Physics: The Standard Model

A cura del gruppo 5 4A Scienze Applicate (Luca Dello Russo, Claudio Gaudino e Ernesto Iiriti)

Gli alunni Luca Dello Russo, Claudio Gaudino e Ernesto Iiriti, grazie alle loro conoscenze in campo fisico, informatico e grafico, hanno realizzato, in gruppo, una presentazione interattiva e multimediale in 3D che illustra il Modello Standard. Esso descrive la materia (Part 1: Fermions) e le interazioni presenti nell'Universo (Part 2: Bosons). Il progetto, la cui realizzazione ha richiesto diverse ricerche e progettazione grafica ed informatica, ha contribuito a migliorare le conoscenze in campo scientifico ed inoltre ha dato l'opportunità a noi ragazzi di lavorare in gruppo in modo produttivo, efficiente e collaborativo.

Intervista immaginaria ad una appassionata lettrice di Jane Austen

L’alunna Dorotea Serrelli di 4ASA ha studiato Jane Austen dalla quale è rimasta particolarmente affascinata. Dopo la lettura di alcuni suoi romanzi, ha immaginato e realizzato con grande fantasia, una intervista ad una appassionata lettrice della scrittrice inglese. L’alunna ha posto delle domande che la incuriosivano particolarmente sulle tematiche trattate nei romanzi di Jane Austen  e soprattutto immaginando il messaggio che la scrittrice   avrebbe dato ai giovani ,in momento  così difficile per l’umanità, a causa della emergenza sanitaria del coronavirus.

           

An Imaginary Interview with a passionate reader  of Jane Austen.

Dorotea : Hello Catherine, how are you?

CATHERINE: Hi Dorotea. I’m fine!

Dorotea: Today I have  phoned you because I wanted to ask you some questions about Jane Austen and her novels.

CATHERINE: Oh, I’m very happy to answer your questions. I love novels written by Jane Austen.

Dorotea: Ok. How did your passion for Jane Austen and her novels begin?

CATHERINE: Well, this passion broke out when with my family  I saw the film “Pride and Prejudice”(1940), with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, based on Jane Austen’s novel  which was brilliant.

So, some days later, I saw the novel “Pride and Prejudice” in a bookshop and I bought it.

Dorotea: what makes Jane Austen an immortal and modern writer according to you?

CATHERINE: In my opinion, Jane Austen is one of the most important novelists who really “created a world” through literature because she talks about daily life and rural world as a reflection of the entire society of the time, using an absolutely unscrupulous irony and politely unconventional heroines, who conquer us with their autonomy, moral values, courage and determination.

In her novels, Jane Austen treats a true literary microcosm populated by lively and rounded characters, in which everyone, in every place and every time, can  recognize.

These themes are conveyed by a perfect and poetic writing. For this reason, I think we have to read Jane Austen’s novels very carefully because a moment of inattention can neglect an important phrase and, consequently, the message that author wants to communicate isn’t fully understood.

Dorotea: I agree with you, Catherine. What are the characteristics of emotional and family relationships in Jane Austen’s time?

Then,  we can find  these relationships  contained especially in the novel “Emma”, can they  still be considered current, especially today during the pandemic caused by Coronavirus, according to you?

CATHERINE: Wow, it’s a great question!

The first aspect to underline about society in Jane Austen’s time is the sociality.

Jane Austen lived in an age and in a society where, conversation, meetings, walks in company, visits to friends and neighbors were the most important part of daily life.

The transfers from one part of the town to the other took place naturally in carriage and the most sensational events were the dances and the parties.

Jane Austen, in fact, in her novel “Emma” (my favourite novel!) describes with majestry the importance of dances and parties, which, we could say, are the great social protagonists of Austen’s literature.

During these social events, people made new friends, had fun until late at night, and the young women had the opportunity to find a husband.

For example, Emma meets Harriet, her new friend, during a party, organized by her father’s friends; then, during a Christmas dinner organized by Mr and Mrs Weston, Emma matchmakes Harriet and the clergyman Mr Elton, in order to find a rich and good husband for Harriet, who is poor. This plan, however, fails.

In a society where female freedom was limited to the point that a woman wasn’t allowed to walk alone or to write a letter to a man who wasn’t a relative or boyfriend, the dances were an extraordinary opportunities to make herself known and, then, to get married.

The pandemic and the consequent lockdown situation has  forced us to change in a drastic and sudden way, thoughts, emotions, relationship life in the sentimental, social and work contest.

Behaviours that were customary have  become dangerous, must be avoided and the risk of being infected or infecting is deadly.

In this situation, interpersonal relationships have also changed.

The great effort that we have been making is to move from a relational way characterized by physical proximity to one in which this is prohibited or risky.

I realize that a relevant part of the relationship with a person is expressed with the body and its language.

Today, instead, we have to connect to others in a virtual way.

The screens of our computers or smartphones can give us a lot in terms of contact, but we can  connect us with each other only through sight and hearing, excluding the other senses.

They are a resource but, at the same time, a limitation. 

Dorotea: I totally agree with you, Catherine. What is the antidote that Jane Austen, accordind to you, could give us in this difficult situation?

CATHERINE: In my opinion, the antidote that Jane Austen could give us through her novels in this situation is solidarity between men and the emotional bond present in the members of a family.

I hope that family and emotional relationships can rely on that sincerity, which characterizes the relationships described by Jane Austen in her novels.

Dorotea: Yes, I hope so! It was a pleasure to talk to you. See you soon Catherine.

CATHERINE: Bye Bye Dorotea.

Realized by Dorotea Serrelli

Class: 4°A SA

Comparison: Mary Shelley & Jane Austen

by Luca Dello Russo

Il video mette in evidenza le analogie e le differenze tra due scrittrici della letteratura inglese del XVIII - XIX sec. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) e Jane Austen (1775 - 1817). La Austen ha affrontato tematiche prettamente femminili, legate al suo tempo con una certa ironia, evidenziando la sottomissione delle donne che accettavano il matrimonio pur di assicurarsi uno status sociale ed una stabilità economica e Mary Shelley, il cui capolavoro “Frankenstein o Il moderno Prometeo” (“Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus”) prese vita a seguito di una conversazione sul galvanismo e sulla possibilità di far rivivere un cadavere attraverso gli esperimenti del filosofo naturale e poeta Erasmus Darwin che si diceva avesse dato vita ad un morto. Due grandi donne che, nonostante la mentalità fortemente maschilista di quel periodo, sono diventate immortali attraverso le loro opere.