Department of Italian
Postgraduate Training Programme
Over the past few years, the UK's four higher education funding councils have put 'training' in postgraduate research degree programmes firmly on the agenda. From summer 2004, universities' training provision will be monitored - both via initial departmental statements on the submission of applications to the AHRB and via individual students' reports at the end of each year of research. In MML, we have decided that graduate training and its related requirements will be mandatory for all graduate students, irrespective of their funding. Essentially, the new framework is good news for the faculty and its students: it will help us focus on consolidating and enhancing our training scheme over the next few years. The new framework is intended to ensure that research students receive appropriate and relevant preparation and training to enable them both to complete a high-quality doctoral thesis and to develop a range of knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for their future employment, whatever that might be. Training falls into two broad categories: core generic skills and subject-specific knowledge, understanding and skills. Core generic skills take in issues such as oral and written presentation skills, project design and management, ICT and bibliographical skills. In MML, these will be met by a combination of in-house sessions and broader provision within the university (e.g. UL, Computer Service). Subject-specific knowledge and skills covers topics such as the understanding of theoretical issues, specific research contexts and related fields, as well as the development of relevant research skills and methodologies. In relation to that the Italian Department is organizing a Joint Graduate Training Programme with the Italian Departments of Oxford, Reading, Royal Holloway and UCL. Tentative program of this year activities can be found below.
Friday 15 October 2004
Council Room, University College London
10.30 - 11.00 Coffee and Welcome
11.00 - 11.45 Giulio Lepschy (Reading and UCL), 'Bibliographies'
11.45 - 12.15 Marta Niccolai and Anna Rita Tamponi (UCL), 'Teaching tips: Language Teaching'
12.25 - 13.00 David Forgacs (UCL), 'The evolution of Italian studies in the UK'.
Lunch
2.00 - 2.45 Denis Reidy (British Library) `The Italian Resources of the British Library'
2.45 - 3.30 Round Table on How to Organise a Research Timetable (Stephen Gundle, John Foot and others...)
3.30 - 4.30 Recent PhDs in Italian recount their experiences
4.30 - 5.00 Tea and Close
Friday 10 december 2004
Royal Holloway, University of London
Presentations on: literary archives; cultural studies / history archives; film archives; art archives.
Workshops on: how to prepare and deliver a conference paper (Yrs 2 and 3); how to write a book review (all years); how to develop a CV (all years).
Teaching tips: introducing students to Dante
PG papers and discussion: popular fiction and pulp fiction
Friday 21 January 2005
University of Reading
Presentations on: trends in Italian literary studies; Italian linguistics; Britain and Italian historiography; Italian film studies.
Workshops on: how to organise a conference (Yr 3); the Society for Italian Studies and the Association for the Study of Modern Italy (Yr 1); recently-appointed lecturers in Italian recount their experiences (Yrs 2 and 3).
Teaching tips: organising a course on Italian cinema
PG papers and discussion: Reflections on the existence or otherwise of a canon in Italian studies.
Friday 4 March 2005
Boys Smith Room, Fisher Building, St John's College, Cambridge
Presentations on: analysing texts in Italian literature, film, history and art history; how to do a critical edition; tools of analysis in linguistics.
Workshops on: writing up (Yr 3); how to write an article and where to send it (Yrs 2 and 3); the international context of Italian studies (all years)
Teaching tips: approaches to literary texts
PG papers and discussion: intertextuality in Italian studies.
Friday 6 May 2005
University of Oxford
Presentations on: revisionist approaches to Italian fascism; current trends in Dante studies; Gender studies and Italian; new work on the Renaissance
Teaching tips: explaining Italian grammar
Workshops on: the global job market in Italian studies (Yr 3); from thesis to book (Yr 3); conducting fieldwork (yrs 1 and 2).
PG papers and discussion: Dante and Us
