Italian Research Seminar

The Italian Research seminar is convened by DPhil students and seeks to bring together members of the sub-faculty at all levels (professors, researchers, and students), as well as anyone interested in any aspect of Italian studies. All of our events take place during term time on Mondays at the Taylor Institution Library. Timings vary; see individual events below for details.

Although the seminars are often examples of cutting-edge research, they are accessible to anyone with some knowledge of Italian literature, language, and culture, allowing for vibrant dialogue among a wide range of specialists. Our events range from seminars on recent and ongoing research, to methodological roundtables, to book presentations, to workshops on various issues connected with graduate and postgraduate life.

We often host speakers from other universities from across the globe. In recent years, our speakers have included Prof Virginia Cox (University of Cambridge), Prof Catherine Keen (University College London), Prof Corrado Bologna (Scuola Normale Superiore), Eva del Soldato (University of Pennsylvania), and Dr Rhiannon Daniels (University of Bristol), as well as current and former members from our own faculty, including Profs Emma Bond, Guido Bonsaver, Simon Gilson, Charlotte Ross, and Francesca Southerden.

We also often hold seminars in tandem with ISO (Italian Studies at Oxford), and occasionally with the Early Modern Italian Italian Seminar, Italian Poetry Today, and LEO (Leopardi Studies at Oxford).

If you have any questions, or you would like to be in touch with the organising committee, please email italian.res-sem@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk.

The coordinators for 2025-2026 are Kate McKee and Victoria White.
Type: Seminar Series
Series organisers: Kate McKee, Victoria White
Timing: Various - see individual events
Web Address: https://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/research/italian-research-seminar
Organising department: Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages

Talks:

Monday 2 February 2025

Piero Vettori and the Noble Art of Olive Growing: Botanical Knowledge as Environmental and Economic Strategy in Sixteenth Century Tuscany
Date: 2 February 2026, 12:00 - 13:15
Speaker : Anca-Delia Moldovan (University of Warwick)
Venue: Taylor Institution Library, St Giles' OX1 3NA
Venue Details: Room 2
Organisers: Victoria White, Kate McKee
Hosts: TBA

Monday 9 February 2025

The Italian Translations of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets (1944-2013): Appropriations, Rewritings and Reception
Date: 9 February 2026, 12:00 - 13:15
Speaker : Eleonora Gallitelli (Università degli Studi di Udine)
Venue: Taylor Institution Library, St Giles' OX1 3NA
Venue Details: Room 2
Organisers: Victoria White, Kate McKee
Hosts: TBA

Monday 23 February 2025

The End of Ends: Elsa Morante and Eschatology
Date: 23 February 2026, 12:00 - 13:15
Speaker : Dr Rebecca Walker (University of Oxford)
Venue: Taylor Institution Library, St Giles' OX1 3NA
Venue Details: Room 2
Organisers: Victoria White, Kate McKee
Hosts: TBA

Monday 2 March 2025

Seeking Wonder in the Long Nineteenth Century: Women, Folklore and Fairy Tales from a Transnational Perspective
Date: 2 March 2026, 12:00 - 13:15
Speaker : Elena Sottilotta (University of Cambridge)
Venue: Taylor Institution Library, St Giles' OX1 3NA
Venue Details: Room 2
Organisers: Victoria White, Kate McKee
Hosts: TBA

Monday 9 March 2025

Theatre and cultural politics in the Academies of the Venetian Republic
Date: 9 March 2026, 17:15 - 18:30
Speaker : Lisa Sampson (UCL)
Venue: Taylor Institution Library, St Giles' OX1 3NA
Venue Details: Room 2
Organisers: Victoria White, Kate McKee
Hosts: TBA

Editor: Katherine McKee