no. 1 - July 2003

Contents
Editorial. Keeping in touch
Institutional. Waseda University, Tokyo
Institutional. Call for books and publications
Activities. Undergraduate Programs Fall 2003 and Spring 2004
Activities. Master in Economics and Finance 2003-2004
Activities. Seminar on Literature and Culture in the Ancient Mediterranean, February 2004
Activities. Radar, a European Art Project

Editorial. Keeping in touch
The main aim of this e-newsletter is to create a network of friends of VIU which will be constantly informed about the activities of our consortium: academic and research programs, institutional and student life, any other relevant initiative promoted by us.

We would, however, also like VIU UPDATES to gradually become an instrument through which all member universities make known initiatives and events of general interest, regarding their institutional life and activities, including publications of their Professors and research groups. We hope the partners (institutions and individuals) will collaborate in sending all relevant information, appreciating the opportunity of forging stronger bounds between our academic and scientific communities.

Apart from these more institutional matters, the challenge is also to make VIU UPDATES become the place where friends and former students and professors will give information about themselves, raise issues and discuss any question they want to share: from opinions about the present situation in international relations to ideas about the activities of the consortium, from an analysis of present trends in the Economy to a discussion of publications on the fields of interest of VIU (Humanities, Social Sciences, Multiculturality, Environment, Economics and Finance, E-Learning and Information and Communication Technologies applied to small enterprises). Texts of any length or simple web links, that you want to be known and eventually discussed are welcome.

From our part, now and then we shall include news and links to documentation about Italy and Venice for those of you who are interested in this part of the world.

Institutional. Waseda University, Tokyo
The most relevant institutional news is the affiliation to VIU of Waseda University in January 2003. Waseda is one of the most prestigious Japanese Universities. It is a private corporation. It was founded in 1882 by Shigenobu Okuma (1838-1922), a liberal who championed Parliamentary Democracy, founder of the Rikken Kaishinto (Constitutional Reform Party), Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Japan. He headed the Government which entered First World War on the side of the Entente.

Waseda's mission was summarized by Okuma by saying that "the ideal which should be the foundation of university education in this advancing world, is harmony between Eastern and Western civilizations". "In order to realize this ideal, we should create original research and contribute to global learning and knowledge (independence of learning), apply knowledge, thus improving and advancing the age we live in (the practical application of knowledge), and educate talented human resources who will play active roles throughout the world (create good citizenship)".

The University campus is located at Waseda in the outskirts of Tokyo and includes the famous Japanese gardens of Okuma's residency. In April 2002 there were 44,576 Undergraduate students : 8,484 in Letters, Arts and Sciences, 7,606 in Science and Engineering, 5,862 in Law, 5,578 in Political Science and Economics, 5,596 in Commerce, 3,634 in Social Sciences, 2,610 in Human Sciences. There were 6,147 graduate students (4,657 in the Master and 1,490 in the Doctoral Programs) in the fields of Science and Engineering (2,056; 325), Asia-Pacific Studies (585; 92), Letters, Arts and Sciences (409; 395), Law (356; 123), Global Information and Telecommunication Studies (263; 51), Education (189; 143), Human Sciences (179; 101), Education (189; 143), Commerce (158; 62), Social Sciences (125; 95), Political Science (111; 57), Japanese Applied Linguistics (103; 51).

The Academic Year, unlike in the West, spans from April to February (A.Y. 2003 First Semester, teaching begins April 14th and ends July 31st; Second Semester September 29th - February 5th).

Waseda has developed many International programs and activities, signing agreements with 253 universities from 70 different countries (2002 data). Japanese students will participate in the VIU Undergraduate Program already in Fall 2003, while Professors will most probably start taking part from Spring 2004.

Prof. Katsuhiko Shirai (Waseda's President) and Prof. Katsuichi Uchida (Waseda's representative in the VIU Academic Council) were warmly welcomed by Ambassador Umberto Vattani, President of VIU, Prof. Ignazio Musu, Dean, and by all the Representatives of VIU Members at the last meetings of the Administrative Board and of the Academic Council. Our President stressed the importance of Waseda's affiliation which will positively influence the development of the consortium.

Waseda's web-site, partly translated into English, is http://waseda.ac.jp/

Institutional. Call for books and publications
The aim is to increase visibility and presence of the Member Universities in the Island of S.Servolo. From this point of view, the Library in the Reading Room could also become a source of information on their activities.

PRESIDENT VATTANI AND DEAN MUSU KINDLY ASK FRIENDS OF VIU, GOVERNING BODIES, ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES, DEPARTMENTS, SCHOOLS, INDIVIDUAL PROFESSORS OF MEMBER UNIVERSITIES TO DONATE, IF POSSIBLE, ANY INTERESTING PRINTED MATERIAL (PREFERABLY IN ENGLISH, BUT OTHER LANGUAGES WILL BE ACCEPTED).

IN PARTICULAR:
1) PUBLICATIONS, PERIODICALS AND LEAFLETS REGARDING ACADEMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL LIFE AND ACTIVITIES;
2) PUBLICATIONS REGARDING THE HISTORY OF MEMBER UNIVERSITIES (ESSAYS, MEMOIRES ETC.);
3) SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS BY THE ACADEMIC STAFF (ESPECIALLY IN THE FIELDS OF INTEREST TO VIU, BUT NOT ONLY);
4) PUBLICATIONS ON AMERICAN, CATALAN (AND SPANISH), GERMAN, ITALIAN, ISRAELI AND JAPANESE CULTURE;
5) ANY OTHER MATERIAL THEY MAY THINK IS OF INTEREST TO THE CONSORTIUM.
The catalogue of the Library will be placed on-line and publications will be available to any scholar living or visiting Venice, in accordance to VIU Reading Room Regulations.
Publications should be sent to: Orla McLaughlin, Venice International University, Isola di San Servolo, 30100 Venice, Italy.

Activities. Undergraduate Programs Fall 2003 and Spring 2004
FALL 2003. Humanities

ACADEMIC CALENDAR
8-12 September: Orientation Week
11 September: Freshman's Fair
15 September: Courses begin
5 December: Courses End
8-12 December: Exam Week

COURSES
1. Italian Contemporary History
Luca Pes, Venice International University
2. Italian for Foreigners*
Massimo Brunzin and others, Venice International University
3. Introduction to Venetian Art from the 12th to the end of the 16th Century
Eva Renzulli, Venice International University
4. "That beastly Venus": Is it a naked woman or is it a goddess? American and British writers look at Titian's paintings
Rosella Mamoli Zorzi, Università Ca' Foscari
5. Word and Image: Literature and the Visual Arts
Ian Baucom, Duke University
6. Modernism and the City: London, Paris, Venice
Ian Baucom, Duke University
7. Art, Ideology and Politics in the XXth Century
Dana Arieli Horowitz, Tel Aviv University
8. Looking at Politics through the Lenses: Cinema and Photography in Totalitarian Regimes
Dana Arieli Horowitz, Tel Aviv University
9. Origin and Development of Writing Throughout the World
Gerhard Ries, Ludwig Maximiliens Universität
10. The Role of Religion for Formation and Maintenance of Human Communities
Gerhard Ries, Ludwig Maximiliens Universität
11. Early Christian Literature
Josep Montserrat-Torrents, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
12. Wisdoms of East and West
Josep Montserrat-Torrents, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
13. Institutions of the Muslim World: An Introduction
Giorgio Vercellin, Università Ca' Foscari

SPRING 2004. Social Sciences

ACADEMIC CALENDAR
February 9-13 Orientation Week
February 12 Freshman's Fair
February 16 Courses begin
May 7 Courses End
May 10-14 Exam Week

COURSES
1. Italian Contemporary History
Luca Pes, Venice International University
2. Italian for Foreigners
Massimo Brunzin, Venice International University
3. Exploring Palladio's Work
Paola Modesti, Venice International University
4. Spain in the Age of Enlightenment
Montserrat Jiménez Sureda, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
5. Tudor England
Montserrat Jiménez Sureda, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
6. The Development of Europe
Edward Tower, Duke University
7. The European Union in the Global Economy
Edward Tower, Duke University
8. International Law
Fabrizio Marrella, Università Ca' Foscari
9. Integrated Marketing and Electronic Communication
Jacob Hornik, Tel Aviv University
10. Marketing Management
Jacob Hornik, Tel Aviv University
11. Strategic Thinking
Marco Li Calzi, Università Ca' Foscari
12. Local Development Systems and Industrial Districts: Strategies and Competitiveness
Francesco Dal Sacco, Venice International University
13. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life: The Sociology of Face-to-Face Interaction
Stefan Kühl, Ludwig Maximiliens Universität
14. Sociology of Development. The Organizational Perspective
Stefan Kühl, Ludwig Maximiliens Universität

For registration details and information please contact:
Ca' Foscari students contact: Prof. Ignazio Musu, +39.041.234.9151, musu@unive.it
Ca' Foscari Erasmus students contact: Manuela Spagnol, 041.234.6964, mspagnol@unive.it
Duke students contact: Kurt Olausen, +1.919.684.2174, kolausen@asdean.duke.edu
IUAV students contact: Prof. Marco De Michelis, +39.041.257.1412, michelis@iuav.it
LMU students contact: Prof. Michael Coester, +49.89.2180.3588, m.coester@jura.uni-muenchen.de
TAU students contact: Prof. Benjamin Isaac, +972.3.640.6475, isaacb@post.tau.ac.il
UAB students contact: Prof. Carles Perellò, +34.93.581.3430, carles.perello@uab.es
Waseda students contact: Aya Toma, +81.3.3207.1454, atoma@waseda.jp
or contact
VIU office: tel +39.041.2719.511, fax +39.041.2719.510, viu@unive.it

All VIU Courses are held in English
Attendance is compulsory for full term courses
Courses are recognized for credit by Member Universities

VIU facilities include:
PC Room with 20 work stations, laser printer and scanner, internet and e-mail access for all VIU students, reading room, dining hall, residential hall, seminar rooms, lecture halls, student lounge and social spaces.

More information on the Programs can be found on the web http://www.viu.unive.it/undergra.htm

Activities. Master in Economics and Finance 2003-2004
September 2003 - June 2004

Objectives and characteristics of the Master
The Master is intended for Italian graduates with a specialized (laurea specialistica) or four-year degree or foreign students holding an equivalent university qualification.
The objective of the Master is to train students to acquire a deeper and more sophisticated knowledge of the economic analysis of markets and financial institutions.

Admission requirements
Persons wishing to be admitted to the Master must satisfy one of the following requirements:
- have a specialist degree in accordance with the new Italian university system;
- have a four-year degree in accordance with the previous Italian university system.
Qualifications obtained abroad will be assessed by the Board of Professors, which may consider them for recognition as equivalent to one of the above-mentioned degrees.
Applicants are allowed to enroll for the Master before obtaining their degree, conditional on their actually winning their qualification before the Master courses begin.
The maximum number of places available is 25.
A good proven knowledge of English and a solid background in quantitative methods (mathematical and statistical) applied to Economics are indispensable to access the course of studies.

The Master program
The Master program will be held entirely on the premises supplied for the purpose by Venice International University-ICEF (International Center of Economics and Finance) on the island of San Servolo, Venice. The training activities are divided into three terms: September-December, January-March and April-June. They involve classroom lectures, interactive teaching, exercises, seminars, practical training sessions and the preparation of a final paper. Attendance by the participants at the various educational activities in the Master program is obligatory.

First term: Topics in Microeconomics, Topics in Macroeconomics, Mathematics Econometrics
Second Term: Corporate Finance, Banking, Financial Markets, Quantitative Methods for Finance
Third Term: International Finance, Financial Institutions, Analysis and Prediction of Financial Data, Risk Management
The program will conclude with the preparation of a final paper and also with on the job training sessions lasting about three months, which may take place at VIU-ICEF or on the premises of other institutions in Italy.

Application procedures
Admission application forms may be requested directly from Venice International University-ICEF, Isola di S. Servolo, 30100 Venezia, or downloaded directly from the VIU site: icef@viu1.viu.unive.it.

Enrollment fee
The enrollment fee is 3,000.00. The fee must be paid in a single sum within 4 weeks of the beginning of the course.

Further information
Venice International University
International Center of Economics and Finance (ICEF)
Isola di San Servolo
Tel. : +39 041 2719 530
Fax : +39 041 2719 510
e-mail: icef@viu1.viu.unive.it

Sponsors
Banca Nazionale del Lavoro
Banca di Roma
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia
www.sanmarcohotels.com
Mobiliare Veneta Spa

ICEF's web-page is http://www.viu.unive.it/icef/index.htm

Activities. Seminar on Literature and Culture in the Ancient Mediterranean, February 2004
PLEASE NOTE: The 20 fellows that will participate in this Seminar have already been selected by a committee appointed by VIU.

From February 16 to February 28, 2004, Venice International University, with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia, will offer a graduate seminar on Literature and Culture in the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece, Rome and the Near East.

The program is conceived as a two year commitment over two successive years (2004 and 2005). The first session will consist of lectures with a seminar approach on the origins and development of literary genres and literacy in Ancient Greece, Rome and the Near East.
The aim of the program is firstly to investigate the relationship between the themes, motifs and structures of the texts, starting with the early examples of epic poetry and wisdom literature; secondly to examine the processes involved in their transmission and preservation in both oral and written forms. Themes common to the history of literate cultures will also be reviewed. Examples of such themes include textual tradition, the creation and organization of libraries, the classification of genres, and the relationship between literature and politics.

During the first session, the fellows will identify a research project according to their own scholarly interests. This project will be presented in the second, ten-day session of the seminar, which will be held during winter 2005.

The faculty will include the following scholars: Profs. Alessandro Barchiesi (Università di Siena - Stanford University), Peter Burian (Duke University), Ettore Cingano (Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia), Philip Hardie (Corpus Christi College, Oxford), Irad Malkin (Tel Aviv University), Piotr Michalowski (Ann Arbor University), Lucio Milano (Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia), Fritz Heiner Mutschler (Universität Dresden), Walther Sallaberger (Ludwig Maximilians Universität, München), David Sider (New York University), Richard Thomas (Harvard University).

Knowledge of at least one of the following ancient languages is expected: Greek, Latin, or one of the ancient Near Eastern languages. Lectures will be in English. A good knowledge of spoken English is a compulsory prerequisite.
The lectures will be coordinated with a series of visits to, for example, the Marciana Library, the Library of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, the Centro Studi e Ricerche Ligabue, and to the Basilica of San Marco as illustrative of the East-West intercultural connections. Other possible site visits include Ravenna and Aquileia.

Fellows and faculty will be housed on the premises of Venice International University on the island of San Servolo, and lectures will take place there. Since most rooms are doubles, a room-mate will be assigned to the fellows for the duration of the program. Lunch and dinner are served at the San Servolo dining hall.
For each of the sessions, the program will cover travel costs (apex fare), transportation in Venice, room and board for the fellows accepted into the program.
Conveners: Professor Ettore Cingano and Professor Lucio Milano, Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia

Activities. Radar, a European Art Project
PROJECT COORDINATING INSTITUTION
Venice International University - Italy
CO-ORGANIZING INSTITUTIONS
City of Venice - Italy
Weimar University - Germany
FNV - Italy
Plovdiv Municipality - Bulgaria
Council of the Borough of Lewisham - UK
Creative Lewisham Agency - UK
Malopolski Instytut Kultury - Poland
Municipality of Athens - Greece
PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
IUAV Università degli studi - Italy
Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia - Italy

THE PROJECT
RADAR is a new project involving six cities in six European countries.
The project aims at working through contemporary arts towards higher social integration within European cities closer links between such cities.
This project is born out of co-operation amongst private and public institutions in Venice, Cracow, Plovdiv, Athens, Weimar, Lewisham, one of the boroughs of Greater London. It is supported by the European Commission, Directorate General Education and Culture through a grant awarded in the context of the Culture 2000 programme. Such programme focused in 2001 on contemporary visual arts as a means of fostering higher social and European integration and of reaching the overall goals of the European Union. The program started in October 2002 and is planned to last until the end of 2004.

PROGRAMME / THE PROCESS
Radar is not a show but a process. It brings together young artists from Bulgaria, Greece, England, Italy, Poland, and Germany selected by a commission composed of representatives from prestigious institutions from each of the partner nations under the aegis of the European Union. The artists reside in Venice from March 21 until June 21, where they have an operative base at the the Faculty of Arts and Design, IUAV, in its new premises, the Magazzini Ligabue and where they attend workshops held by Olafur Eliasson, Joseph Kosuth, Rirkrit Tiravanija. Afterwards, in groups of four, they will spend another month in one of the other participating countries. The aim of Radar is to connect city, state and people in search of a European identity that respects the differences between cultures, but at the same time discovers that which they have in common. In each of the cities these young people are called on to interact with local realities.
The artists' first manifestation is the representation, through twelve large photographs, of the Venetian sojourn, highlighting their condition as temporary guests. The photos are in fact portraits taken inside the apartments of the artists where they are both integrated and foreign in relation to the urban fabric of Venice; a fabric which is easy to admire and recall, but very difficult to truly understand.
The twelve images are collectively titled Radar Living, which makes clear reference to the phenomenon of habitation. Using an English pronunciation, the title could be understood as "rather living" whose play on words means "almost living". This condition of suspension characterizes he who visits, even for long periods of time, but never quite resides. This is not only the experience of these young people but also, of the exhaustive process of hybridization, of an increasingly nomadic humanity, and of an increasingly connected Europe.
One peculiarity of Venice that the Radar artists have noted, almost paradoxical given the city's ties to its past, is its enormous amount of restorative activity. Construction sites and cranes appear before the eyes of everyone. It is at these same construction sites, on the Insula enclosures that store the tools for this restorative work, that the Radar artists will exhibit their ironic self-portraits.
Further development of these ideas is the show Radar/Connecting Europe which will be held at the Civic Centre of Giudecca. This location was chosen intentionally as it is the centre of the industrial dream of Venice which, over time, has been shattered. Now, this "island of an island", is living out a conversion: it is becoming a garden city, a cultural home, and a refuge from the invasion of tourism. In this phase many artists have worked in contact with local associations, from prisons to schools, to catch a glimpse of an urban compages that is surely history, magic and heritage, but also the site of a specific culture, where life goes on and functions like a laboratory for the future.

PHASES
The artists will work in two phases. During the first phase, they will work in Venice for a period of approximately three months. They will have a chance to enter into contact with the well known and the lesser known realities of Venice and its hinterland, with people living or working there and with the complex and often contradictory realities of this place and its context. They will be involved in events which will bring contemporary arts to those who, even in an "art sanctuary" such as Venice, have been excluded, or have felt excluded from contemporary arts discourse. They will eventually produce works of art which will be exhibited in a parallel exhibition to the Biennale of contemporary arts which will open in Venice in June 2003.
In the second phase, they will be working in smaller groups in the 5 other cities involved and undertake a similar type of work, while putting to fruition individual and collective lessons and experience gained during the first phase. Their work will be also exhibited locally.
All works of the artists will be included in one or more catalogues and disseminated.
This web-site will publicize and document the project, the issues it will highlight and bring to the fore, its results, its problems, contradictions, in short, its life.
Radar's web-page is http://www.radarlab.net/

Venice International University, Isola di San Servolo, 30100 Venice, Italy
Tel. +39.041.2719511, fax +39.041.2719510, web-page http://www.viu.unive.it

This issue of VIU UPDATES was edited by Luca Pes
Correspondence and texts should be sent to viu_updates@viu1.viu.unive.it