DiSUIT Research

Research in the field of Didactics and Special Education encompasses the methodological, instrumental and contextual issues specific to Instructional Design – that is, the sciences of teaching – throughout the lifespan and in every context of life. Research projects focus on the methods and tools to be used in the design and delivery of training experiences in educational and workplace settings, including the use of technology and media.

A further line of research in this sector focuses on disability and Special Educational Needs emerging during the developmental period. The projects develop reflections and educational proposals regarding integration and inclusion in schools and society.

Head: Stefano Bonometti

The research focuses primarily on the link between aesthetics and the poetic-rhetorical tradition, and on the aesthetics of the landscape. 

Coordinator: Rita Messori

Research in the field of Theoretical Philosophy focuses primarily on the nature of reason, its various applications across different fields of human knowledge, and the relationship between them, with particular attention to the relationship between philosophy and the natural sciences.

Several research projects are currently underway, in collaboration with the InCosmiCon research centre at the University of Insubria and with researchers from other universities, both Italian and foreign, in particular the UCSS in Lima and the Catholic University of America in Washington. These projects address a number of major contemporary issues, which we always seek to place within a broader perspective in order to understand them more deeply. The most important themes are:

• intercultural dialogue, with a particular focus on that between Western culture and the cultures of the Amazonian peoples;
• the search for life in space and its philosophical implications;
• science fiction as a tool for better understanding the perception of science in our time;
• the economic and political crisis of Western societies, understood as the ultimate outcome of the crisis of reason in modernity.

Coordinator: Paolo Musso

Ecological research focuses primarily on the study of the ‘home’, understood as the habitat in which animal and plant organisms develop and interact in natural settings. Ecology also addresses the study of potential natural effects or those caused/accelerated by humans on natural environments. The characterisation of ecosystems is therefore carried out whilst taking into account human pressure and impacts, as humans are the primary agent acting directly – and sometimes against – the normal development of natural environments.

Ecological studies may, for example, aim to characterise environmental contamination (in relation to legacy contaminants – legacy contaminants DDT, PCBs – and emerging contaminants – PFAS, microplastics, alkylphenols, nonylphenols) in all environments, including aquatic (both freshwater and saltwater/brackish water), terrestrial and atmospheric; ecological tools enable a deeper understanding of the trophic relationships between different organisms within ecosystems, thereby providing a better understanding of the transfer of matter and energy, as well as any substances that may pose a risk to the organisms themselves.

Within the ecological field, studies are also conducted on biodiversity management to ensure the effectiveness of conservation and environmental sustainability activities, with a particular focus on comparing different contexts (at national and international levels), using an assessment approach that takes into account various impact factors (such as chemical risk, climate change or natural disasters, to name a few).

Coordinator: Roberta Bettinetti, with Ginevra Boldrocchi

Research in the field of structural geology aims to investigate the relationships between tectonics, magmatism and volcanism. Research in this area is carried out mainly in regions of active or extinct volcanism. In the former case, the eruptive mechanisms and products of recent eruptions are investigated. In the latter case, the focus is on the geometric reconstruction of the magma supply system of extinct volcanic systems. 
Over the last two years, traditional surveying techniques have been supplemented by methodologies based on the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), otherwise known as drones, and photogrammetric techniques capable of utilising thousands of aerial images to reconstruct volcanic environments, which can be explored in virtual reality for both educational and scientific outreach purposes. 
The research area described here is complemented by communication and mitigation of geological and environmental risks and emergencies, as well as research in the field of museology applied to the geological sciences. 

Head: Federico Pasquaré Mariotto

Research in the history of law focuses in particular on the Roman world, with special attention to Late Antiquity, both in terms of the exegesis of legal, epigraphic and literary sources, and with regard to the relationship between law and territory, particularly in relation to agricultural institutions and water distribution. It often extends to the borders of the Roman-Barbarian kingdoms (Visigoths and Vandals).

Another area of study concerns the classical period, in which, in addition to agricultural and contractual institutions, it explores the themes of individual jurists, particularly those who lived during the late Republican period.

At the same time, the research addresses issues of positive law, particularly those linked to gender stereotypes, equal opportunities, and the world of information and communication technology (privacy, cyberbullying, the right to be forgotten, etc.).

Of particular importance is the dissemination of knowledge across the region, especially in relation to childhood and adolescence. For example, through the CIM and CED projects, it is possible to monitor and publish the research findings of various working groups across the region.

Head: Paola Biavaschi

From a socio-legal perspective, this research examines the relationship between national and European law, focusing in particular on the role of supranational courts and litigation before the EU courts. It focuses on the relationship between legislative law and private law, particularly on issues of self-regulation in the field of commercial communication, and the boundaries between information and advertising. It also explores the impact and effectiveness of new regulations on combating greenwashing, particularly with regard to advertising.

Coordinator: Maria Cristina Reale

Research in the field of regional economics focuses on issues relating to sustainable tourism and soft mobility, with a particular emphasis on cycle tourism and modal integration with local public transport. Within these areas, the research examines aspects concerning competitive dynamics between tourist destinations, models of differentiation in accommodation provision, and coordination mechanisms between public and private operators from an economic and industrial organisation perspective. Current projects primarily concern the study of infrastructure investment strategies in cycle networks and the impact of regional policies on the competitiveness of peripheral tourist areas, including with a view to combating overtourism. A second line of research addresses the issue of corporate social responsibility from a strategic perspective, analysing how environmental and social sustainability practices can constitute factors of competitive differentiation in local markets. In this context, particular attention is paid to the relationships between businesses, local communities and institutions, as well as to models of participatory governance that promote local economic development and social cohesion in inland and peri-urban areas.

Head: Daniele Crotti

Research in the field of organisational studies focuses on issues relating to public administration organisations, with a particular emphasis on local government, and hybrid organisations operating within the non-profit sector and the social and solidarity economy. In particular, aspects relating to governance models within these organisations – both at the intra-organisational level and at the level of inter-organisational systems – are studied, as are issues of innovation from a socio-technical perspective. Projects currently underway in this area mainly concern the study of organisational models for public administrations and cooperative enterprises in the context of digital transformation and the information-intensive society.

Head: Walter Castelnovo

• Research areas in Historical Linguistics

  Research focuses on comparative linguistics, Indo-European studies (in particular the linguistic history of Greek and Latin), Restsprachen (in particular issues relating to Etruscan and Minoan), the relationship between spoken languages and forms of writing as secondary codes, and linguistic typology.

  Head: Giulio Facchetti

   

• Research areas in Synchronic Linguistics and Language Teaching

  Research focuses on educational linguistics, sexist language use, acquisition and teaching of Italian as L1/L2, reading and writing, sentence-level teaching, and language policies.

  Head: Paolo Nitti

The research focuses primarily on the development of Italian literature over the last few centuries, prioritising, in order:

• for the 18th century: the issue of models and communicative practices in popular literature, with particular attention to periodicals (from *Il Caffè* to *Il Conciliatore*); the historical-critical contextualisation of secondary figures who are nonetheless significant for various reasons;
• for the 19th century: the works of Tommaseo and Manzoni in the European context and philological research;
• for the 20th century: the work of d’Annunzio in the European context and philological and digital research; new trends in contemporary poetry, including dialectal poetry; literature and the sacred; the work of Morselli, with particular attention to his library.

Coordinator: Elena Valentina Maiolini, with Gioele Cristofari

The research focuses on first-person narratives, the relationship between literature and photography, French-language literature from the Maghreb, and representations of masculinity in 20th-century French and Francophone literature.

Coordinator: Fabio Libasci

Research is conducted from both a synchronic and a diachronic perspective in the field of applied (sociolinguistics). 
From a synchronic perspective, research focuses on Translation Studies, specialised English (scientific, medical and journalistic discourse), Critical Genre Analysis and Critical Discourse Studies applied to ethically sensitive topics and texts, corpus linguistics, translation technologies and Speech and Language Processing.

Diachronically, particular emphasis is placed, through historical-philological and applied approaches, on the examination of the discursive and semiotic dynamics typical of the creation and lexicalisation of specialist terminology in scientific, theological, legal and literary texts, and on the study of translation practice. With the aim of studying the codification of the English language and Anglo-Italian linguistic, literary and cultural relations over the centuries, research focuses in particular on specialist lexicography and monolingual and bilingual grammatical studies.

The application of Digital Humanities to linguistic research and the ecdotics of texts from various periods and genres constitutes a new line of research currently being developed in collaboration with specialists from other universities in Italy and other European countries.

Principal investigators: Alessandra Vicentini and Daniel Russo

The research focuses primarily on the history of Spanish and Latin American lexicography, with particular attention to documentary sources and the processes of terminology development in technical and specialist fields.

Head: Mario Salvatore Corveddu

Research in the field of Classical Studies focuses on the various forms of communication – literary and otherwise – in Greek and Roman culture, extending into what is known as Late Antiquity; drawing on the guidelines identified by B. Gentili (Poesia e pubblico in Grecia antica, Rome-Bari 1984, vii), which are also extended to prose works, the focus will be on “the decisive role of the recipient and, in relation to this, [...] the theoretical premises and the various formal, symbolic and pragmatic processes of poetic creation; hence the constant focus on the role of memory [...], on the poet’s relationship with the patron and the audience, and, finally, on the position of the intellectual within the social and economic constraints of the time”. Particular attention will therefore be paid to the author-patron-recipient relationship and to the evolution of the channels of composition, publication and transmission from orality to the full establishment of writing and the book as a means of communication.

In this context, the study of 5th-century BC theatrical texts will play a significant role, forming part of specific collaborative activities with international bodies such as the research project KomFrag  (Kommentierung der Fragmente der griechischen Komödie) run by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and the Centre for Classical Theatre Studies.

Project leader: Francesco Paolo Bianchi

Research activities focus on the field of Big Data and models based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. In particular, they cover the following areas:

- Big Data and AI models for applications in Smart Cities;

- Big Data and AI models for the evolution of knowledge;

- Big Data and AI models for software quality assessment;

- Big Data and AI models for complex self-healing IT systems.

Head: Davide Tosi

The Chemistry of Cultural Heritage focuses on the development of analytical procedures for the characterisation of artefacts of historical and artistic interest, as well as the design of innovative methods for restoration. 
In the first area, research aims to identify the raw materials and techniques used by artists, to define the phenomena and products of natural and anthropogenic degradation, and to design optimal conservation conditions. Of particular relevance at present is the development of non-invasive and portable investigative methods for the study of fragile or non-transportable works. 
Research in the field of restoration concerns the development of analytical protocols for monitoring and verifying the effectiveness and harmfulness of cleaning methods, in particular innovative biorestoration, i.e. the use of suitably selected living cells.

Head: Laura Rampazzi

• Research areas in political theory

  Research in the field of political theory is conducted through the study of political symbolism, the collective imagination, the processes of legitimising power, and political systems within the cultural context of modern and post-modern Western civilisation. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of phenomena typical of globalisation and to the classics of political and philosophical thought, both in relation to the safeguarding of individual rights and the exercise of sovereignty, and with regard to new technologies and the power relations they convey.

  Head: Paolo Bellini

• Research areas within the historical field

  This research area belongs to a specific branch of Political Philosophy: political symbolism. The symbolic is a dimension universally present in all social structures and dynamics: naturally, it is present in politics too, and perhaps in a more immediate and evident form than in other spheres. My specific interests relate, in particular, to the French Revolutionary period and the Jacobin experience above all; indeed, the use by the most radical revolutionary political faction of a rich array of symbols materialises in a direct relationship with the people and takes the form of an embryonic attempt to guide their decisions, primarily through imagery. 

  Head: Luca Daris

• Research areas in philosophy, symbolism and politics

  Research into philosophy and political symbolism falls within the field of studies known as ‘political symbolism’. The symbolic approach focuses on the study of those languages of political philosophy that can be traced not only to the logical-rational dimension, but above all to that liminal dimension in which symbolic, mythological or utopian narratives contribute to the foundation of a people’s political identity. In particular, this allows us to address some of the key concepts upon which Western civilisation is founded, which can only be understood by analysing their origins, which very often have their roots in Greek culture, where both myth and logos formed the foundations of the polis, as well as of the political institutions and philosophical-political theories that arose within it.

  Coordinator: Erasmo Silvio Storace

The research focuses on European and North American political thought of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular reference to radical, pacifist movements and thinkers who were strongly critical of the established order.

More specifically, a first line of research concerns the ideas developed between the 1930s and 1950s by a group of European and American authors (including Andrea Caffi, Nicola Chiaromonte and Dwight Macdonald) on socialism, totalitarianism, political violence and the just society.

A second line of research concerns, more generally, the ideas circulating in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century on the problem of war and possible paths to peace (from Gandhian non-violence to federalist Europeanism).

A third line of research concerns the critique of revolutionary violence and of violence as a vehicle for the improvement of civilisation in general. This line of research includes

1. a critique of ‘humanitarian’ wars (or wars for democracy, security, etc.);
2. a critique of theories of violent revolution (for example, that of Frantz Fanon);
3. an analysis of the dynamics inherent in the prolonged practice of political violence.

Coordinator: Alberto Castelli

The research focuses primarily on the following themes: the methodological debate between individualists and holists, the history of interpretative sociology and recent developments in this approach (Boudon, Hedström and analytical sociology), extended rationality and the limits of the utilitarian concept of action, the micro-macro link and the problem of the unintended consequences of individual choices, the social world as a complex system, and the relationship between nomological-deductive models of explanation and social mechanisms.

Coordinator: Francesco Di Iorio

The main areas of scientific research concern

• the anthropology of art and, in particular, the art of the body, masks and masquerade, and miniaturisation;
• the art of Insulindia and Oceania and, in particular, Lao and Lü art and architecture, traditional Balinese art and architecture, and the art of the Sepik (field research regions);
• photography of the exotic and, in particular, the Yokohama School (1860–1910);
• Primitivism in twentieth-century art, and in particular the analysis of non-Western, Eastern, folk, psychiatric, and childhood sources, etc., in the writings and works of artists.

Coordinator: Francesco Paolo Campione

• Research areas in European History

  Research focuses on topics relating to European history within the context of global relations in the 20th and 21st centuries. In particular, historical research aims to reconstruct, through rigorous archival work and the recovery of sources and testimonies, the role of local authorities within the process of European integration, interpreted as a dynamic process involving not only states but also various other key players: movements, associations, local authorities, businesses and trade unions.

  Current projects involve research groups based at various Italian universities: Genoa, Pavia, Siena, Turin, Rome 3, Catania and, of course, Insubria. The groups are coordinated by the University Association for European Studies (AUSE) and funded by the European Union through the Jean Monnet Projects.

  This innovative approach opens up new avenues of research to interpret both current political developments in the various Member States and the attitudes of European citizens towards the challenges facing the European Union, which may yet evolve into a federation or lose its appeal.

  Coordinator: Fabio Zucca

• Research areas on the 19th and 20th centuries

  The research focuses on reconstructing the factual events of the 19th and 20th centuries and interpreting them according to a causal criterion, which encompasses a complex web of interlinked contributing factors, updated to reflect communication phenomena typical of an advanced mass media age.

  The primary areas of research are the elements of transformation, within Euro-Atlantic societies, of political, economic, cultural, value-based and widespread mentalities, from a world characterised by a mixture of persistent elements of the Ancien Régime, and the gradual emergence of social categories and socio-economic theories that refer to the link between wealth and political-social relevance, to a universalistic and secular perspective, parallel to the technical-economic phenomenon of mondialisation and subsequent globalisation.

  Particular attention is paid to the emergence of global geopolitical ‘disorder’, which – having begun in Europe in the second half of the 19th century – eventually spread, save for the long interlude of the Cold War, to affect the situation across the entire planet.

  Head: Giorgio La Rosa

• Research areas: the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia

  The research involves oral history and a multidisciplinary methodology that takes into account history, economics, religious and cultural aspects, with a focus on minorities and gender issues.

  Head: Farian Seyed Sabahi

The research focuses on European intellectual and social history from the 15th to the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on the study of classical liberal and libertarian thought. Another area of interest is the history of Jewish-Christian relations and religious history, with a particular focus on the Enlightenment period. Research also aims to investigate the presence and evolution of the idea of empire in the modern era, with particular reference to the Byzantine Empire. The history of the United States from its origins to the present day, and global history, are also subjects of study.

Coordinator: Paolo Luca Bernardini, with Elisa Bianco

Archaeological research follows two main scientific strands, aimed at integrating the historical study of the ancient world with modern approaches to the promotion and communication of cultural heritage. The first strand of research focuses on the analysis of the populations of pre-Roman Italy, with particular attention to the geographical and cultural contexts of Etruria, Campania and Sardinia. The second line of research examines the ways in which the scientific discipline interacts with contemporary society, focusing on the accessibility of cultural heritage and the involvement of local communities in its promotion and conservation.

Head: Mattia Maturo

Research in the field of archival science combines more traditional themes – focusing on the creation, management and preservation of documentary collections, with particular attention to the relationships between the creators of the records and the connections between the documents themselves – with an exploration of multi-typological archives relating to the individual, contemporary society, culture and creativity, with a special focus on non-traditional modes of representation. Other research areas focus on the digitisation of documentary cultural heritage, the digital transition of the public administration based on electronic documents, and the historical archives of local authorities.

Head: Dimitri Libero Brunetti

The focus of this research is a history of science (biology in particular) that might be described as ‘activist’, given the historian’s ambition to engage in dialogue with today’s scientists. 
In particular, it focuses on the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods, on the emergence of the printed “scientific” image, and on the role played by the Paris Museum of Natural History as an incubator for the transition to modern science: issues, therefore, that open up a fruitful exchange with the present. 
He is also interested in the 1960s and 1970s, investigating in particular the friendship between two well-known molecular biologists and issues of  theoretical biology; but also at formulations of plant physiology in Russia between the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to which plants might be better situated in scientific communication, emphasising their unique relationship with the cosmos. Starting precisely from the arrival of solar energy on planet Earth (and assuming analogous processes on exoplanets), work is currently underway to draft an interstellar message for “intelligent beings”, a project carried out within an international group and under the auspices of the “InCosmiCon” Centre.

Project Leader: Alberto Vianelli

Researchers in this area are engaged in both individual and collaborative projects, working with colleagues from the University as well as from Italian and international institutions and universities, with a preference for an interdisciplinary approach across the various fields of study. At present, research projects focus on two main lines of inquiry:

1. the activity of the artists from the Lombard-Swiss lake regions (5th–20th centuries). The term refers to a specific historiographical category of specialised craftsmen originating from the valley and subalpine areas between Lakes Como, Maggiore, and Lugano. These were structured groups of highly skilled artisans working in the fields of construction, sculpture, and painting, organised on a dynastic and guild basis. They operated from the Early Middle Ages through to the contemporary period, progressively extending their sphere of activity from Italy to Europe and eventually to overseas contexts;
2. the establishment, in 2019, of the Research Centre for the History of Contemporary Art (CRiSAC) has strengthened the University’s connection with contemporary art in the Varese area and its province, a relationship that dates back to its foundation in 1999. The Centre’s primary focus is the study, enhancement, and promotion of the work of the most significant local artists active in the second half of the twentieth century. Its activities are supported by the organisation of exhibitions, accompanied by the publication of scholarly catalogues, held in the institutional, governance, and representational spaces of the Rectorate, as well as at the Morselli Pavilion, a hub of student activity and a venue primarily dedicated to photographic exhibitions.

Coordinators: Andrea Spiriti, with Laura Facchin, Massimiliano Ferrario and Saverio Lomartire

A significant strand concerns the geography of urban marginalities, analysed as spaces of inequality but also of social and cultural innovation. Particular emphasis is also placed on gender geography, especially in the study of toponymy and processes of re-territorialisation by non-hegemonic subjectivities. Further importance is given to participatory and creative methodologies which, through projects for and with local areas, promote the co-production of knowledge among local communities, schools, and associations.

Coordinator: Valeria Pecorelli

The Department’s research activities are supported by projects funded through competitive national and international calls, as well as by associations, agencies, foundations, and national private organisations.

The University’s institutional research repository, where information on scientific output is collected, preserved, and documented for dissemination purposes, is:

• «Annali DiSUIT» 2019–2021; «Annali DiSUIT» 2021–2023; «Annali DiSUIT» 2023–2025