Dr Manuela Elisa B. Giolfo
Biography
is Lecturer in Arabic - University of Exeter, College of Social Sciences and International Studies, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies - Exeter, Devon - England, UK. She graduated in Philosophy (philosophy of language, linguistics and logic) in Milan and then continued her studies in Italy, at the University of Turin - Faculty of Middle Eastern Languages - where she attended the four-year Arabic Language course and passed all Arabic language exams with distinction. She also studied Arabic in Syria, where she stayed during the three-year period 1988-1990, during which she attended the annual course of specialisation in Arabic Language at the Syrian Institute for the Teaching of Arabic as a Foreign Language in Damascus, and the annual course of specialisation in Arabic Language, Arabic Literature, and Syrian colloquial at the Institut Francais d'Etudes Arabes de Damas (IFEAD). In Damascus she also deepened the study of Aramaic and Syriac (started at the University of Turin) under the guidance of the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church. In France, she was awarded an MPhil in Arabic Linguistics ( Diplôme d'Études Approfondies - DEA 'Mondes africain, arabe et turc') at the Ecole Doctorale de l'Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille I) - Maison Méditerranéenne des Science de l'Homme, Institut de Recherches et d'Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman - Aix-en-Provence – and a PhD in Arabic Linguistics from the same University with a dissertation on ʾin-Conditional Systems in Classical Arabic. A Study in Syntax and Semantics: A Modal Hypothesis ('Les systèmes hypothétiques en ’in de l’arabe classique, étude syntaxique et sémantique: une hypothèse modale'). She also studied classical music (singing and piano) at the Civic School of Music in Milan, and in Damascus she studied Arab classical and traditional music under the guidance of Syrian musicians. She is the author of the Arab music collection by Red Editions (Como, Italy) and the artistic and musical director of the quintet Ensemble Takht Chām for the preservation of the repertoire of classical Arab music.
In 1991 she founded in Milan the private school 'Arabica' for the teaching of the Arabic language, for which she received the patronage of the Municipality of Milan (Committee for Culture and Education) and the courses were hosted by the Civic School of Foreign Languages of the Council of Milan. In the period 1991-2007 she was director of the courses and personally taught Classical and Modern Arabic at the first, second and third level, and at the first and second level of specialisation in Arabic. She also taught Syrian Arabic. She signed an international agreement between the institute and the Yemeni Centre for Arabic Studies in Sanaa (Yemen), obtaining that the best students were offered two full scholarships for studying in the Yemeni capital. In addition to the direction of (and the teaching at) her private school, she pursued academic activities and research activities as follows. From 1996 to 1999 she worked as a researcher in the area of Arab and Islamic studies for the Institute for International Politics Studies (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale - ISPI) in Milan. She worked as an intercultural facilitator for the Department of Education of the Council of Milan, for which she also gave a series of seminars. She was responsible for the Middle Eastern Area at the Center for International Studies (Centro Studi Problemi Internazionali – CESPI) of the same city, for which she conducted research on the Middle Eastern area, for which she was a member of the Scientific Committee. In the school years 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2001-02 she taught English language and literature (in Arabic) at the High School of the Libyan Consulate in Milan. In the academic years 2002-03 and 2003-04 she was given a two-year contract as professor of Arabic at the University of Urbino (Italy), Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Degree in Oriental Languages and Civilisations. At the University of Urbino, she taught Classical and Modern Arabic, as well as she was responsible for the launch of the degree programme in Oriental Languages and Civilizations, she was responsible for the Arabic language provision, coordinator of the Arabic Language teaching team, and convener of the annual Visiting Speaker Seminar Series. She was member of the Foreign Languages Teaching Committee of the University of Urbino, and member of the Admissions Committee. During the academic year 2003-04 she obtained and signed an international agreement between the University of Urbino and the University Mohammed V of Rabat, and one between the University of Urbino and the Yemeni Centre for Arabic Studies in Sanaa. In the school year 2003-04 she was Arabic tutor at the Civic School of Oriental Languages (ISIAO) of Milan City Council. In the academic year 2004-05 she was given an annual contract as professor of Arabic language, and of specialised Arabic language, at the University of Turin (Italy), Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Degree in Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa. At the University of Turin, she taught grammar of the Arabic language and Arabic linguistics, and specialised translation Arabic-Italian. She was coordinator of the Arabic Teaching team. In the same academic year she was also given an annual contract as professor of Arabic at the University of Bergamo (Italy), Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Degree in Intercultural Communication. At the University of Bergamo she taught Modern Arabic grammar and Syrian Arabic. In the two years 2004-05 and 2005-06 she was also given a contract as Arabic instructor at the Police School in Milan for a two-year course jointly organised by the Local Police in Milan and the Local Public Administration of the Region of Lombardy (IREF – Milan). In the academic year 2005-06 she was given a contract as professor of Arabic at the University of Turin, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Degree in Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa as well as a contract as professor of Arabic Language for the Master Degree at the same university, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Department of Oriental Studies. She taught Classical Arabic grammar and Arabic linguistics, and specialised translation Arabic-Italian. She was coordinator of the Arabic Teaching team. In the academic year 2006-07 she was given a contract as professor of Arabic Language (Classical Arabic grammar and Arabic linguistics) and a contract as professor of Arabic literature (pre-Islamic, classical, and modern Arabic poetry) at the University of Turin, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Degree in Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa. She was coordinator of the Arabic Teaching team. In the same academic year 2006-07 she was also given a contract as professor of Arabic literature (pre-Islamic, classical, and modern Arabic poetry) at the University of Enna (Sicily). In the first half of the academic year 2007-08 she was given a contract as professor of Arabic language (Classical Arabic grammar and Arabic linguistics) at the University of Enna (Sicily). She was coordinator of the Arabic Teaching team. Before moving to the University of Exeter on 01.01.2008, she also worked - through lectures and seminars - with the two branches of the University of Milan, Faculty of Political Sciences and Faculty of Anthropology, and the University of Pavia. She also collaborated with lectures and seminars on Classical Arabic grammar and Arabic linguistics at the Institute for the Middle and Far East (ISMEO) in Milan, and she ran an annual course of Modern Standard Arabic and Syrian Arabic at the General Consulate of Israel in Milan, addressed to the General Consul of Israel. In France she held a seminar for the Arab language Master Degree in Linguistics at the Ecole Doctorale de l'Université de Provence (Aix-Marseille I) - Maison Méditerranéenne des Science de l'Homme - Institut de Recherches et d'Etudes sur le Monde Arabe et Musulman - Aix-en-Provence in October 2004. In Italy she participated in several conferences and held numerous talks, seminars and presentations on issues concerning the Arab-Islamic world, including 'The aesthetics of Islamic art', for the Faculty of Languages and Literatures at the University of Urbino (June 2000), 'Daughters of the Mediterranean: the status of women in the Arab-Islamic countries through the eyes of Fatema Mernissi and Assia Djebar', for the Department for Education and Culture in Pistoia (November 2002), 'The Woman in the Quran and Islamic society: text and interpretation' for the series 'Muslim women' of Teatro Stabile Torino (March 2002). In October 2004 she participated along with Predrag Matvejevic, Gad Lerner, Toni Maraini, Gianpaolo Calchi Novati and Franco Fabbri in the forum on the Mediterranean culture, held at Piccolo Teatro in Milan. She was artistic director for a concert of classical Arab music held at Teatro alla Scala for the Milan-Music festival (Milan, 1999), and of the concert ‘Melodies and rhythms of traditional music in the Middle East' organised by the Department of Languages, Literature and Culture, University of Bergamo University of Bergamo, 2005, with the participation of 'Ensemble Takht Chām for the preservation of the repertoire of classical Arab music. She participated in the XI International Congress of Hamito-Semitic Linguistics (University of Bergamo 5 to 8 June 2003) with a presentation on Aramaic (Hadar) epigraphy under the section of Aramaic studies. She participated in the 'XII International Congress of Hamito-Semitic Linguistics (University of Ragusa 6 to 9 June 2005) with an intervention on the conditional structures of Classical Arabic. She is a member of the editorial board of Kervan, International journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies of the Universities of Turin and Enna www.kervan.unito.it. She has worked as a consultant for the Arab-Islamic region for several publishers including Mondadori, Longanesi and Guanda. She also collaborated with and published in several weekly and monthly Italian magazines and with Italian newspapers, including Il Sole 24 Ore, Il Resto del Carlino, La Nazione, Il Mattino and La Stampa. She participated in several radio and TV broadcasts on both the Italian and the Swiss network.
In November 2007, she applied for a post as Lecturer in Arabic at the University of Exeter, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, and she was recruited with a permanent contract from the 1st of January 2008. At the IAIS she has been supervisor of BA and MA dissertations, and is currently supervisor of PhD theses in Arabic linguistics. For the University of Exeter (IAIS) she has taught the following modules, at BA and MA level:
A.Y. 2007-08: 1) Arabic Grammar (Language module, first year BA, second semester); 2) Reading and Translation (Language module, first year BA, second semester); 3) Readings in Modern Arabic (Language module, second and third year BA, second semester); 4) Composition in Arabic (Language module, third year BA, second semester); 5) Specialised Translation from Arabic to English (MA, second semester); 6) Specialised Translation from English to Arabic (MA, second semester)
A.Y. 2008-09: 1) Arabic grammar and linguitics (Language module, first year BA, annual); 2) Arabic grammar and linguitics (Language module, second year BA, annual); 3) Arabic grammar and linguitics (Language module, third year BA, annual; 4) Themes in Modern Arabic Poetry (Literature module, second and third year BA, first semester); 5) Themes in the Arabic Short Story (Literature module, second and third year BA, second semester)
A.Y. 2009-10: 1) Arabic grammar and linguitics (Language module, second year BA, annual); 2) A History of the Arabic Language (Linguistics module, second year BA, first semester); 3) Arabic sociolinguistics (Linguistics module, third year BA, second semester)
In the academic year 2008-09 she also held and coordinated a weekly seminar of colloquial Arabic and organised a short series of seminars on Arabic diglossia and sociolinguistics, presenting itself a paper on 'Language and Society in the Contemporary Arab World' for the IAIS Visiting Speaker Seminars Series 2008-2009. In the academic year 2009-10 she was the convener and coordinator of the entire annual cycle of weekly conferences of the Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies (IAIS Visiting Speaker Series Seminars 2009-10) and organised a series of conferences from October 2009 to June 2010 which hosted thirty-five international experts specialised on the Middle East. In the same year she was shortlisted among the “10-best tutors of the University of Exeter”. Starting from 2010-11 she has been Admissions Tutor at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, and has taught A History of the Arabic Language, Arabic Sociolinguistics, and Reading and Translation. At the University of Exeter she has developed and designed five modules: Reading Quranic Arabic (BA), Reading Quranic Arabic II (BA), A History of the Arabic Language (BA), History of Arabic Language II (BA), and Language, Identity and Ideology in the Arabic Speaking World (MA). In the next academic year 2011-12 she will be teaching three modules on Arabic linguistics (‘A History of the Arabic Language’ for the second year BA, ‘History of Arabic Language II’ for the third year BA, and ‘Language, Identity and Ideology in the Arabic Speaking World’ for the MA) and three Arabic language modules (‘Reading Quranic Arabic’ for the second year BA, ‘Reading Quranic Arabic II’ for the third year BA, and ‘Reading and Translation’ for the first year BA). At the University of Exeter she has attended the ‘Learning and Teaching in Higher Education’ course, the ‘Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice’ course, and the ‘Doctoral Supervision’ course.
She presented a paper on ‘yaqum vs qāma in the Conditional Context: A Relativistic Interpretation of the Frontier between the Prefixed and the Suffixed Conjugations of the Arabic Language’ at the International conference ‘The foundations of Arab linguistics - Sibawayhi and the earliest Arabic grammatical theory’, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 3rd-4th September 2010. On 2nd March 2011 she participated in the IAIS seminars series with a paper on Contemporary Arabic Diglossia and the Teaching of Arabic as a Foreign Language. She was invited by the University of Edinburgh and on 21st March presented a paper on ‘Diglossia and Variability in Arabic: Theoretical Approaches and Practical Implications’ for the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES) Seminar Series, Faculty of Literatures, Languages and Cultures. She has organised a panel on Arabic linguistics, under the title ‘Arab and Arabic Linguistics: Traditional and New Theoretical Approaches to Arabic’, for the ‘14th Italian Meeting of Afro-Asiatic Linguistics’ Torino 15-18 June 2011 http://www.afroasiatic.unito.it/panels.html, which includes the participation of eight Arabic linguists, namely Aziza Boucherit (Université Paris Descartes), Michael G. Carter (University of Sidney), Joseph Dichy (Université Lumière, Lyon), Lutz E. Carter (University of Sidney), Joseph Dichy (Université Lumière, Lyon), E. Lutz Edzard (University of Oslo), Pierre Larcher (Université de Provence, Aix-en-Provence), Jan Retsö (University of Gothenburg), Janet CE Watson and Alex Bellem (University of Salford), besides her own participation with a paper on 'A modal interpretation of the Arabic apocopate: morpho-syntax and semantics'. She is currently working on three new articles: an article on Individualism, Holism and Self-Conscience in the Arab-Muslim Society, which she submitted to the Journal of Arab and Islamic Studies and which was accepted in principle, subject to some alterations; an article on in-Conditional Systems and the Verbal System of Classical Arabic: Hypotheses for a Syntactic-Semantic Interpretation, for Kervan - International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies - no. 13, 2011; and an article on ‘Diglossia and Variability in Arabic: Theoretical Approaches and Practical Implications’, co-authored by herself and one of her PhD students in Arabic linguistics. She is a member of the Editorial Board and of the Scientific Committee of the International Journal for Arab Studies, University of Exeter - http://www.ijasjournal.com. She has acted as a referee for British journals and publishers, and as external examiner for British universities.
Language Skills:
Fluency: Modern Arabic, Syrian Arabic, Italian, English, French
Excellent: Quranic Arabic, Classical Arabic
Working knowledge: Aramaic, Syriac, Latin, German, Spanish
Among her publications are the following papers and books:
25) “yaqum vs q…ma in the Conditional Context: A Relativistic Interpretation of the Frontier between the Prefixed and the Suffixed Conjugations of the Arabic language”, in: A. Marogy (ed.), The Foundations of Arab Linguistics, S–bawayhi and the Earliest Arabic Grammatical Theory, Brill, Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics SSL Series, Leiden (forthcoming).
24) “ƒin šarý ÿaw…b al-šarý nella tradizione grammaticale araba e nelle grammatiche europee dell’arabo classico: note per un’interpretazione del sistema verbale della lingua araba”, Kervan - Rivista internazionale di studii afroasiatici - Università di Torino e di Enna, n. 12, July 2010, www.kervan.unito.it - www.kervan.unikore.it (forthcoming).
23) “I sistemi condizionali in ƒin dell’arabo classico: ƒin yafʿal vs ƒin faʿala, un’ipotesi modale”, in Atti del XII Incontro Italiano di Linguistica Camito-semitica (Afroasiatica) - Università di Ragusa - 6-9 giugno 2005, a cura di M. Moriggi, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli (Catanzaro) 2007.
22) “La particella m… nel sistema della negazione verbale in arabo classico: un’interpretazione sincronica” in Loquentes Linguis. Studi linguistici e orientali in onore di Fabrizio A. Pennacchietti, a cura di P.G. Borbone, A. Mengozzi e M. Tosco, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2006.
21) “ƒin yaqum vs ƒin qāma: un’ipotesi modale”, Kervan - Rivista internazionale di studii afroasiatici - Università di Torino e di Enna, n. 3, Gennaio 2006, www.kervan.unito.it - www.kervan.unikore.it.
20) “L’individu existe-t-il dans la société arabo-musulmane? Parcours individuels et insertion sociétale: une lecture critique de N. Elias, Die Gesellschaft der Individuen, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1987”, Kervan - Rivista internazionale di studii afroasiatici - Università di Torino e di Enna, n. 3, Gennaio 2006, www.kervan.unito.it - www.kervan.unikore.it.
19) “Le strutture condizionali dell’arabo classico nella tradizione grammaticale araba e nella tradizione grammaticale europea”, Kervan - Rivista internazionale di studii afroasiatici - Università di Torino e di Enna, n. 2, Luglio 2005, www.kervan.unito.it - www.kervan.unikore.it.
18) “Pierre Larcher, Le système verbal de l’arabe classique, Publications de l’Université de Provence, Collection Didactilangue, Aix-en-Provence 2003” (recensione), Kervan - Rivista internazionale di studii afroasiatici - Università di Torino e di Enna, n. 2, Luglio 2005, www.kervan.unito.it - www.kervan.unikore.it.
17) “Giacomo E. Carretto, Falce di luna - Islam, Roma, Alto Lazio ed altre cose ancora, Società Tarquiniense d’Arte e Storia, Tarquinia 2004” (recensione), Kervan - Rivista internazionale di studii afroasiatici - Università di Torino e di Enna, n. 2, Luglio 2005, www.kervan.unito.it - www.kervan.unikore.it.
16) “L’iscrizione aramaica n. 24 di Hatra: benedizione e maledizione” in Studi afroasiatici. XI Incontro Italiano di Linguistica Camitosemitica – Università degli Studi di Bergamo, 5-7 giugno 2003, Franco Angeli, Milano 2005.
15) “Egitto: società e famiglia”, in La Scuola nei Paesi d’origine dei bambini e dei ragazzi immigrati in Italia, Centro Studi Problemi Internazionali CESPI - Comune di Milano, Mursia, Milano 2003.
14) “Tunisia: società e famiglia”, in La Scuola nei Paesi d’origine dei bambini e dei ragazzi immigrati in Italia, Centro Studi Problemi Internazionali CESPI - Comune di Milano, Mursia, Milano 2003.
13) “Marocco: società e famiglia”, in La Scuola nei Paesi d’origine dei bambini e dei ragazzi immigrati in Italia, Centro Studi Problemi Internazionali CESPI - Comune di Milano, Mursia, Milano 2003.
12) “Egizianità, arabicità, islamicità,: quale appartenenza identitaria?”, in Tradizione e modernizzazione in Egitto 1798-1998, a cura di P. Branca, Franco Angeli, Milano 2000.
11) Attraverso il velo: la donna nel Corano e nella società islamica, Edizioni Ananke, Torino 1999.
10) “La tradizione musicale araba”, in Percorsi di musica d’oggi: scena e ricerca, Milano Musica-Teatro alla Scala, 1999.
9) “Ummah: identità etnica o identità religiosa?”, in Identità e appartenenza in Medio Oriente, a cura di M. Petriccioli e A. Tonini, Atti del convegno della Società per gli Studi sul Medio Oriente SeSaMO - Università di Firenze - 2-4 Ottobre 1997, Università degli Studi di Firenze – Dipartimento di Studi sullo Stato – Società per gli Studi sul Medio Oriente SesaMO, Firenze 1998.
8) Suoni del deserto: la musica nel mondo arabo, Edizioni Ananke, Torino 1998.
7) L’identità arabo-islamica: pan-arabismo e pan-islamismo, ISPI (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale) - Ricerche e Rassegne – Milano 1997.
6) Glossario arabo-italiano per: Silvana La Spina, L’amante del paradiso, Mondadori, Milano 1997.
5) “La geopolitica interna della Siria: il potere ‘alawita e l’opposizione tradizionale”, Quaderni Asiatici, Centro di cultura Italia-Asia ‘Guglielmo Scalise’, n. 38, Milano 1996.
4) “La violenza non fa parte dell'Islām”, in Islām Oggi 1994/9 supplemento al n. 145 di Asia News - Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere - Milano.
3) Jaafar Sheikh Idris, I Pilastri della Fede, traduzione a cura di Manuela Giolfo, I.C.I., Milano 1993.
2) “Mulāḥaẓāt ʿalā al-kitāba al-ƒārāmiyya (24) min kitābāt al-ḥaḍar fī al-ʿirāq: qirāƒa ÿadīda”, Dirāsāt Tārīḫiyya - Revue Scientifique Trimestrielle, Université de Damas, Damasco (Siria) 1990 / 3-4 (in Arabic).
1) Otto Kirchheimer, “Struttura dello Stato e diritto nel Terzo Reich”, in E. Agazzi (a cura di), Materiali per la Scuola di Francoforte: H. Marcuse, F. Neumann, O. Kirchheimer, Unicopli, Milano 1980, pp. 317-355, tit. or. Staatgefüge und Recht des Dritten Reich, Paris 1935, traduzione dal tedesco di Manuela Giolfo.
