Author: Dr Paul Hare, SCILT
During the month of November, SCILT hosted two bilingual events that allowed audiences, including students from schools and universities, to listen to notable guests speaking in French and Italian, and to ask them questions.
On the evening of 4 November 2019, in an event organised in partnership with the Scottish Oral History Centre, a large audience at The Ramshorn had the privilege of listening to Madame Jacqueline Munro Lafon in conversation with SCILT Director Fhiona Mackay and Cédric Moreau of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde. Born in 1921, Jacqueline moved seamlessly between French and English as she enthralled those present with first-hand accounts of her childhood between the wars in the Latin Quarter of Paris, of her years as an activist while studying journalism at university and of the Nazi Occupation and subsequent Liberation of the city by Allied forces. Equally fascinating were Jacqueline’s memories of working with and repatriating recently freed prisoners in Germany in 1945, and of her move to England later that same year with her new husband, a Glasgow-born major in the British Army.
You can watch the full interview on our YouTube channel. It will be of particular interest to students of Advanced Higher French.
On 28 November 2019, meanwhile, the distinguished Italian journalist, broadcaster and filmmaker Caterina Borelli was in The Ramshorn to present ‘The house he built’. The film is a tribute to her 97-year-old father, Sergio Borelli, a journalist, intellectual and pioneer of television news. It takes viewers on a remarkable journey through a labyrinth of books, photographs and memorabilia from a long career that saw him cover major events across the world. Following the screening of the film, Professor David Murphy of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde led a fascinating conversation with Caterina, who provided further insights, in both English and Italian, into her father’s life, their extraordinary family home and the making of the film.
For advance information on future events at SCILT, keep an eye on our weekly bulletin.
