News and Events

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On April 14, AUR's toughest students (8 females and 1 male) followed Professor Jens Koehler on a study and research trip to Lake Nemi, a volcanic crater lake in the Alban hills just 20 miles south-east of Rome.

The aggressive attack on the Central European University (CEU) at Budapest by the Hungarian government concerns us all. It is a transparent attempt to pervert democracy in an EU country. All Europeans and all academics should support President, Michael Ignatieff, and his colleagues.

This unique gallery, located in the heart of Rome near the Tiber River, exhibits the work of emerging Italian artists. A boring “white walls” environment? This gallery is filled with the spirit of art! The pieces on exhibit are created by artists using different techniques and media; shows include sculpture, photography, and many styles of painting. Another singularity is that the gallery cooperates with an antique store, “Antiquariato Valligiano” which exhibits rare and antique furniture mixed in with the works of art. This adds an atmosphere of comfort and increases a visitor’s immersion in the world of Art.

Business Seniors recently spent an intense day together exploring the motorcycle industry, analyzing the benefit of industry trade shows, discussing the applications of these to their own work on their theses, and then sharing a meal they had cooked together.

In 1583 five Jesuit brothers set out with the intention of founding a new church and mission in India. Their dream was almost immediately, and brutally, terminated by local opposition. When their massacre was announced in Rome it was treated as martyrdom. Francesco Benci, professor of rhetoric at the Collegium Romanum, immediately set about celebrating their deaths in a new type of epic, distinct from, yet dependent upon, the classical tradition:Quinque martyres e Societate Iesu in India.

This is the first critical edition and translation of this important text. The commentary highlights both the classical sources and the historical and religious context of the mission. The introduction outlines Benci’s career and stresses his role as the founder of this vibrant new genre.

Dr. Catherine Ramsey-Portolano, associate professor and program director of Italian Studies at AUR, has published a new book, Performing Bodies: Female Illness in Italian Literature and Cinema (1860-1920).

This publication explores how female illness was portrayed in Italian literature and early cinema and makes the case that being sick had its advantages - sometimes even offering the female protagonist a way to become the master not only of her body but also of her story and destiny.

Ramsey-Portolano, who is American, joined the full-time faculty at AUR in 2008. This is her third book and continues her doctorate research in Italian literature, gender studies and cinema.

The Spring 2018 IR field trip was designed to provide the students with the opportunity to explore the ongoing debate over separatism of a Spanish region, i.e. Catalonia. The field trip enabled students to meet politicians, scholars and policy-makers with different political, economic and social perspectives. Another important aspect of the field trip was the direct experience of the city. The class could really get a sense of how Catalan society is responding to the latest political developments.
By combining all the different ideas, visions, opinions and experiences students gained a nuanced understanding of the debate on whether should Catalonia become an independent state or not.

Professor Davor Džalto was recently interviewed by 'Blic', the biggest daily newspaper in the South-Eastern Europe. Below is an excerpt from that interview and a link to the original article.

Eileen Francesconi, a 2016 AUR graduate in Business Administration, returned to campus on March 7 to talk about her experiences at Bocconi University in Milan.