Division of European Languages & April 2013 Issue 2, 2012/13 Cultures, School of LLC DELC NEWSLETTER

WELCOME IN THIS ISSUE: In the second issue of our 2012/13 Newsletter we bring you reports Staff, PhD & Graduate News p1 of our most recent staff news and the many events which have taken EUSA Teaching Award Nominations p3 place across DELC. We’re pleased to be able to provide details of our very successful language plays, which you’ll find on page 6. A Year Abroad Experience p4 current student offers some advice on studying in and we have Language Plays p6 information on a UoE society founded by DELC students. This Events p9 issue also provides details of new publications by our staff. Societies p14 A big thank you to all contributors, please keep your input coming: Staff Publications p15 [email protected].

Aaron Tregellis Hodgson, Doctoral Candidate – AHRC Award STAFF, PHD Aaron Tregellis Hodgson, a doctoral candidate under the supervision of Dr Alexandra Smith, has recently been awarded & GRADUATE NEWS a grant to participate in the prestigious 'Russian Archive Training Scheme (RATS)' course, to be held in 9-14 April 2013. The scheme is being run by Dr Polly Jones (University of Oxford), and the grant was awarded on a competitive basis by CRCEES (sponsored by the AHRC). The Dr Leanne Dawson, scheme offers an intensive program of visits and tours of DELC Postdoctoral Fellow – KE Grant various major state archives and libraries in Russia, with the aim of familiarising students with the procedures for carrying out Dr. Leanne Dawson has received a Knowledge Exchange research in a Russian context. The course promises to be an Grant (£2500) for her Queer Transcultural Film project, invaluable experience for current and future research. which aims to disseminate research on queer film beyond the academy. The first event will feature German filmmaker, Monika Treut in conversation after a screening of Treut's Dr José Saval, Hispanic Studies ‘Ghosted’ . This will take place on 2nd July at the Edinburgh Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Grant Filmhouse. José Saval was awarded a research grant by The Royal Society of Edinburgh to complete a book on Manuel PhD Viva Success Vázquez Montalbán, ten years after his untimely death. The On 30th January, Varvara Christie successfully defended book will be published by the Barcelonian Publishing House her PhD thesis, entitled “Styling Identities in Post-Soviet "Alrevés", and launch in October in Barcelona and Cinema: The Use of Slang, Argo and Obscenities in Manchester. Contemporary Russian Films”.

1

PhD Scholarship in Francophone Belgian Cinema or Video Art The Centre for Francophone Belgian Studies is delighted to invite applications for a fees only PhD scholarship in the area of Francophone Belgian cinema or video art.

The scholarship will be funded by the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures and will cover tuition fees at the Home/EU rate (currently £3,900 p.a. for 2013-2014).

The Centre was created in 1995 with a view to promoting the field of Francophone Belgian studies and is the only such center in the UK. It offers a vibrant research culture with regular talks and events and benefits from close institutional ties with the Archives et Musée de la littérature, Brussels, and the Cinémathèque royale de Belgique. Depending on his or her qualifications, the successful candidate will be registered for either a PhD in French or in Film Studies and will be supervised by colleagues in both Subject Areas as appropriate. S/he will join the lively postgraduate community in the Graduate School for Literatures, Languages and Cultures.

Applications can be made via the online admissions portal at the URL address given below, and should be completed by 15 April 2013. Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to Prof Marion Schmid ([email protected]).

For information on the Centre please consult http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/delc/french/research-projects/centre-de-recherches-francophones

For how to apply please consult http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/graduate-school/fees-and-funding/funding/phd-students/school-scholarships/belgian- cinema-phd-scholarship

Eleanor McKeegan MA Hons French and History, Graduated 2012 – Scholarship Award Each year Wallonia Brussels International, the public institution in charge of the cultural and educational policies of Francophone Belgium, offers scholarships to students of the French Department to attend a Summer course in L'Université de Louvain and L'Université de Liège. Last year Eleanor McKeegan, 4th year student, went to Louvain to live a course fully immersed in a French speaking academic environment. She has enjoyed so much her experience in Belgium that she has decided to stay... Here is her testimony written from Brussels where she is now working. Thanks to a bursary from Wallonie-Bruxelles Internationale I spent three weeks of the summer holidays at a French teaching course in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. I had the opportunity to study a range of interesting modules, on topics including intercultural communication, varieties of French in La Francophonie and contemporary literature. The enthusiasm and expertise of the staff made even the module on teaching grammar really enjoyable and it was, of course, a chance to work on my French, which had been lying rather dormant since my oral exam in April. My three week stay in Louvain- la-Neuve was made especially fun by the presence of other international students in my halls. Wallonie-Bruxelles Internationale’s bursary scheme had attracted participants from Chile, Brazil, Tunisia and Iran, in addition to most European countries, and everyone had a thoroughly good time. Perhaps keen to ensure that we didn’t spend every night sampling Belgian beers together, the organisers of the course also organised an array of cultural activities for us. Having spent my Erasmus year at the Université Libre de Bruxelles I already considered myself something of an expert on Belgian culture. However, for such a small country Belgium is very diverse, and I learned a lot (whilst, of course, doing my best to impart glowing examples of Scottish culture to my classmates). I would absolutely recommend that others with the opportunity to take part in the course at Louvain-la-Neuve take full advantage of it, even if unsure of whether they want a career in teaching. On the first day of the course I was offered a job in Brussels, so spent the weekends dragging my newly acquired student friends around flat viewings. Life as a policy intern at Scotland Europa, a membership organisation that promotes Scottish interests in the European Union is certainly different to my student experiences. Many in the European affairs bubble feel very detached from Belgium itself, and are yet to get round to learning either of the country’s official languages (French and Dutch). Having bruxellois friends from the summer course – and from my Erasmus year – has made it much easier for me to feel integrated in the city. Although I would sometimes prefer a three hour grammar lecture to an afternoon of deciphering EU legislation, working in Brussels is another excellent experience. 2

FORUM FORUM, the University of Edinburgh’s Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts, was recently awarded an Innovation Initiative Grant by the Edinburgh Fund to support the third FORUM conference ‘ReVision: Editing Across Disciplines’. This interdisciplinary postgraduate conference will take place on the 15th and 16th July here in Edinburgh. It will allow participants to explore practices and concepts of editing as they appear in different historical and cultural contexts, as well as to reflect on the opportunities, goals and challenges of contemporary editing and publishing. In addition to postgraduate papers, the conference will include workshops with industry professionals and leading scholars in the field such as Dr Kenna Olsen and Dr Padmini Ray Murray. Confirmed Keynote Speakers include Professor Jeremy Smith and filmmaker Boris Gerrets. All are very welcome to attend! More details about registration will be available shortly on the conference website: www.forumjournal.org/conference/. Enquiries can be sent to [email protected]. FORUM also received funding from the LLC Student-Led Initiative Fund last semester which will provide support the journal over the course of the next three years. This is great news as FORUM continues to be a valuable resource for postgraduate students not only at Edinburgh but also around the world. William Christopher Brown, a lecturer at the University of Minnesota and previous contributor to FORUM, recently drew attention to the importance of postgraduate journals and the positive effect which FORUM in particular had on his experience of publishing his research in his article ‘Developing Professionally through Graduate Student Publications’: ‘Of all of the CFPs for journals that I found, I kept coming back to a then-new peer-reviewed online journal called Forum: The University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture and the Arts. [...] Recognizing a connection between my own research interests at the time and the interests of my peers at another institution allowed me to push beyond the psychological blockages. Instead of focusing on myself and my own apprehensiveness at the idea of publishing, I began to think in terms of communicating with peers I had never met. I no longer viewed my writing as a part of the classroom or as a potential line on a curriculum vitae. Instead, I viewed my writing as an opportunity to connect with others.’ For more see William Christopher Brown , ‘Developing Professionally through Graduate Student Publications’, In Progress, 2 (2012) .

Well done to all DELC staff nominated in the following categories… For Best Feedback… For Best Course… Rose France, Russian Studies As an individual… 17th Century French Theatre (Course Organiser Véronique Desnain, French)

Dr Leanne Dawson Hannibal Lectures: Pasolini and the Cannibal Writers (Course Organiser Dr Davide Messina, Italian) Dr Véronique Desnain

Swedish 1 Dr Emmanuelle Lacore-Martin (Course Organiser Dr Ylva Olausson, Scandinavian Studies) Dr Ylva Olausson The Golden & Silver Ages of Russian Literature (Course Organiser Dr Alexandra Smith, Russian Studies) Dr Sabine Rolle

The Nibelungenlied and its reception in Modern Germany Dr Jane Yeoman (Course Organiser Dr Sabine Rolle, German) For Best Department…

Scandinavian Studies

3

YEAR ABROAD EXPERIENCE

Elizabeth Louis – 4th Year Russian outside, heading straight back towards the metro. Studies and English Language However, now aware that I was passport-less I felt like it was stamped across my forehead, convinced Studied at Moscow State University in 2011/12 that this would be the one time I got stopped by the police. I ran back to halls never looking up, and even here I was faced with the militant Babushkas and a PASSPORT CONTROL slight problem – I was missing both my ID and hall pass, my keys were all I had as proof of residency. Luckily they let me past giving me a 5-minute time Your passport is like a safety jacket and should come limit and asking me to leave something of value with to your rescue in any sticky situations, therefore be them - the best I could offer was my £15 Nokia – and sure to have it (or a copy) on you at all times - breathed a sigh of a relief when I located my beloved especially as a foreigner because sadly we apparently passport (not in my bag as initially predicted however, stick out like sore thumbs. Even after living in but in my coat pocket). Phew. Moscow for 9 months, people would often commence conversation in English before I had I have heard various tales of people getting stopped even opened my mouth - whether they were simply by the police and asked to produce their documents, welcoming me in, asking whether I wanted to sit in and then after handing over the necessary paper the the smoking or non-smoking area, or directing me to naive foreigner has then had to bribe the police in the cloakrooms “on your right”, something about me order to reclaim their passport; for this reason it is must look English, or at least not Russian. more sensible to carry around photocopies of your passport and visa. On the other hand an acquaintance Once I went told me how he was once stopped and had no ID on to meet my him but when the police realized he was English, they friends in a apologized: “oh you’re English? Sorry sir.” And let restaurant- him carry on… “…I was asked for my come-bar and documents, but a wave of panic on entering I If you plan on staying in the country for more than 6 washed over me as I observed was asked for days, you will be required to ‘register’ your passport that, to my horror, the little my and visa. This requires handing over your documents documents, within 7 working days of arrival (it used to be 3!) passport shaped pocket in my but a wave of either to the hotel/hostel where you are staying, the bag was lacking my actual panic washed organization that invited you or even the post office. passport… “Umm, I don’t over me as I Your passport will then be returned, accompanied by have it” I whispered in terror.” observed that, a long rectangular piece of paper – this is your to my horror, registration. Your registration, along with your the little migration card (obtained on arrival at passport passport shaped pocket in my bag was lacking my control) – are almost as important as your passport. actual passport – I must have left it in my other The registration is proof that you are not an illegal handbag… “Umm, I don’t have it” I whispered in immigrant, and if you plan on leaving the country you terror. Ok well can we see some form of ID? Without are going to need your migration card to pass through even my driver’s license to hand I reluctantly replied passport control. “I don’t have any…” even quieter than before, starting to become flustered “–you don’t have any After almost 4 months of carrying my migration card documents or identification on you whatsoever?” the around in my passport with me, it was not in the best bouncer quizzed me, eyebrows raised with a of conditions; the edges were in tatters, the ink had questioning look, as if perhaps this was my attempt at faded and there were a couple of tears in the paper. ‘English humour’ which baffles the Russians so. I When I reached passport control, very much ready to looked up at him shaking my head and then dashed fly home for Christmas, I slid the controller my passport with visa and migration card inside and he 4 was anything but impressed: “what is this?” he asked I had to take matters into my own hands, sort of – whipping out the scruffy piece of paper – “my Uncle Anthony played a huge role in operation re- migration card…” I hesitantly replied, praying this registration. We headed over to the Moscow State wouldn’t lead to me being dragged off for questioning University and were directed from one building to somewhere and stranded in Russia over the holidays. another, one room to the next, one person to a He patronizingly held up a new migration card next different one until finally we managed to get to mine to highlight the contrasting conditions of the somewhere (metaphorically speaking of course; two, but thankfully a smile eventually broke out onto thankfully no more travelling was involved). The his face and he let me off with a warning. The man director we spoke to was furious that no one had next to me who had been overlooking the situation registered me and having never had to deal with such told me how lucky I was to be a girl, and had it been a situation, it took a fair few phone calls before we his migration card he would have been in serious were informed of how to proceed. Because I had trouble. This was an interesting observation but not come off my own accord to re-new my registration, much of a conversation starter, unaware how to rather than ignoring the fact as I had been advised, I respond I just laughed…an awkward silence followed was not going to get deported or blacklisted, which is and that was that. But at least I was going to be home always good to hear. However, I had indirectly acted for Christmas! against the law so some sort of action needed to be taken. I had to return the following week having paid Your registration is more complicated because the a £40 fine to the bank (plus commission) and then a only time you might need it is if you were to be woman used a paint roller to cover both my hands in stopped by the police, and no one ever seems to carry thick black ink and proceeded to take two copies of theirs around with them. Similarly my finger prints from each hand, when crossing the border you are then hand prints, then a few more supposed to have your registration finger prints, then my signature on you, but not once have I or any sealed off with my thumb print. I of my friends been asked to supply had to sign and fill in a form in it. Nevertheless, if you’re asked for Russian basically saying that I’m a it and don’t have it then you are in stupid foreigner and didn’t realize I trouuuuuble! It is also worth noting had to re-register but promise it that you need to re-register upon won’t happen again. I was then re-entering the country – entered into their system and given unfortunately this was not brought to my attention a square piece of lined paper, perhaps 10cm x 10cm until 10 days after returning and settling back in to with the words ‘штраф 2000р’ (fine 2000r) and the Muscovite life, when Lydia asked me whether I had MGU blue stamp, which could have been made by a been asked for 2000 rubles to re-register my visa? I 5 year old. There’s nothing quite like bureaucracy. had not, and considering the location of my residency had not changed and I still had my original My last mention is visas – make sure you’re out of the registration I didn’t see any problems. Following my country before your visa expires, because one discussion with Lydia, the next day I went to ask the preposition means until and including the final date woman running the language school I attended about (по), but the other preposition, which confusingly this re-registration business. She told me I had missed also means until (до) requires you to have already left the 7-day deadline for registration but that I would be the country by that date. And of course noting the fine just so long as the police didn’t stop me. number of entries would be wise, desperate as I was Unsurprisingly I wasn’t filled with much confidence to fly home for a long weekend during my first 3- as this meant that technically as of January, I was month stint, my single entry visa meant that should I living as an illegal immigrant, in Russia. This was decide to leave I would not be able to come back. somewhat problematic to say the least and after going Not for a while at least, so would have perhaps been back to this same woman in charge asking if there slightly counter-intuitive in terms of improving my was any way of getting registered, she informed me Russian. that the inviting party would be fined a very large sum of money for not registering – so no. http://lizzainrussia.blogspot.co.uk

5

LANGUAGE PLAYS Organised and performed by DELC students and staff

French Play “Ubu Roi” by Alfred Jarry, Performances: 20th – 23rd March 2013, Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street This year we, 'Les Escogriffes, put on a performance of ‘Ubu Roi’ by the French surrealist dramatist, Alfred Jarry. The main character, Ubu, is based on Jarry’s tyrannical school teacher, creating a ridiculous and disgusting figure who after usurping a polish king becomes a horrible dictator. His selfish and snappy wife reminds us of the guilty Lady Macbeth, a scottish reference which we tried to allude to through dressing Père Ubu in a kilt! Whenever I told anyone that the play was written in 1895, they have been surprised by the fact. Jarry was ahead of his time, using old theatre tradions in a new and bizarre way, and even manipulating language. His alterations of spelling, like to the first (and most common) word of the play 'merdre', or 'physique' 'phynance' - emphasizes the arbitrariness of language. He uses them in ways which mimick real langauge, but make no real sense ' baton à physique' ' corne à merdre'. Perhaps people were all the more surprised because we tried to break the '4th' wall in theatre, by engaging with the audience, and making the play spontaneous. I think the absurd aspects of the piece help to show how ridiculous it is to abuse power. We tried to convey this arbitrary abuse of power by using the same actor for each noble and magistrate that Ubu massacres: he really doesn't care who he kills. At the end of the day, Père Ubu was a subject of laughter and mockery, rather than of contempt. He did not seem evil, because he was simply playing around on stage, as much as Jarry was playing around with language. It just goes to show the dangers of treating power like a game!

6

German Play "Der Reigen" by Arthur Schnitzler Performances: 21st & 22nd February 2013, Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street Reflections on a saucy Austrian extravaganza: The German Play 2013 Story: Lydia Pauley; Photography: Caitlin Warther

With the final swish of a feather boa to tie it all together, the creation of The German Play 2013 was a lot of fun and, if we may say so ourselves, a roaring success! Schnitzler's skillfully self-deceptive characters are presented in a world of little caution and much temptation, offering the artist a bough of freedom to create a choatic realm of music, colour and a fair dose of madness. Aesthetics were the key to making language secondary, so even if an audience member didn't speak a word of German, they could still share a taste of Schnitzler's world. Week on week, our artistic ideas became ever more absurd and extreme, and both our actors/actresses and backstage team rose to the challenge with remarkable professionalism and grace. If you are interested in taking part in the German Play 2014, let me assure you that friendship, laughter and a huge improvement in your German fluency and confidence lay in store for you. With thanks to every person who gave their skills and time, spirit of fun and quirky contributions. It was a pleasure to direct and a delight to watch unfold!

Hispanic Studies Play "El Florido Pensil" by Sopeña Andres Monsalve Performances: 6th, 7th & 8th March 2013 Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street

On the 6th, 7th and 8th of March the students of Hispanic Studies represented the play ‘El Florido Pensil’ at Adam House by Andrés Sopeña Montalbe and adapted for the stage by the Basque group Tanttaka.

The play takes place in the Basque Country in 1950s when Franco was at the peak of his power. His ideology was soaking up every aspect of Spanish life. Languages, apart from Castilian, were forbidden and the education system was strongly influenced by his politics.

The play was mainly set in a classroom and portrayed this era through the eyes of five children. It showed the difficulties this group had as they faced the absurd and partly illogical education system. In different lessons such as maths, religion or PE, the audience felt the impact of the totalitarian regime on the pupils ‘learning’. Most of the time the children struggled to understand what their teachers wished to convey. 7

Italian “Il bugiardo” by Carlo Goldoni Performances: 14th and 15th March, 2013 Adam House Theatre, Chambers Street

After the success of last year’s Renaissance comedy “La Mandragola”, the Italian Theatre Society of Edinburgh University chose to produce another classic, this time an 18th century play by Carlo Goldoni: Il bugiardo (The Liar). While the original script was slightly abridged and adapted, it still provided quite a challenge in terms of language and pace. Goldoni’s witty and elaborate turn of phrase and the minuet of constant entries and exits were tackled with gusto by the cast, the directors and backstage hands, all of them students in DELC. Their team work, creativity and commitment to the project resulted in a polished and highly entertaining show, which received excellent feedback from the audience. Among them, Peter Brand, Emeritus Professor of Italian, commented: “The best Goldoni production I have seen”.

From left: Francesco Ridolfi (2nd yr), Jonathan Oldfield (1st yr), Beatrix Newsome (4th yr), Ainsley Lynch (2nd yr), Chris Dyer (4th yr), Frances Bromage (4th yr), Robbie Pagani (Erasmus), Camilo Montoya-Guevara (3rd yr), Elisabeth Gear (2nd yr), Paul Collins (4th yr).

Correction Merlin James, “Charchoune’s Trans-Modernism”, Talbot Rice Gallery, November 2012 – February 2013 In the last edition of the DELC Newsletter we wrongly gave the impression that this exhibition was run in conjunction with the Dashkova Centre. In fact the Centre offered a related, but independent, talk. We would like to apologise for this misunderstanding.

8

EVENTS

DELC’s flagship research project, which we share with Celtic and Scottish Studies, is the Edge of Words. Since its inaugural Study Day, which we reported on in the last DELC Newsletter, it has hosted some fascinating seminars which have really concentrated minds on the question: how can we think about what goes beyond words? Ella Leith showed us how story-telling in British Sign Language simply doesn’t work in the same way as story-telling in words – and perhaps it works better. Emily Lyle took us into a cosmology hidden behind words. Martine Beugnet talked us through cinema beyond language. And Carl Lindahl, telling some wonderful stories himself, demonstrated how during natural disasters such as the Japanese tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, people experience moments when their identity and their actions seem to come together without the intermediary of words – and how those moments subsequently turn into stories that have to be told. Before the end of this semester, we have a seminar on music in Scandinavian crime novels to look forward to, and two Study Days: one on Translation, Trauma and Silence; and another on Gender and Sexuality. All open to everyone in DELC, students as well as staff! More information on all of this on the Edge of Words web site: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/edge-of-words And we already have a full programme planned for next year. Come and join us!

This semester, Iona Macintyre, Charlotte Matthews, and 2013 Honorary Dashkova Lecture Fiona Mackintosh (Hispanic Studies), together with Camillia Cowling (History), organized an interdisciplinary The 2013 Honorary Dashkova Lecture was given on 21st seminar series of five talks on the subject: One Region, Many February by Professor Evgeny Dobrenko, head of Russian and Peoples, which set out to explore the changing roles of race Slavonic Studies at the University of Sheffield. Professor and race-making in the construction of the diverse regions, Dobrenko’s lecture, entitled The Art of Hatred: Limits of nations and cultures of Latin America. The series began with sociologist Steve Garner discussing Humanity and Violence in Soviet Wartime Culture drew upon ‘Latin American “Race” and “Race”-Making in Context’. his long-term interests in Soviet visual culture, examining the Historian Caroline Dodds Pennock gave a fascinating case ways in which the new ideological context of WWII changed study of the Aztec Atlantic, and this was followed by literary poster, painting and film. scholar Conrad James’ reading of race in post-revolutionary Cuban culture. Andrew Canessa explored the contradictory politics of indigeneity in Bolivia from an anthropological perspective, and the series finished with Denise Ferreira da Silva’s examination of strategies for rethinking race in contemporary Brazil through the figures of Zumbi and Isabel. The series was well attended by staff and students from a wide range of disciplines. The talks were organized in association with CLARE (Caribbean and Latin American Research at Edinburgh); the School of History, Classics & Archaeology, University of Edinburgh; the section of Hispanic Studies, University of Edinburgh; and the Society for Latin American 9 College Registrar Frank Gribben introduces Professor Dobrenko. Studies, UK.

Nicole Malinconi Visit, French Department, 21 March 2013

Report by Kim Beasley, 4th year student Photo by James McKenna, 4th year student

Most literature students spend the majority of their time studying the work of dead people who, unfortunately, aren’t very chatty; so it was quite exciting for the French 4 students taking the Belgian Identities option to actually be able to meet an author they had been reading about! Yet it was also quite daunting, normally you can come up with a theory about a book without any fear of the author telling you it’s wrong. Fortunately that fear proved unfounded as Malinconi was open to everyone’s ideas and not at all scary.

The visit started with a brief talk from Malinconi about the works we’ve been studying (Nous deux and Da solo for any Belgian literature fans) and how she began writing. The latter was particularly interesting, as Malinconi began to write after losing her job working in a hospital with women who were having abortions. She described her fascination with the way the women spoke, their use of simple language and how she felt compelled to give them a voice. Her motivations for writing and interest in language remained a theme throughout the entire visit, which certainly isn’t surprising considering her bicultural heritage of a Belgian mother and Italian father.

Nous deux and Da solo deal with Malinconi’s relationship with her mother and father respectively, making the opportunity to speak with her all the more pertinent. It was very interesting how she spoke about la mère, le père and la fille and never ma mere or mon père, perhaps confirming that she distanced herself from the reality to write these books. She described in more detail the suffocating mother/daughter relationship of Nous deux and the later role reversal caused by her mother’s illness. In describing her father and the writing of Da solo she noted the importance of Italian to her relationship with language. One of her motivations for writing, pour sortir du magma (to leave ‘the magma’ or confusion), seems highly relevant when considering her autobiographical works and parental relationships.

Inevitably a question was asked about her contentious work on Michelle Martin, who was imprisoned for her involvement in Marc Dutroux’s crimes (Dutroux is a notorious serial killer in Belgium). Malinconi said she visited Martin “pour des mots” and noted that Martin never took any responsibility for her crimes and was initially more interested in her own treatment in prison than what sent her there. As well as being a writer Malinconi has a strong interest in psychoanalysis which is certainly linked to her most controversial work.

Perhaps it is an obvious comment to say that an author is primarily concerned with language, after all words are to an author what flour is to Mary Berry. However Malinconi truly is enraptured by words and language. This is not often evident in her sparse writing style but in talking to her it becomes obvious, demonstrating the value of a visit like this pour sortir du magma that often comes from the study of literature.

10

INNOVATIVE LEARNING WEEK

Hispanic Studies – Portuguese Language Centre Slovo Festival in Edinburgh

From 13th-15th March, the Dashkova Centre hosted the Slovo Festival in Edinburgh, in association with our long- term collaborators, Academia Rossica. The first event of the festival was An Evening with Dmitry Bykov, the Russian writer, poet and journalist. To a sold-out audience in the McEwan Hall reception room, Bykov first read a number of poems and then answered On the 20th of February, as part of Innovative Learning Week, nine of us got a wide range of questions, on subjects such together to cook some traditional Portuguese dishes at Pollock Halls. as the literary scene in Russia and his opinion of the recent Russian protest We made: Caldo Verde - or Green Broth - a nutritious, tasty and easy to make movement. The centrepiece of the festival soup that warms up your body and soul on a cold winter evening; Bolinhos de was an international symposium, The Writer Bacalhau - Little Salted Cod Cakes - one of more than 1,000 different Portuguese as a ‘Language Laboratory: Experiment, recipes for salted cod (arguably the oldest ingredient in Portuguese cuisine, and Reflection and Construction of Social certainly the smelliest); Rabanadas - fried bread dipped in sugar, then sprinkled Meaning’. The symposium combined literary with sugar and then soaked in even more sugar - a traditional Christmas treat; and academic approaches, with a series of and Marmelada - a sort of thick preserve or paste made from quince (marmelo in papers by international scholars being Portuguese), and the origin of the English word marmalade. followed by a roundtable session, during We cooked together, talked and laughed and finally ate everything. which participants, including filmkaker and A big thank you to Kirstin Hunger from Accommodation Services and her team writer Mikhail Segal, discussed literary for helping us organizing this event and also to the residents of Holland Annexe practice and use of language. A large in Pollock Halls for allowing us to use their kitchen. audience attended the screening of the film Rasskazy (Short Stories) and Q&A session with its director and scriptwriter, Mikhail Segal. Mikhail spoke engagingly about his Gender and Sexuality at The Edge of Words is a full-day research event, film work and his literary activities. which aims to explore the variety of research on gender and sexuality that is

conducted within Languages, Literatures and Cultures at the University of Edinburgh, with the aim of creating a Gender, Sexuality and Culture research hub in order to locate synergies and identify possibilities for future collaboration. The event will take place on Thursday 2 May at IASH seminar room. Please contact event organiser, Dr. Leanne Dawson [email protected] if you would like to participate.

Dr Severine Genieys-Kirk, French, gave a Research semininar at Aoyama Dmitry Bykov Gakuin University, Tokyo, in July 2012 entitled ‘Les dessous exquis de la littérature dite précieuse: érotisme voilé dans l’œuvre scudérienne’.

11

Made by Italo-Scots – The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, Tuesday 16 April, 6.00pm to 8.00pm

The new Italo-Scottish Research Cluster (ISRC) will have its official inaugural event at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 16 April, 6.00pm to 8.00pm.

The event is entitled Made by Italo-Scots. The Italian factor in Scotland today. MSP Linda Fabiani will be the official event Host. She will be joined by Vice-Principal and Head of College Prof Dorothy Miell, the Italian Consul General Mauro Carfagnini and a number of guest speakers.

Guests speakers include Dr Terri Colpi, author of The Italian Factor (1991), QC Lorenzo Alonzi, entrepreneur Gio Benedetti, screenwriter Sergio Casci, Archbishop Conti, entrepreneur Tony Crolla, solicitor Cesidio Di Ciacca, playwright Ann Marie Di Mambro and BBC journalist Giancarlo Rinaldi. Italy and Scotland are great migrant nations. Scots-Italians are an integral part of Scotland's socio-economical success. Made by Italo-Scots celebrates this by inviting our guest speakers to rethink migrant identities in the light of current debates on nation and nationhood, people’s mobility and integration “elsewhere”. Project funded by The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland.

Project Director – Professor Federica G. Pedriali All info Dr Carlo Pirozzi - [email protected]

Global Russian: New Research Perspectives

The first large event of the year for the Princess Dashkova Centre was an international Symposium entitled Global Russian: New Research Perspectives, held from 24th-25th January. The symposium was attended by a mix of new and established speakers and some external attendees. In four panels and a theoretical roundtable session, the symposium examined how the can be said to function as a global language, touching upon issues globalization, post-colonialism and identity- formation. Papers explored topics such as the use of Russian outside the Russian Federation, the use of Russian in tourism and the governmental exercise of ‘soft power’ in the cultural sphere and on the Internet. The keynote speech was delivered by Vladimir Alpatov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who spoke on historical attempts to replace the Cyrillic alphabet with the Latin one. Podcasts of papers will shortly be available from the Princess Dashkova Centre website.

l-r: Lara Ryazanova-Clarke (Edinburgh), Vladimir Alpatov (Russian Academy of Sciences), Victoria Hudson (Birmingham) 12

Dr Davide Messina, Italian gave the keynote address at a The European Cinema Research Forum annual conference conference in February at the University of Liege organised will take place on 1-2 July 2013 at the University of Edinburgh. to discuss his latest publication on Pasolini, ‘Corpus XXX: The theme of this year’s conference is The Other and keynote Pasolini, Petrolio, Salò’. speakers include Professor Richard Dyer and filmmaker, Monika Treut. Staff and postgraduate students who are interested in contributing in any way are welcome to contact the conference organiser, Dr. Leanne Dawson [email protected].

No-Where-Next | War-Diaspora-Origin – The British Embassy, Rome, and Montecassino Abbey, 4-5 May 2013 Five interconnected events make up the current edition of the Edinburgh Gadda Prize - Montecassino 2013. Our aim in this project is to make bold new connections between cultures employing concepts such as community, social responsibility, identity, memory, mobility, freedom, war and migration – all central to Carlo Emilio Gadda’s work – to engage the wider community, young people especially. Our five event platforms – conference, public debate, recital by Nicola Benedetti, exhibition of unseen ISRC photographic material, junior live installation and award ceremony – all in turn address the edition's title: No-Where-Next | War-Diaspora- Origin. Further intersections between Gadda and the ISRC migration project will be through the official presentations made at the award ceremony. These will include the first ISRC publication – the catalogue of the exhibition -, the first volume of the new series Detecting Italy. La narrativa ultraesordiente del Gadda Giovani, and the presentation of the ISRC itself. The edition will open officially on Saturday 4 May at the British Embassy in Rome. Project Director – Professor Federica G. Pedriali All info - [email protected]

To keep up with DELC events…

Visit our website: www.delc.ed.ac.uk (Conferences, Seminars and Events) and Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UniversityOfEdinburghEuropeanLanguages

13

SOCIETIES

DELC Students Create European Union Society

Several DELC Students, along with students from other schools, have started the European Union Society. Founded in October 2012, the Society is dedicated to the promotion of discussion and awareness of the European Union, in a fair and balanced manner, as an essential part of the government of its Member States. It fosters an environment of knowledge transfer and debate among the students of the Edinburgh community on topics related to the EU, including on matters of law, politics, language, culture and international relations. The organisation does this through its lectures, debates, panel discussions, networking and social events, study groups, field trips, conferences and more. Students have the chance to meet and get to know one another, while also engaging with real practitioners from EU institutions, national and regional governments, academia, the private sector and

beyond. At the same time it provides its student leaders with the chance to develop their professional skills in project planning, event organisation, sustainable management and experience with high-profile interactions. Highlights this year include its Inaugural Debate and Reception on the UK’s Place in the EU and a panel debate and discussion on Scotland and Two Unions, featuring three MEPs and one MSP with an audience of over 175 people. Its primary objectives are to deliver on its mission statement and to develop a durable and lasting presence

in the community.

The Executive Committee for 2012 – 2013 has been: Anthony Salamone (French and German and European Union Studies) as President; Marko Supronyuk (International Relations and Law) as Secretary; Hannah Furness (Law) as Treasurer; Isabel O’Hagan (German and Spanish) as Publicity Coordinator; Ed Prosser (Spanish and Portuguese and European Union Studies) as Social Coordinator; Markus Hell (Spanish and Russian and

European Union Studies) and Paul Togerni (Politics) as Ordinary Committee Members.

To find related societies…

Visit http://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/listings/

14

STAFF PUBLICATIONS Since our last Newsletter, DELC staff have published the following pieces: ARTICLES, ESSAYS & BOOK CHAPTERS ‘The Swedish Precursor of the Spanish Esperpento: Strindberg’s ‘Madeleine-Angélique de Gomez: une militante oubliée... :‘J’ai beau Spöksonaten and Valle-Inclán’s Luces de Bohemia’, Revue de Littérature comparée, prendre la plus éclatante de mes voix, les hommes ne veulent point l’entendre’, in 86.3 (2012), 283-301 M. E Henneau and D. Haas-Dubosc (eds), Revisiter la « querelle des femmes ». Discours sur l’égalité/inégalité des sexes, de 1600 à 1750, (Saint ‘Unamuno, el monólogo interior y el flujo de conciencia: de William Etienne : Publications de l’Université de Saint-Etienne, Coll. L’Ecole James y Amor y pedagogía a Knut Hamsun y Niebla’, Hispanic Review, 80.3 du genre, 2013) 139-149 and 151-7. (2012), 445-466. ‘Bertaud de Motteville , Françoise,’ in Mary Hays, Female Biography; or, ‘La novela áurea ante el Siglo de las Luces’, Edad de Oro, 31 (2012), 31-52. Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women, of All Ages and ‘Unamuno, Freud y Strindberg: los sueños en Amor y pedagogía y Niebla’, Countries (1803). Chawton House Library Series: Women’s Memoirs. Gina Neophilologus, 96.1 (2012), 47-64. Luria Walker, ed. Memoirs of Women Writers (London: Pickering &

Chatto), vol. 5, pp. 321-323. ‘Cien años de Strindberg’, Hoy (21 October 2012), 55. ‘Brégy, Charlotte Saumaize de Chazan de’, in Mary Hays, Female ‘Leer a Unamuno’, Hoy (16 December 2012), 48. Biography; or, Memoirs of Illustrious and Celebrated Women, of All Ages and

‘La patria de Pascual Duarte’, Hoy (28 March 2013), 18. Countries (1803). Chawton House Library Series: Women’s Memoirs. Gina Luria Walker, ed. Memoirs of Women Writers ( London: Pickering & (ed. and introduction), Pío Baroja, Camino de perfección. Madrid: Alianza, Chatto), Vol. 6, pp. 46-51. 2013. Dr Severine Genieyes-Kirk (French) Dr John Ardila (Hispanic Studies) ‘Intermedial Proust: Harold Pinter and Di Trevis’s Stage Adaptation ‘Challenging Censorship through Creativity: Responses to the Ban on of A la recherche du temps perdu’, in Nathalie Aubert, ed., Proust and the Sputnik in the GDR’, Modern Language Review, 108.2 (April 2013), 577-97 Visual (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2013), pp. 219-37 Prof Marion Schmid (French) ‘East German Theatre Censorship: The Role of the Audience’, Theatre Journal, 65.2 (March 2013), 39-56 "Мемуарная проза Марины Цветаевой как анти-памятник: очерк Живое о живом (1932 г.) в контексте мифотворческих тенденций ‘Serial Murder in Cold-War : Leichensache Zernik and the Struggle российского и европейского модернизма 1910х-30х годов" for Panoptic Control’, German Life and Letters, 66.1 (January 2013), 93- (Tsvetaeva's Memoir "The Living About the Living" in the Context 110 Of Mythopoeic Tendencies of Russian and European Modernism), Dr Laura Bradley (German) AvtobiografiЯ, volume 1, 2012, pp.167–210. [http://www.padovauniversitypress.it/riviste/avtobiografija/] ‘Aimée, Jaguar and Gender Melancholia’ In: Studies in European Cinema 9:1, pp. 35 – 52. “Consuming Utopian Thought in an Anti-Utopian Age: The Dr Leanne Dawson (DELC) Reception of Andrej Platonovʼs Čevengur in Todayʼs Russia", Russian Literature, volume 73, issue 1/2, 2013, pp.209-227 ‘Different music, same condition: Hofstadter and Lyotard’, in Thinking Verse volume 2, pp. 9-26, see: "The Image of Marina Tsvetaeva in the Émigré Memoirs, Criticism and Scholarship," in Adamovitch, Marina; Smotodinska, Tatiana; http://www.thinkingverse.com/issue02/Peter%20Dayan,%20Differen Ermolaev, Natalia, eds. Russian Emigration at the Crossroads of the XX- t%20music,%20same%20condition.pdf XXI Centuries: Proceeding of the International Conference Dedicated to the 70th Prof Peter Dayan (French) Anniversary of the New Review/Novyj Zhurnal, New York: The New Review Publishing, 2012, pp.186-201. 'Gabrielle Suchon: Militant Philosophy in Seventeenth Century', in Forum for Modern Language Studies (2012) (First published online: "Russian Women Poets on the Death of the Poet, the Modernist November 15, 2012) Canon and the Postmodern Condition," in Marsh, Rosalind. New Dr Véronique Desnain (French) Women's Writing in Russia, Central and Eastern Europe: Gender, Generations and Identities, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishers, 2012, pp.300-319. Dr Alexandra Smith (Russian Studies) ‘Countermemory and the (Turkish-)German Theatrical Archive: Reading the Documentary Remains of Emine Sevgi Özdamar’s For more information on Publications, 15 Karagöz in Alamania (1986),’ Transit, Special Issue on Participatory Media and Public Memory, 8.2 (March 2013)

see our staff profile pages: www.delc.ed.ac.uk . Elizabeth Stewart (German)