Research Research UnitsABC-Lab

ABC-Lab (Aesthetics for Biological Conservation. Aesthetics and Environmental Humanities interdepartmental laboratory for Biological Conservation)

 

ABC-Lab is an interdepartmental research unit, composed by members affiliated with the Departments of Lettere e Filosofia (DILEF – Philosophy and Literature), Biologia (BIO - Biology), Architettura (DIDA - Architecture), Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali (DAGRI – Sciences and Technologies for Agriculture, Nutrition, Environment and Forestry), and Lingue, Intercultura, Letterature e Psicologia (FORLILPSI - Education, Languages, Interculture, Literatures, and Psychology).

 

The establishment of the research unit addresses the need for an interdisciplinary space of research and discussion within the framework of the so-called “Environmental Humanities”, focusing on humanistic approaches to environmental issues, conservation biology, and sustainability in the broadest sense.

 

"ABC-Lab - Aesthetics for Biological Conservation. Interdepartmental Laboratory of Aesthetics and Environmental Humanities for Biological Conservation"  arises from the intention to create a dynamic space for work, research, and discussion on the themes of “Environmental Humanities” for biological conservation within the Università di Firenze. In particular, ABC-Lab highlights the specific contribution of aesthetics – and, more generally, philosophy, literature, design sciences, and the arts – in close collaboration with natural and environmental sciences for a more in-depth discussion and management of the ecological crisis.

 

The establishment of the ABC-Lab research unit aims to:

 

• Provide a formal framework and both a virtual and physical platform of share work on the “Environmental Humanities” research lines (original and new for the Italian panorama) with a focus on the humanistic approach to ecological crisis, environmental sustainability, and biodiversity protection, in close collaboration with biological and environmental sciences.
• Attract national and international scholars interested in “Environmental Humanities”, with specific attention to the aesthetic approach to the ecological issue but with openness to perspectives from philosophy in general (environmental philosophy; philosophy of biology), from both Italian and foreign literature (eco-criticism, eco-poetics, animal studies) as well as from arts, museum sciences, communication, design and eco-sustainable design, landscape ecology, as well as biological and environmental sciences.
• Promote interdisciplinary training and interdepartmental collaboration between humanities and social sciences and biological and environmental sciences within our university.
• Promote and coordinate conferences and scientific outreach initiatives, coordinate the drafting of common publications and the preparation and presentation of shared research projects, with attention to national and European funding and in close synergy with the Research Offices of our university.

 

The expected duration for the research unit is three years.

 

Coordinator

Mariagrazia Portera

 

Members

Luca Degl’Innocenti (DILEF)

Fabrizio Desideri (DILEF)

Andrea Mecacci (DILEF)

Mariagrazia Portera (coordinator and spokesperson for DILEF)

Vincenzo Zingaro (DILEF)

Federico Cappa (BIO)

Andrea Coppi (BIO)

Leonardo Dapporto (spokesperson for BIO)

Bruno Foggi (BIO)

Giulia Simbula, research fellow (BIO)

Elena Tricarico (BIO)

Elia van Tongeren, research fellow (BIO)

Francesco Cantini, PhD student (DIDA)

Eleonora D’Ascenzi, PhD student (DIDA)

Irene Fiesoli (DIDA)

Anna Lambertini (DIDA)

Giuseppe Lotti (spokesperson for DIDA)

Marco Marseglia (DIDA)

Tessa Matteini (DIDA)

Marco Fioravanti (spokesperson for DAGRI)

Luisa Ghelardini (DAGRI)

Martina Pollastrini (DAGRI)

Cosimo di Bari (FORLILPSI)

Diego Salvadori (FORLILPSI)

Nicola Turi (spokesperson for FORLILPSI)

 

External members (non-UNIFI)

Simona Bonelli, Associate Professor of, Zoology, Università degli Studi di Torino;

Alessandro Cini, Senior Researcher in Zoology (Università di Pisa)

Elena Casetta, Tenure-track Assistant Professor (RTDb in Theoretical Philosophy (Università di Torino)

Gianluca Gemmani, PhD in Theoretical Philosophy, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele di Milano

Serenella Iovino, Full Professor in Environmental Humanities (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Francesco Valagussa, Full Professor in Theoretical Philosophy (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele di Milano)