IA Report 09-10 Final.Pdf

THE MISSION OF THE ITALIAN ACADEMY Founded in 1991 on the basis of an agreement between Columbia University and the Republic of Italy, the Academy sponsors advanced research in all areas relating to Italian history, science and society; presents distinguished examples of Italian culture and art; and promotes academic, cultural and scientific exchange at the highest level. ABOUT THE ACADEMY At the core of the Italian Academy’s work lies its Fellowship Program. Fel- lowships are open to senior scholars at the postdoctoral level and above who wish to devote a semester or a full academic year to genuinely inno- vative work in any field relating to culture, cultural memory, and the rela- tions between culture, the sciences, and the social sciences. Fellows are chosen by a jury of experts in the relevant fields. The most advanced part of the Fellowship Program is the Academy’s ongoing Project in Art and Neuroscience, in which scholars in both the humanities and the sciences work together in assessing the significance of the latest developments in genetics and the neurosciences for the humanities—and vice versa. The Academy also serves as the chief reference point in the United States for all links between the worlds of higher education in Italy and the U.S. Thanks to its prestige and its location in New York, the Academy has become a critical site for meetings between distinguished members of the Italian and American business and political communities. Its the- ater, library, and other public spaces offer important locations for a variety of conferences, concerts, films, and exhibitions. Funding for the Academy came from an endowment established at Columbia in 1991 by the Republic of Italy; since then, a variety of foun- dations and private donors have provided other endowments and gifts. Columbia University THE ITALIAN ACADEMY FOR ADVANCED STUDIES IN AMERICA Annual Report 2009–2010 New York 2010 CONTENTS Governance of the Academy 6 Board of Guarantors 7 Senior Fellows 8 Staff 10 Director’s Report 11 Fellows 22 Activities of the Academy: Fellows’ Seminars 24 Public Events 26 Reports: Fellows’ Reports 31 Premio New York Artists 64 Edited by Abigail Asher Set in Optima nova types and designed by Jerry Kelly 5 GOVERNANCE OF THE ACADEMY BOARD OF GUARANTORS The Presidents of the Academy are the Presidents of the Republic of Appointed by Columbia University Italy and of Columbia University. The Director is the Head of the Acad- Daniele Bodini emy. The Chairman of the Board is the Provost of Columbia University. Ambassador to the United Nations for the Republic of San Marino The Board of Guarantors is comprised of twelve distinguished repre- Jonathan Cole sentatives of cultural, academic, and business life; six are selected by Provost and Dean of Faculties Emeritus, John Mitchell Mason Professor of the Columbia University and another six by the Republic of Italy. The University, Columbia University Board advises the Director on the management of the Academy. Jane Ginsburg Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law, Columbia University Presidents Ira Katznelson Honorary President of the Academy Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy Edward Mendelson Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University President of the Academy Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University Nicholas J. Turro William P. Schweitzer Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Chemical Engineer- Chairman of the Board of Guarantors ing and of Environmental Engineering and Materials Science, Columbia University Claude M. Steele, Provost of Columbia University Director of the Academy Appointed by the Republic of Italy David Freedberg, Pierre Matisse Professor of the History of Art, Columbia University Giovanni Castellaneta Presidente del Consiglio di Amministrazione, Gruppo SACE; ex Ambasciatore negli USA Roberto de Mattei Vicepresidente del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Riccardo Viale Director, Italian Cultural Institute, New York Stefano Parisi CEO and General Manager, FASTWEB Giovanni Puglisi Rettore, Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione (IULM) e Presidente della Commissione Italiana Nazionale UNESCO Salvatore Rebecchini Componente, Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato 6 7 Giacomo Rizzolatti SENIOR FELLOWS Direttore del Dipartimento di Neuroscienze ed Ordinario di Fisiologia, Università di Parma Qais al-Awqati Maria Rita Saulle Robert F. Loeb Professor of Medicine and Professor of Physiology and Cellular Giudice della Corte Costituzionale e Professore di Diritto Internazionale, Università Biophysics, Columbia University “La Sapienza,” Roma Enrico Arbarello Salvatore Settis Ordinario di Geometria, Università “La Sapienza,” Roma Direttore della Scuola Normale Superiore ed Ordinario di Storia dell’Arte, Pisa Richard Axel Horst L. Störmer Nobel Laureate and University Professor, Columbia University Nobel Laureate and I. I. Rabi Professor of Physics, Columbia University Teodolinda Barolini Nadia Urbinati Da Ponte Professor of Italian, Columbia University Nell and Herbert M. Singer Professor of Contemporary Civilization, Columbia Lina Bolzoni University Ordinario di Letteratura Italiana e Direttore del Centro di Elaborazione Informatica di Testi e Immagini nella Tradizione Letteraria, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa Victoria de Grazia James R. Barker Professor of Contemporary Civilization, Columbia University Paolo Galluzzi Direttore dell’Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Firenze Carlo Ginzburg Ordinario di Storia delle Culture Europee, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa Anthony Grafton Henry Putnam University Professor of History, Princeton University Denis Hollier Professor of French, New York University Eric Kandel Nobel Laureate and Kavli Professor of Brain Science in Neuroscience, Columbia University Francesco Pellizzi Editor of “Res” Journal and Research Associate, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Edmund S. Phelps Nobel Laureate and McVickar Professor of Political Economy, Columbia University Renzo Piano Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Genoa and Paris 8 9 STAFF DIRECTOR’S REPORT David Freedberg, Director I returned to Columbia after the privilege of a sabbatical leave at the Bib- Pierre Matisse Professor of the History of Art, Columbia University liotheca Hertziana (Max-Planck-Institut) in Rome and then at the Wis- Barbara Faedda Ph.D. senschaftskolleg in Berlin. At the Hertziana I had the honor of continuing Acting Director, Associate Director to serve as Rudolf-Wittkower Visiting Professor, while at the Wissenschaft- Allison Jeffrey skolleg I was a Visiting Fellow and Guest of the Rector for the Fall term of Assistant Director 2009. As noted in my previous report, these stays at two of the most pres- Abigail Asher tigious institutes for advanced study in Europe not only furthered my own Communications and Development Director research, but offered considerable opportunity for reflection on our own Will Buford fellowship program. Both the Hertziana and the Wissenschaftskolleg have Business Manager successful and well-sponsored fellowship programs, with staffs and budg- Nick Buonincontri ets very much larger than our own, and yet, in less than a decade, our own Operations Coordinator program has achieved a similar level of quality and a growing prestige and Kira Stockdale status, all on the basis of significantly smaller resources. Administrative Coordinator As we move forward into the second decade of the century, we must Rick Whitaker think of ways of expanding our fellowship program and take practical Theatre and Music Director steps to doing so. Amongst the changes I introduced in revamping our (then small) fellowship program in 2001–2 were the following: Fellows’ pe- Jesse Coors Blankenship Graphic Designer riod of residence to coincide with one or two academic semesters at Co- lumbia; obligatory weekly lunch seminars; absolute freedom of research, in the spirit of the libertas philosophandi that underlies the best and most Work-Study Staff: creative work in the humanities and the sciences. It goes without saying Stephen Blair, Elise Caldarola, Anna Calinawan, Miguel Castro, that we have consistently aimed for the highest intellectual quality in our Nathan Chang, Juliette Conte, Brianna Frazier, annual fellowship competition, and have expanded our range almost Ramon Katarino de Castillo, Lorenzo Landini, Adrienne Reitano every year. We began with a concentration in the humanities, but since 2003–4 have increasingly extended our intake to the sciences and social sciences. For the most part we have sought to encourage those areas of the humanities that are losing ground (e.g., ancient and Renaissance philology) and—at the other end of the scale—those areas of the sciences in which Italy now excels. In these latter areas, we have awarded fellow- ships to a notable list of brilliant young neuroscientists, nanotechnolo- gists, and astrophysicists (the fact that in a field dominated by men, the last three of these have all been women has, I think, represented an endorse- ment of the importance of promoting the role of women in science). 10 11 In keeping with the spirit of our charter, we sought to fund Fellows from important in times when Italian academic life offers fewer and fewer op- Italy who would work with their intellectual and scientific counterparts at portunities to its graduates. We have offered opportunities to brilliant Columbia, and, in so doing, contribute to the

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