Professor Graziano Presents at SUNY's International Conference on the Mediterranean

On November 12th-14th, Professor Manlio Graziano participated in an international conference on the Mediterranean region hosted by the State University of New York (Stony Brook University). His paper, entitled " 'Mare Nostrum' in a Multipolar World: Geopolitical Analysis of a Superfluity of Claims", provided a geopolitical approach to the Mediterranean region's diversity and commonalities. Other participants included international Mediterranean Studies scholars from universities in the United States (Princeton, Columbia, UCSB, San Diego State), France, Italy, and others, along with writers, government officials, and UN Ambassadors.

The objective of the conference was to exchange ideas and pursue a reflection on the importance of recognizing the identity of the Mediterranean basin as a region with an original culture beyond the fragmented cultures that compose it: "The Mediterranean is the cradle of civilizations with a unique history of having given birth to all the Western cultures, to three world-wide religions, and to opening pathways to the Orient. An organic and autonomous Mediterranean identity may not exist as such today; but in the collective imagination of the people of the world and especially in the last two centuries with migrations from the Mediterranean area settling throughout the entire world, there exists a "popolo mediterraneo." Globalization has made evident the importance of preserving culture and the development of a consciousness that especially constitutes a matchless resource for the nations of the Mediterranean, and which the new Europe cannot do without." (Stony Brook University's conference website)

In December, Professor Graziano also headed a seminar on Geopolitics of Religions at Department of Political Science of the Universiy of Turin in Italy. The seminar included a general introduction to the geopolitics of religions and a special course on Islam, as well as a roundtable with other professors, organized by the PIero Calamandrei Center in Turin.

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