Post by University College Dublin

🇮🇪🇮🇹 University College Dublin (UCD) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) joined forces to celebrate Ireland's pioneering role in Italian Studies as the first country in the world to establish university chairs in modern European languages. Together, the universities hosted more than 300 international scholars for the biennial conference of the Society for Italian Studies. At the gathering, UCD showcased its rich tradition in language education since the founding of the University. One of UCD’s best-known graduates, James Joyce, the author of Ulysses, graduated from the University in 1902 with a degree in modern languages, including Italian, a language that would leave a lasting imprint on his literary life and work. During his studies at Newman House, Joyce engaged with Italian literature and philosophy, including the ideas of Giordano Bruno, a 16th-century philosopher, whose themes of transformation and interconnectedness would later influence his writing. “Today at UCD, the institution where James Joyce in 1902 graduated in modern languages (including Italian), we celebrate this mutual enrichment between cultures,” said UCD President Professor Orla Feely. “Openness to the outside world and mutual dialogue is what makes cultures vibrant. At a time when international collaboration, multilingualism and cultural understanding are increasingly central to Ireland’s economic and diplomatic future, this conference highlights the enduring role universities play in connecting Ireland to Europe and the wider world.” The history of Italian Studies at Trinity College Dublin began in 1776 when the university appointed professors in French, German, Spanish and Italian, becoming the first university in the world to introduce the study of modern continental languages. “Italian has a deeply rooted tradition at Trinity, with many important milestones like the presence of Samuel Beckett who graduated in Italian and French in 1927,” said Professor Carmel O’Sullivan, Dean of the TCD Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and speaking for the university’s Provost. “The establishment of these chairs tells us something important: that the case for studying other languages and cultures at the highest level is not a recent or fragile idea. It is, in this country, two hundred and fifty years old. The Provost behind that decision, Trinity’s John Hely Hutchinson, believed that a university education worthy of the name had to equip graduates not merely with knowledge of their own tradition, but with genuine access to others.” Professor Ruth Glynn, Chair of the Society for Italian Studies, added that the conference highlights the enduring value of cultural exchange and international collaboration. “Italian is traditionally a language, and a culture, that brings people together. The spirit of partnership that has made this conference possible is here to demonstrate it.”