In the framework of the research project PRIN 2017 (2020- 23) Transatlantic Transfers: the Italia presence in post-war America 1949/1972, developed in collaboration with Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Università del Piemonte Orientale and Università di Scienze Gastronomiche Pollenzo, the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies of Politecnico di Milano (DAStU)
organizes a conference aimed at investigating the paths of the construction of national identity and the characteristics of the transfer between Italy and the United States, by observing them from a transactional and transdisciplinary perspective,
and with a specific focus on the design disciplines, ranging from architecture, to interiors, urban planning, fashion, and industrial design, in their different scales, facets, and fields of application.
In line with the tasks of the research project and with the activities underway at the Politecnico di Milano, the conference aims to collect compelling contributions and stimulate a debate to expand knowledge on the consistency and role of Italian interiors, design, fashion, architecture, and urban planning in the specialized and popular culture that developed in the United States after WWII.
The conference aims to outline the implicated phenomena in their complexity as well as to enrich the ongoing collection of the vectors of the transatlantic exchange, the main venues and opportunities, the actors involved, and the role played by some institutions such as the MoMA or the American Academy. This information will contribute to the ongoing construction of the Atlas of Italian Modern Transatlantic Transfer, an interactive digital atlas (https://transatlantictransfers.polimi. it/it/atlas/) in which the vectors of the transatlantic exchange are identified and illustrated through consultable texts, images, and documents. All the vectors can be correlated, according to predefined modes or through specific search criteria defined by users. At the same time, the atlas constitutes one of the main processes and products of the research project and serves as a shared tool of knowledge, made available to the entire national and international scientific community.
Interested parties are invited to submit an extended abstract of 500 words by 15 November, 2021, which combines a synthetic text of presentation of the topic of interest with a series of keywords, understood as significant vectors of the transatlantic transfer. More information can be found in the full call for papers.