Philosophy Department  is happy to be hosting Dr. Silvia Moscatelli for a lecture on February 5, 2025.  This event is cosponsored by University of Kentucky's Gaines Center for the Humanities, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences Departments of Psychology, Sociology, & Modern Classical Languages, Literature and Cultures. 

Silvia is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Bologna.  Her main interests concern: gender differences in the workplace; collective action for gender equality; sexualization and sexual abuse; the role of morality in interpersonal and intergroup relations; linguistic discrimination; psychosocial factors involved in medically assisted procreation. 

Silvia's talk is titled "A modern “witch hunt”? Predictors of attitudes toward #metoo in Italy (and the US)"

Abstract: #MeToo is the most significant global effort to end widespread sexual harassment and abuse. It has made historic contributions to achieving the Fifth UN Sustainable Development Goal aimed at eliminating “all forms of violence against women.” Yet in some countries, including Italy, #MeToo (and its local counterpart #QuellaVoltaChe) have made little impact. Rather than being perceived as a movement in support of all survivors of sexual abuse, it has been publicly depicted, in inverted fashion, as a campaign against powerful men. Silvia will discuss the principal manifestations of this reception of #MeToo in Italy. She will share the studies that she and her team at the University of Bologna conducted to understand key factors that negatively impact Italian society’s receptivity to #MeToo and what can be done to change them. Finally, she will discuss how #MeToo, despite this negative reception, nevertheless contributed to cultural and legal changes in Italy.