IULM In Rock

On April 16, in Sala dei 146 (IULM 6), from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., IULM University together with Società italiana per lo studio della Storia contemporanea (SISSCO) will present a conference entitled IN ROCK pt. 1. From London to the World. A historical look at rock music between society, culture, professions and transnational imaginaries. This is the first of two appointments (the second, dedicated to American Rock, will be held in Rome in 2027) in which historians, musicologists, art historians, philosophers, economists, sociologists and political scientists will reason around the cultural, social, economic and political impact that rock music had during the long 1970s, paying particular attention to its transnational dimension. Music's ability to cross borders, contaminate experiences, cross-fertilize patterns, and break social and generational barriers produced an unprecedented mixture with singular effects of what Roland Robertson calls "glocalization."

"In Rock" as a 1970 album on whose iconic cover the faces of Deep Purple musicians replaced those of U.S. presidents carved on Mount Rushmore. The symposium will follow the history of the so-called British Invasion and postcolonial and Cold War London as a cultural epicenter starting with the breakup of the Beatles to intersect with the vicissitudes of famous groups such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Genesis, Queen but also the Canterbury School, psychedelia, and then on to the season of Punk and stopping at the gates of the 1980s with its new media and cultural phenomena. The external impact of this music on countries such as Italy, Germany or the United States will be discussed.the speakers - Ferdinando Fasce, Mauro Moretti, Luca Cerchiari, Stefano Lombardi Vallauri, Marco De Nicolò, Erika Notti, Massimo De Giuseppe, Donatello Aramini, Giovanni Mario Ceci, Emanuele Felice, Emilio Mazza, Paolo Giovannetti and Tommaso Casini - will be accompanied by a special testimony from one of Italy's most important rock musicians: Alberto Fortis, who will recount his symbolic journey between Milan and Abbey Road.

Folowing (opened by greetings from Rector Valentina Garavaglia) will be a panel discussion entitled "Side Effects: rock's professions, between art and cultural events" in which Martha Friel, Thomas Berloffa, Elisabetta Modena, Riccardo Caccia, Silvia Garzarella, Alberto Mingardi and Gianni Sibilla will talk about a series of events that have sprung up around Rock, from the concert industry to graphic design, from the relationship with dance, cinema or contemporary art to music journalism. The day will close with a speech by Claudio Trotta, one of Italy’s leading promoters of live events, who will explore the extent to which popular music remains accessible today.

Download here the poster with the conference program