47TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

The 47th meeting organized by the I.S.E.O Institute focused on a current issue of the contemporary world: the crossover of different cultures. The keynote speaker of the lecture was Professor André Aciman. The presentation was  moderated by Professor Pietro Gibellini from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and by Massimo Tedeschi,  editor in chief of Corriere della Sera.

Professor Aciman is an American writer and scholar whose texts have appeared in several prestigious publications, such as The New Yorker, The New York Times and The New Republic. Aciman is the author of the award-winning memoir Out of Egypt, which is a depiction of his childhood, portraying a young boy growing up as a Jew in post-colonial Egypt. Furthermore, Aciman has made career as a scholar. He has previously taught at Princeton University and Bard College, and today is a distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York.

During his lecture Professor Aciman discussed multiculturality and the concepts of home and belonging. To illustrate his points, he referred much to his past experiences. Aciman was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Jewish family with Turkish origins. However, they soon had to move to Italy due to prevailing conditions in Egypt. Aciman commented that moving from place to place and acquainting many different cultures has made him feel more or less “homeless” during his life. He is African by birth and has lived most of his life in the United States but he still considers himself profoundly European. However, he noted that that perhaps home isn’t a place but rather the traffic between places.

If you want to gain more info on the meeting, you can also check the photogallery with pictures taken during the conference.