Events

At the ancient library of the Link University of Rome, on 5 October 2023 it was possible to visit the exhibition “The Founding Mothers of Europe”, curated by Maria Pia Di Nonno with portraits made by Giulia Del Vecchio, who intends to tell the contribution of some of the protagonists of the European integration process through art and image. During the afternoon, two round tables were held which saw scholars and experts discussing and discussing the topic. The first debate was moderated by Professors Giorgio Grimaldi and Filippo Maria Giordano, while the second by Dr. Cristina Natili.

The involvement of European citizens in the integration process of the European Union, the reform of the treaties in order to face the current and future challenges of the European space. These are some of the points that emerged at the conference “Eu dialogues/dialogues on the European Union” organized on Tuesday 9 May by the Link University on the occasion of Europe Day. The conference also addressed the analysis and narration of the history of the EU and its policies through cinema, the delicate topic of hate speech against and in religions, the role of Europe and civil society in promoting peace and finally a look at the current affairs of the Ventotene Manifesto, one of the founding texts of the European Union. At the “Eu dialogues/dialogues on the European Union” event, as part of the CIAK EU! project, the role of cinema in dealing with issues dear to the European Union such as the fight against climate change and the protection of environment. Researchers and teachers discussed the importance of cinema in the context of European perspectives on sustainability in the debate entitled “Ecocinema: European perspectives on sustainability”, fifty years after the environmental action programme. The University Link dedicates a specific module to the history of the European integration process and EU policies through cinema and the audiovisual world: “Europe Across the Movie: History, Identity, and Politics (Ciak-EU!). As highlighted to EURACTIV by Professor Filippo Maria Giordano, CIAK EU! seeks to retrace the history of European integration, identify the ideals that constitute European identity and analyze EU policies through the use of audiovisual media and cinema. The project also aims to interact with civil society, the world of entertainment, cinema and art in general, as well as the sectors of communication and politics.

Starting from his book “Serial Communities. Narrated worlds and media experiences in television series” (Meltemi, 2022), Massimiliano Coviello spoke with Angela Maiello, cinema and television researcher at the University of Calabria, with Dario Sardelli, television author and writer, and Valentina Re, full professor of cinema and television at the Link University. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the processes of building communities through contemporary seriality. In particular, we addressed European crime production which, in recent years, has assumed a central role in the processes of building communities, national and transnational memories. The importance of crime is linked to its popularity and longevity, its ability to adapt to specific geographical contexts and make them attractive to an international audience. Finally, crime can be thought of as a narrative habitat for the construction of communities based on a common imagination, on cultural encounters and on the construction of shared memories, also starting from the traumas that crossed Europe in the twentieth century.

The seminar, part of the educational path of the Jean Monnet Chair “CIAK EU!”, explores post-colonial relations between Europe and Africa. The intent is to invite him/her students to look at European history from the perspective of the histoires croisées that the different European countries and their overseas dominions have woven from the balance of power highly unequal intercultural contexts of the colonial situation. In this sense, we will analyze i ways in which a reading of the emerges in television series long-term consequences of colonial history and decolonization. So we will try it to explore the hypothesis that the colonial legacy can be defined not only within a series of national histories but instead within the context of a common European history. The case study analyzed will be that of the questions opened by the Rwandan genocide: the historical responsibilities of the colonial experience and post-colonial ties of dependence, the transnational construction of competing narratives and memories on the genocide, the acts of symbolic reparation towards the victims, the theme of justice and reconciliation.

Aesthetics of Peripherality: Negotiating Europe through TV Crime Fiction. The Lecture takes a focus on some of the geopolitical implications of the Nordic, Eastern and Brit areas in this context. The Conference expects to provide a thoughtful example at first (i.e the Wataha case gives food for thought) and then, give an introduction to the practical-aesthetic approach to TV. After this, the Lecture bases its analysis on regional geopolitics (Arctic areas, Eastern Europe, Britain) and shows how these are represented in contemporary cases, maybe Trom, Pustina and Stay Close. This analysis gives a new perspective of the creation of a possible European identity through TV Crime Fiction.

Kick-off Meeting took place on December 14, 2022. During the conference the Jean Monnet Chair EU-rope through films: History, Identity, and Policies (Ciak-EU!) and initiatives which he plans to carry out over the next three years (2022-2025), in collaboration with his team national and international academic partners. During the Kick-off, the members of the JMC research group, some of the partners that make up the network of institutes and of the study centers used by the Chair together with the research, teaching and objectives communication that the latter aims to achieve in the three years of activity. The conference The inaugural event saw the participation of a mixed audience of scholars of the history of cinema and media communications, European integration, international relations, Union law European Union, religions and numerous other experts in these disciplinary sectors. The Kick-off Meeting, Furthermore, it saw the participation of numerous students from different degree courses interested in activities offered by JMC. The JMC presentation was followed by a panel discussion on the report between cinema and Europe in the formation of a common European identity.