ANDA Conference 2012. Managing Diversities in English Literature. Global and Local Imaginaries in Dialogue.
22-23 September 2012 – Università di Pisa, Gipsoteca di Arte Antica, Via San Paolo all’Orso, 20 – Pisa.
The Fourth ANDA Conference took place at the Gipsoteca di Arte Antica of the University of Pisa on 22-23 September 2012. The aim was to explore the concept of diversity in relation to the coexistence of human beings and the idea of knowledge. At a time when our communities are threatened by the risk of fragmentation and prejudice, it is vital that we should value diversity as a precious resource.
Introduced by Biancamaria Rizzardi, key-note speaker Luigi Sarpietro opened the event with a compelling, wide-ranging exploration of the concept of diversity with a special emphasis on politics and ethics. His address was followed by five sessions linking literature and culture in Great Britain and Ireland to the contemporary phenomenon of postcolonial diaspora.
In fact, the presentations included in the programme, more than fifteen in count, were centred on the greatest British authors of all times as well as on genres and texts. Furthermore, they also addressed the concept of diversity from a social, racial, physical, mental, and sexual point of view. As for the closing session entitled the “Italian Connection”, it was devoted to translation practices and to literary reception in our country.
