Paper short abstract:

The Ransom project is a transmedia, multidisciplinary research about kidnapping and mediation. Every kidnapping is a story, with ever recurring characters. My aim is to track the changes in this process through centuries, using the tools of oral history, semiotics, folklore studies and film making.

Paper long abstract:

I am working on a multidisciplinary and transmedia project focused on kidnapping and mediation through the centuries. Starting from the current debate on Public History, I will produce both a written, canonical dissertation and also an audiovisual project, likely a documentary or a series of short films.

Kidnapping is a human practice that somehow predates human history, since it is present in several mythological narratives from all over the world. With his recurring characters, the process of kidnapping have a built-in narrativity that can be examined with the tools of comparative literature, folklore studies and semiotics.

My aim is to highlight the continuities and changes in this practice, dating back from the XVI century to the present day, in order to investigate two set of things: to track the changes in the process of kidnapping, mediation and release of hostages in the Mediterranean; but also trying to work on the audiovisual telling of the longue durèe, while most of public history products are more focused on contemporary history.

Working in a multidisciplinary environment, I will use tools coming from different disciplines: semiotics, anthropology, folklore studies, media studies. Mediation works in an ever-changing legal framework so I have to research also in that direction.

High importance willl be given to filmed interviews with surviving victims of kidnap, with relatives who had to seek for mediation and with real life mediators. We will create a dialogue between living people and historical figures who experienced the same process in different times.