CONFERENCE CALL FOR PAPERS
ASSASSINATIONS, MURDERS AND MYSTERIES IN MODERN ITALY
London, 21-22 November 2003

This conference will seek to analyse a series of assassinations and murder cases that have in one way or another represented turning points in Italian public life. The intention is to explore the cases in terms of their genesis, conjuncture and consequences. Particular attention will be paid to representations in the press and other media – in other words to the way in which these cases were turned into scandals, narratives, or defining moments. A high proportion of the cases that will be examined were surrounded in mystery or were never completely resolved. Hence they remained `live’ in public opinion for many years, becoming in some cases permanent fixtures of public or political discourse. The terms `assassination’ and `murder’ will be defined broadly to include failed assassination attempts and suicides (where these were motivated by public reasons or where these were defined by some as murder). The conference will also be concerned with the imaginative dimension of such cases and more generally with the place or murder and assassination in Italian culture.

Proposals are welcome on any of the above or other violent non-accidental deaths or on related themes.

Proposals to reach Stephen Gundle preferably by 15 May 2003.