Lorenzo Coretti, a born and bred Roman local, is an AUR Assistant Professor and the director of our renownedĢżCommunication and Digital Media program.
He joined AUR in 2014 after having completed his Ph.D. at the University of Westminster (London, UK), where he investigated the role played by social media in Italian political protests between 2009 and 2012. Previously, Professor Coretti worked as a press officer and journalist in both magazines and TV.
Professor Coretti is interested in the potential held by digital media for social and political social change. In this respect, he considers himself neither a techno-enthusiast nor a techno-pessimist, but rather a āt±š³¦³ó²Ō“Ē-±č“Ē²õ²õ¾±²ś¾±±ō¾±²õ³Ł.ā In particular, his research focuses on the relationship between technological design and social movement activities, such as mobilization strategies, organizational patterns, and collective identity-building processes.
Professor Coretti teaches several courses at AUR, among which are āMedia History,ā āDigital Media & Society,ā and āMedia Ethics.ā He has also just completed the design of an exciting new course whichĢżbenefits directly from his extensive research activities in the field, āDigital Media, Social Movements, and Social Change.ā This course will be offered for the first time in Spring 2022.
(He's the one on the right)
With his extensive knowledge of the social media landscape, Professor Coretti reveals little of himself via online channels. We, however, caught him at an unguarded moment...
Ģż
Q. When were you happiest?
The moment my Blanca said āyes.ā It was a warm night of August, and we were in Cullera, a lovely seaside town on the coast of Valencia, in Spain. After an exquisite paella, we went for a night walk on the beach. I was desperately trying to pinpoint the right moment to make my move and propose. Quite peculiarly, once I made up my mind and resolved to kneel, in that exact instant, Blanca decided to take the weight off her feet and quickly sat on the sand. In my clumsy attempt to get as low as I could, I ended up crawling rather than kneeling. Eventually, I was covered in sand, yet I was the happiest person across the whole Mediterranean. Weāre laughing together as I type thisā¦
Ģż
Q. What is your computer and/or phone wallpaper?
The artwork of Joy Divisionās record āUnknown Pleasures,ā the greatest album of the 20th Century.
Q. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
As a child, I wanted to be Pope. Alas, I found that path quite laborious and gave up when I was 12. I then turned my fantasies to music, to finally realize that when you canāt become a musician, itās easier to marry one.
Q. Which word of phrase do you most overuse?
Iām afraid I canāt be 100% transparent here. Coward as I am, Iāll shift responsibility to my hero Stephen Fry, who once said: āthe sort of twee person who thinks swearing is in any way a sign of a lack of education or a lack of verbal interest is just a fā¦ing lunatic.ā I think you got the gist.
Q. If you could travel back in time just once, where and when would you go?
I would explore ancient Rome, with Prof. Mary Beard as my āVirgil.ā Iād try to stop Mark Antonyās henchmen from killing Cicero and together we would save the republic.
Ģż
Q. What is the worst job youāve ever done?
Iāve been very lucky and thereās no job Iāve done that I could define as the worst. That said, at a professional level, the worst moment is when you realize you donāt believe in what youāre doing any longer. Thatās when a person needs to move on, and too often itās easier said than done. Thatās why I ultimately resolved my focus on teaching, my favorite passion in the whole world.
Q. If you werenāt a professor, what would you be?
Iād be a frustrated bloke who wanted to be a professor and failed.
Ģż
Q. What trait do you most dislike in yourself?
The incapacity to forgive myself. If I had a time-machine, Iād go back and forth incessantly in a futile attempt to perfect my actions and myself.
Q. What trait do you most dislike in others?
The lack of kindness, a rare thing nowadays. After all, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau said, āwhat wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?ā
Q. How do you relax?
On my terrace with the company of my books. Iām affected by a mix of bibliomania and ātsundoku,ā spending equal time reading books and looking at books piling up on the shelf. Iām perennially behind schedule.
Ģż
Ģż
Q. If you could bring something extinct or a deceased historic figure back to life, what or who would it be?
Iād give an arm to spend even just one evening having drinks with John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell, and Karl Marx. Karl and I would take a drunken donkey ride in the darkness of the night, and most probably Bertie would have to foot the bill, but Iād be the one coming out a richer man.
Ģż
Q. What is the most important lesson that life has taught you?
That thereās no lesson to learn.
Q. Whatās your guilty pleasure?
Besides grappa? Well, the second grappa, or the thirdā¦ I canāt remember!
Q. Tell us a secretā¦
Iām 41 and still donāt know how to tie a tie.
Still curious about Professor Coretti (even after all that)? Read his official academic biography here.