Staff news April 2010

Dr Diego Pescarini

The Department is delighted to welcome Dr Diego Pescarini who has been awarded a prestigious two-year Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship to conduct (under the guidance of Professor Mair Parry) a comprehensive analysis of the pronominal systems found in medieval Italian texts. The project’s objectives include the creation of a freely

accessible online relational database specifically geared to the linguistic analysis of the personal pronoun systems of the early Italian vernaculars as well as a comparative grammar of their diverse pronominal systems. Diego will play an active role in the research culture of the Department ensuring that we are able to maintain and develop the distinguished international profile in Linguistics which Mair has so successfully established.

Dr Charles Burdett

Charles Burdett has been elected Chair of the Society for Italian Studies (S.I.S) whose role is to promote the study of Italy, Italian language, literature, thought, history, society and arts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In addition to furthering research through publication and the organization of conferences, the S.I.S has a very active role in the promotion and development of teaching at a national level. The Society also has an important role in responding to government initiatives concerning the place of Modern Languages in the University sector. Given the changes that are currently taking place in the discipline, and in the run-up to the REF, Charles will play a major part in shaping the future of Italian Studies in the UK.