April 16, 2025

5 – 7 PM

Richard Gambino’s Legacy and the Future of Italian American Studies
Dr. Richard Gambino (1939-2024) established the first academic program dedicated to Italian American Studies at Queens College in 1973. He further helped institute a similar program at Stony Brook University, and later served as Visiting Professor in the 1990s. Gambino co-founded the influential journal Italian Americana, and published nonfiction books, including Blood of My Blood and Vendetta, which documented the experiences of multiple generations of Italian Americans and reached broad audiences.

Our distinguished panel, moderated by Loredana Polezzi (Stony Brook University), will explore the past and future of Italian American Studies beginning with Gambino’s founding contributions. Speakers include Mary Jo Bona (Stony Brook University), Peter Carravetta (Stony Brook University), Fred Gardaphé (Queens College), and Anthony Tamburri (Queens College, Calandra Institute). The event will also feature personal reflections from Gambino’s wife Gail, and Josephine Fusco, who collaborated with Gambino and Mario Mignone during a pivotal period in the history of the Center for Italian Studies.
Open to the public, SBU students, faculty, and staff encouraged.
E-4340 Melville Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358

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May 1 – 3, 2025

Tenth Quadrennial Italian Renaissance Sculpture Conference "Provo-Athens"
Advance registration is required. Keynote speakers include Denise Allen (Metropolitan Museum of Art), Kelley Helmstutler di Dio (University of Vermont), and Andrea Bacchi (Università di Bologna).

The conference is supported by The Center for Italian Studies, The Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and The Lila Wallace – Reader’s Digest Special Project Grant from I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies.
Charles B. Wang Center, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794.

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February 4, 2025
12:30 – 1:50 PM

Teaching Languages Through Intercomprehension: A Conversation with Clorinda Donato
Pedagogy in Practice series
Who are the students populating language classrooms today and why are they studying languages? Who are we as language instructors and what should we be teaching them? The answers to these questions are very different from the answers we might have given only twenty years ago. Answering these questions today means reflecting on the why, how, where, who and what of language pedagogy and communication in the twenty-first century. By focusing on the pedagogies of intercomprehension, (including translanguaging, multilingualism and plurilingualism), this conversation will invite us to think together about the students we are serving in language classroom settings and why we need to rethink what we are doing as language educators to best prepare them for a future in languages.
Open to SBU students and faculty only. RSVP Required.
E-4340 Melville Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358.

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February 11, 2025
1 – 4 PM

Caffè Italiano: Student-Faculty Mixer
Join us for espresso and biscotti to kick off our spring event season! Learn about our upcoming programs and scholarship opportunities, meet our staff, or just have a coffee or tea with us. A presto!
Open to all SBU students, faculty, and staff.
E-4340 Melville Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358.

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February 19, 2025
12:45 – 1:45 PM

Andiamo! Let's Study or Intern Abroad
Thinking of studying abroad? Hear from a panel of students, faculty, alumni, and staff who have made the journey and learn how to translate your experience into a career!
Open to all SBU undergraduate/graduate students.
E-4340 Melville Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358.

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March 5, 2025
5 – 6:30 PM

Peter Carravetta (Philosophy), "Whither the Human in Humanism?"
After examination of and responses to the challenges of anti-, trans-, and post-humanism, Peter Carravetta looks at key ideas from the tradition that may still be adapted to redefine and energize the humanities. These include free will and intersubjectivity, as well consciousness of sociopolitical co-existence and commitment, the relation between myth and history, and rhetoric and logic, as manifested through works by Dante, Pico, Machiavelli, Campanella, Vico.
This event has been organized by the Humanities Institute at Stony Brook and is co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies. Please note that this event will take place in Humanities 1008.
Open to the public. SBU community encouraged to attend.
Humanities 1008, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794.

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March 10, 2025
5:15 – 6:30 PM

Telling Your Story: Music, Language, Education
Pedagogy in Practice series
Celebrated Italian rapper and educator, Amir Issaa will present a two-part workshop on the power of finding and using your voice. Amir will share his story, growing up in Torpignattara, Rome and using music to find his identity. He will discuss how we can use songwriting as a tool to express ourselves across languages.
Students and Teaching Candidates across disciplines encouraged to attend.
E-4340 Melville Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358.

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March 26, 2025
5 – 6:30 PM

Brooklyn to Yellowstone: A 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps Odyssey
Join us for a presentation by Mike LoMonico on his new book.
Open to the public. SBU community encouraged to attend.
E-4340 Melville Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358.

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April 3 – 5, 2025

Society for Italian Philosophy Eighth Annual International Conference
Advance registration is required. Keynote speakers include Paolo D’Angelo (Università di Roma Tre, Italy) and Angelica Nuzzo (Brooklyn College, CUNY). Program forthcoming.
Proceedings on Thursday and Friday will be held at Stony Brook University.
Please note, Saturday's program only will be held at the Calandra Institute (25 W 43rd St Suite 1700, New York, NY 10036).

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April 10, 2025
5:30 – 7 PM

Heirloom Film Screening
Heirloom is a documentary short about a mother and daughter who set out to discover why Italian Americans continue to have a deep connection with gardening. Along their journey, they travel to Italy, reconnect with their Italian roots, and meet with Isabella Rossellini, who founded Mama Farm to grow heirloom seeds, here on Long Island. A conversation with the film's director Michela Maria and producer Taylor Taglianetti will follow the screening.
Open to the public. SBU community encouraged to attend.
Humanities 1006, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794.

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April 11, 2025
5 – 6:30 PM

Annalisa Macchia and Luigi Fontanella, "John Ciardi’s Fables in Verse: The Reason for the Pelican (Il perché del pellicano)"
Please join us for an evening dedicated to the Italian translation of John Ciardi’s The Reason for the Pelican, Il perché del pellicano, translated by Annalisa Macchia and with an introduction by Luigi Fontanella.
Open to the public. SBU community encouraged to attend.
E-4340 Melville Library, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3358.

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