative skills; addressing resistance to change. – Ethics, agency, and power: copyright; data and voice ownership; bias in AI systems; socio-cultural consequences.– WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, IRC, web chat in films, TV series, animated, films, documentaries, live broadcasts.– Historical perspective of web and digital systems as representative narrative tools in audiovisual products (e.g., IRC logs in 1990s films vs. WhatsApp/iMessage threads today).– Industry perspectives: how streaming platforms, LSPs, and tech providers incorporate AI in large-scale AVT projects.– User experience and reception studies: audience perception of AI-mediated dubbing, subtitling, and AD; impact on immersion and comprehension. Keynote Speakers and Distinguished GuestsThe conference is honoured to welcome leading national and international colleagues, whose presence will foster dialogue between established expertise, emerging research, and innovativepractice, including:Giuseppe Balirano (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”, Italy) – President, Associazione Italiana di Anglistica (AIA)Frederic Chaume (Universitat Jaume I, Spain)Elena Di Giovanni (Università di Macerata, Italy)Jorge Díaz Cintas (University College London, UK)Margherita Dore (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy)Serenella Massidda (Università di Chieti-Pescara, Italy)Irene Ranzato (Sapienza Università di Roma, Italy) – AIA Board Member Submission GuidelinesWe warmly invite scholars, researchers, practitioners, and industry stakeholders to submit an abstract of up to 300 words (excluding references) and a short bio (max. 150 words) via mail to alessandra.rizzo@unipa.it; gabriele.uzzo@unipa.it; marialuisa.pensabene@unipa.it. Proposals should engage with the conference themes and highlight original research, case studies, or professional experience. Please clearly indicate research objectives, methodology, and expectedresults. Important DatesEXTENDED Deadline for abstract submission: 07 January 2026Notification of acceptance: 31 January 2026Conference dates: 23–24 April 2026 Registration and FeesAccepted presenters and participants are required to register for the conference.Conference fee: €180,00 (includes access to all sessions, conference materials, and coffee/tea breaks).Registration fee applicable to PhD students: €90,00.ESIST members attending the conference as speakers will benefit from a reduced registration fee(€120,00). ESIST members attending as auditors will pay €150,00.Social dinner: €45,00.
(Im)politeness plays a crucial role in the analysis of dramatic dialogue, revealing complex aspects of characterization, plot development, and the underlying structure of social harmony or discord. The ways in which characters deploy impoliteness strategies on stage provide insights into power dynamics, relationships, and the negotiation of social boundaries. Beyond its narrative function, impoliteness also serves as an important theatrical tool: it can enhance entertainment, generate humour, and, in the case of mock impoliteness, even express intimacy, affect, or strategic cunning. By integrating linguistic, pragmatic, and multimodal approaches, scholars can explore the full range of strategies through which (im)politeness operates in drama—whether in written scripts, staged performances, or filmed versions. Join us online: Day 1 (15 December) – https://tinyurl.com/StageDay1 Day 2 (16 December) – https://tinyurl.com/StageDay2 Keynote Speakers: Derek Bousfield (Manchester Metropolitan University), Massimiliano Morini (University of Urbino). Organising and Scientific Committee: Valentina Vetri, Bianca Del Villano, Chiara Ghezzi, Roberto Esposito, Mariaconcetta Mirto, Emma Pasquali, Aoife Beville.
Guest editors: Tomasz Kalaga (Kujawy and Pomorze University in Bydgoszcz), Tiziana Ingravallo (University of Foggia), Loredana Salis (University of Sassari) The realities of conflict, including violations of human rights and the struggle for peace, provide rich thematic material for literary works. Literature can serve as a powerful tool for social change by denouncing injustices, fostering empathy, and engaging with injustices via its negotiation of the concepts of truth, reconciliation, and transitional justice. Writers can challenge official narratives surrounding conflict by giving voice to marginalised perspectives, exposing human rights abuses to a wider audience, and making invisible suffering visible. Literature, as an advocate for social change and human rights, raises awareness of ongoing conflicts and offers alternative understandings of historical events and their consequences. Operating through its innate symbolic quality and the power of telling and retelling myths, it can be approached as a dynamic arena capable of unsettling dominant epistemologies, reconfiguring what could be collectively claimed as justice. As a counter-discourse to official histories, literature has the potential to offer new ways of restoring a sense of humanity and shared responsibility by condemning all forms of imperialism and totalitarianism. This issue will reflect on and explore ways in which conflict can be narrated and the extent to which texts of literature contribute to defending or violating human rights. It also reflects on how language can justify and/or ignore human rights transgressions. The issue takes an interest in articles that investigate the ability of literary texts to interrogate and explore the legacies of political and civil conflict around the world as well as creating and (unwittingly) reinforcing hegemonic narratives. We welcome essays on a wide range of genres, including fiction, poetry, drama, memoir, testimony, speculative and activist writing, as well as works in translation, adaptation, journalism, and visual or digital storytelling. Although articles can address any topic related to literature and human rights, we are keen to receive proposals on five interrelated areas of literary engagement: a) literary depictions of experiences of war, displacement, surveillance, disenfranchisement, or environmental destruction; b) the role of literature in defining and articulating the concept of justice, documenting abuses, bearing witness to trauma, and narrating resistance and reconciliation; c) literary negotiations of power dynamics in conflict settings, including propaganda literature, translation and adaptation of conflict narratives, portrayals of nationalism and resistance movements, and the symbolic language of conflict and resolution; d) the concept of literature as magistra vitae in which historical insight is intertwined with visions of a more just future; e) narrative forms shaped by conflict, including fragmented storytelling and genre innovation, as well as activist literature addressing the intersections of human rights, environmental destruction, and the more-than-human world. Possible topics include (but are not limited to): ● Activist literature: from human rights violations to environmental destruction ● Activist role of literature: models for socio-cultural transformations, inclusive societies, transnational belongings ● Beyond the anthropocentric: rights of species, rivers, forests ● Censorship and dissent: literature as subversion and alternative standpoint ● Entanglements of ecology and power: resource wars, extractivism, forced displacement ● Individual freedom and human dignity vs human rights violations, surveillance, oppression, disenfranchisement ● Journalism, conflict and human rights ● Literature and justice: shaping and reshaping the notion of what is or can be just ● Literary depictions of ecological trauma and conflict: decolonial and indigenous perspectives, ● Literature as an archive of environmental injustice: resistance narratives, testimonies and speculative fiction and non-fiction. ● Magistra vitae: when history and hope rhyme ● Narrating nationalism, nationalists and nationalist causes ● Postcolonial and decolonial perspectives: alternative epistemologies of justice, restitution, and ecological interconnectedness ● Post-traumatic memory ● Propaganda literature ● The language of conflict and conflict resolution: myths and symbols retold ● The role of human rights in research on law and literature ● Translation and adaptation Detailed proposals (up to 1,000 words) for full essays (6,000-8,000 words) as well as a short biography (max. 100 words) should be sent to the editors by 15 January 2026: Tomasz Kalaga (t.kalaga @kpsw. edu. pl), Tiziana Ingravallo (tiziana. ingravallo @unifg. it), and Loredana Salis (lsalis@uniss.it). Selected authors should be able to submit a full-length draft by the end of May 2026, and a final version by mid-September. This issue will be part of volume 31 (2027). All inquiries regarding this issue can be sent to the three guest editors.