Research areas
The Aesthetics, Music and Entertainment area
The teachers in this area cooperate constantly both in teaching (three-year degree in DAMS, class L3; master’s degree in Musicology and Performing Arts, interclass LM 45-LM 65) and in the organisation of research programs, which the presence of computer engineers for multimedia audiovisual design has enriched. With a strong presence in the local area, thanks to international cooperation programs and collaborations with institutions such as the Massimo Foundation, the section also has access to a vital specialist library and teaching facilities in the field of musicology, as well as a Multimedia University Laboratory (LUM ‘Michele Mancini’) coordinated explicitly with the teaching and research activities of the degree programs in the sector.
The area of Languages, Foreign Literature, Linguistics and Islamic Studies
All members are involved in the Department’s most popular degree courses and are responsible for numerous international mobility programs (Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, Erasmus Extra-EU, double degrees with the University of Lorraine, the University of Sophia Antipolis and the University of Karlsruhe). In addition to the internationalisation of teaching, the section is involved in international research programs with individual and group participation in competitive European and national projects. The research areas are application of methodologies tested in the light of new technologies, reception of different cultures, periodicals and press, literary tradition and contemporary issues, innovative studies related to language teaching, and translation studies. The Department is actively involved in numerous Third Mission activities, with many of its members participating in presentations and roundtables at the most critical events in the area, offering language courses for teachers and other projects of public interest.
The area of Philosophical and Historical Sciences
Teachers deliver courses within the Department, and other departments offer some courses. In terms of research areas, the section stands out for its focus on in-depth study of diverse topics ranging from historiography to historical methodology, geographical and environmental sciences, epistemology, logic, linguistic and theoretical analysis, and the history of philosophical ideas. In addition to the internationalisation of teaching and research pursued through Erasmus projects, visiting professorships at prestigious international universities, CORI projects (incoming and outgoing) and collaborations with European research institutes of higher education, the section stands out for the presence of lecturers on the scientific or editorial boards (in some cases also in the management) of top-tier journals. Finally, there are essential activities related to the organisation of international conferences and festivals and to the Third Mission, with significant repercussions on the local area and social fabric, guaranteed, among other things, by the commitment to studying the history of the mafia.
The area of Italian and Latin Studies: Philology, Literature and Linguistics
All sectors are also represented in the Doctorate in Literary, Philological-Linguistic and Historical-Cultural Studies, of which the Department is the administrative headquarters, and which benefits from national and international collaborations. Although they have different specificities, the sectors are distinguished by their cooperation with the local area, where they carry out significant scientific dissemination and third mission activities. There are numerous agreements with institutions (publishing houses, libraries, schools) and projects and activities involving the local area. Of note is the activity of the Italian Language School for Foreigners (Itastra), which responds to social emergencies in the region by organising literacy courses for unaccompanied foreign minors and working in synergy with the Municipality of Palermo, the CPIA (Provincial Centres for Adult Education) and schools. All sectors have members who, as leaders or participants, are involved in university (FFR) or national (Prin) research or European projects (Fei). The section’s internationalisation activities focus on activating double degrees, integrated study programs and Erasmus exchanges