Transnationalising cultures

Prof Derek Duncan was one of the lead researchers on the large AHRC-funded project ‘Transnationalizing Modern Languages: Mobility Identity and Translation in Modern Italian Cultures’ which used Italy as a case study to investigate the effects of global mobility on language and cultural identity.

Working at the intersection of Modern Languages and the Creative Humanities, he devised a series of initiatives exploring how art expresses complex questions of cultural transformation. His collaboration with art teachers, pupils, and adult learners at Drummond and Castlebrae Community High Schools, Edinburgh led to a series of exhibitions held in St Andrews and Edinburgh as well as in Italy.

The artwork produced (ceramics, textiles, print) as part of the ongoing Art in Translation project featured in Beyond Borders, the final project exhibitions in Rome and London. This work sat alongside that of professional artists such as Mario Badagliacca and Luci Callipari-Marcuzzo with whom Derek is now collaborating on ‘Loose Ends,’ a two-year Leverhulme-funded project on Italian emigration.

The intersection of language and creative practice informed PhD student, Jacopo Colombini’s collaboration with the refugee group ‘Lampedusa in Hamburg’ leading to the creation of a bilingual map commemorating the group’s time in Hamburg. The map was distributed by the city tourist office to be used for walking tours for visitors and local residents.

As part of the AHRC-funded follow-on project with the University of Namibia, RA Ann Robertson interviewed pupils at Van Rhyn Primary School in Windhoek asking about living in a multilingual society. Their responses clearly showed the creativity involved in moving across different languages. Inspired by her experience working in Namibia, Julie Philip, Head of Expressive Arts at Castlebrae, devised ‘Conker’, a multi-media portfolio of activities for Nat 5 students of ‘Creative Industries,’ bringing the lessons learned in multilingual Namibia back into the classroom.