Department of Italian Studies, in association with Musco Center, presents:

Design & Culture: An Italian Perspective

THIS EVENT IS IN THE PAST

Saturday, April 23, 2022 | 10:30 a.m. 

An investigation of Italian genius and style.

This year's edition of the Italian Perspective series will include plenary lectures and an innovation panel focusing on different intersections between Italian arts, cultural history, industrial design, and fashion. Presentations will reveal the interlaced development of the historical genesis and significance of iconic Italian objects and brands and explore Italian industrial and fashion culture. Join us in this journey through the beauty and complexity of Italy’s intellectual and aesthetic import, celebrating the innovative genius behind the pursuit of style yesterday and today. 

A portion of your ticket goes in support of Italian Studies.

SCHEDULE

10:30–10:50 a.m.
Opening remarks with:
Federico Pacchioni, Marybelle and Paul Musco Chair
Norma Bouchard, Provost of Chapman University
Emanuele Amendola, Director of Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Los Angeles

10:50–11:20 a.m.
“What is the Source of Originality? Italian Design & Cultural Imagination”
Dr. Luca Cottini (Villanova University)

11:20–11:50 a.m.
Design and Innovation Panel with:
Mattia Biagi – Italian Design Ambassador
Pietro Gorlier – Global Automotive Executive at Stellantis (FIAT/Chrysler/PSA)
Alessandra Renzulli – International Designer in Sustainable Architecture
Mario Leone – Director of Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics

11:50 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
“Stylish Nation: Synchronicities in Italian Fashion and Film”
Dr. Rebecca Bauman (Fashion Institute of Technology | SUNY)

12:20–12:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Dr. Federico Pacchioni

A New Direction for Italian Studies at Chapman University

The Institute for Italian Experience and Research

Through a dynamic interdisciplinary curriculum across several departments, a rich calendar of events, and various travel courses, the Italian Studies program has opened many doors to Italy for Chapman students and faculty over the past few years. Furthermore, the program, which has a growing national and international reputation, plays a leading role in promoting Italian culture and art in Orange County. The passion of our Chapman faculty and support from university administrators and donors, most notably Marybelle and Paul Musco, have obviously played a role in the program’s success. But that success is also linked to a unique vision of Italian Studies as a site of intellectual and cultural interfacing between different areas on campus and between university and community. 

The unmatched opportunity for collaboration present within the body of faculty and student of Chapman University, the legacy of enthusiastic Italian leadership and community involvement, and even the campus’s symbolic sites harking back to the Bel Paese, all point to far greater potential than what is currently manifested. To realize that potential, a new configuration is needed: the Institute for Italian Experience and Research. 

The Institute will become an intellectual and ethical disciplinary nexus, a unifying force bridging modes of thinking, disciplinary traditions, and perspectives on creativity, society, and science. It will support existing Italy-related projects at Chapman University while functioning as Chapman’s official liaison with the country and its educational and cultural institutions. It will also provide a new model for struggling foreign language and culture programs on a national scale, stretching disciplinary boundaries, and activating the potential of humanistic study for the future. Championing Chapman’s growing number of scholarly and creative collaborations, curricular projects, and partnerships in and around Italy, the Institute will become the ideal intellectual and administrative foundation for the creation of a center for Chapman University in Italy, which will also serve as the university’s first global gateway abroad.

For more information, please contact the Institute’s Leadership Board Chair John Razzano at razzano.iier@gmail.com or Dr. Federico Pacchioni at pacchion@chapman.edu  

Please visit CU Safely Back for the latest COVID-19 protocols for Chapman visitors.