Conferences

Association for the Study of Modern Italy (ASMI) Annual Conference

30^th November & 1^st December 2018

Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Belgrave Square, London SW1

The First World War in Italy and Beyond: History, Legacy and Memory (1918–2018)

Conference convenors: 

Selena Daly (University College Dublin), Carlotta Ferrara degli
Uberti (University College London), Hannah Malone (Freie Universität Berlin), Martina
Salvante (University of Warwick)

Conference programme 

The conference dinner will be held on 30^th November at 8pm Prezzo, North Audley Street.

More information and payment options to follow.

The conference will explore the history, legacy and memory of the First World War in Italy
from 1918 to 2018. As the War was one of the formative experiences of the modern Italian
nation, the aim is to place the conflict in a longer chronological perspective and to highlight its
lasting impact from a range of viewpoints. Drawing on recent innovations in the historiography,
the conference will shift focus away from the battlefields towards hitherto neglected areas of
study, including the experience of civilians and everyday life, the transition from war to peace,
and the post-­war climate and reconstruction. It will shed light on how the memory of WWI
shaped Italy's national identity and served political ends during the Fascist period and after
the Second World War. The intention is also to escape the confines of national historiography
by placing Italy in comparative and transnational contexts. Thus, the centenary presents an
opportunity to look with fresh eyes at the mark left by the War on the history, politics and
society of Italy.

Confirmed keynote speakers:

Prof. Gunda Barth-Scalmani (University of Innsbruck) Author of numerous works on Italian-Austrian relations and the experiences of women during WWI, including Ein Krieg - Zwei Schützengräben, Österreich - Italien und der Erste Weltkrieg in den Dolomiten 1915–1918 (Bozen 2005) and Militärische und zivile Kriegserfahrungen 1914–1918 (Innsbruck, 2010).

Dr. Marco Mondini (University of Padua/Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento) Author of numerous bestselling books on Italy and WW1, including most recently Il Capo. La Grande Guerra del generale Luigi Cadorna (Il Mulino 2017) and La guerra italiana. Partire, raccontare, tornare 1914-18 (Il Mulino 2014). He is a frequent contributor to programmes on Rai Storia, e.g. http://www.raistoria.rai.it/articoli/cadorna-il-capo/32462/default.aspx.