Books by Federico Pianzola
Nelle raccolte Storie naturali, Vizio di forma e Lilít e altri racconti, così come anche nelle st... more Nelle raccolte Storie naturali, Vizio di forma e Lilít e altri racconti, così come anche nelle storie scritte negli ultimi anni di vita, è evidente l’intento di Levi di servirsi dei miti per dare forza alle proprie narrazioni: non solo ama giocare con i miti tradizionali, ne crea anche di alternativi, facendo convergere la tradizione greco-romana, quella ebraica e la fantascienza di cui era avido lettore. Prometeo, il Golem, Lilít e il centauro: sono queste le figure che ritornano in molti racconti e che per la loro origine mitica sono la porta d'accesso ad un universo di significati antropologicamente pregnante, arricchitosi nel corso di varie elaborazioni storiche. Grazie alla densità semiotica di questi simboli Levi può presentare la propria etica in forma narrativa senza correre eccessivi rischi di semplificazione, esplorando ambiguità e dilemmi della condizione umana. È tempo di rileggere questi racconti d’invenzione. Potrebbero rivelarsi resistenti al tempo tanto quanto i protocolli di Auschwitz.
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Book chapters by Federico Pianzola
Il sistema periodico. Primo Levi chimico e scrittore, 2022
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Narrating Complexity. Edited by Susan Stepney and Richard Walsh. New York: Springer, 2018
I am here proposing a strategy of consolidation for narrative studies. Disciplines and paradigms... more I am here proposing a strategy of consolidation for narrative studies. Disciplines and paradigms have their own specificities, and approaching narrative phenomena they implicitly shape them. To make explicit such processes of selection and contextualization is an act of intellectual honesty that can be done in three simple steps: (i) adopting a systemic perspective, (ii) distinguishing between logical levels, (iii) employing the Proteus Principle in the formation of theories. Narrative is seen and used in many different ways that can be conceived as systems, i.e. considering that the properties of narrative cannot be studied in isolation but are interconnected in a network of relations where all the components are influencing each other.
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Primo Levi. Riga 38. A cura di Mario Barenghi, Marco Belpoliti e Anna Stefi. Milano: Marcos y Marcos., 2017
Vi sono racconti d'invenzione di Levi che anticipano la riflessione postumanista. Questi racconti... more Vi sono racconti d'invenzione di Levi che anticipano la riflessione postumanista. Questi racconti riguardano il rapporto con la tecnologia, l’accettazione della diversità la critica al centrismo occidentale e temi femministi. In questo contributo mi soffermo soprattuto sulla perturbante convergenza fra uomo e creature artificiali, la quale ci induce a riflettere su ciò che ci rende umani e sembra porci di fronte alla limitatezza dell’orizzonte antropocentrico.
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Biblioteche reali, biblioteche immaginarie. Tracce di libri, luoghi e letture. A cura di Anna Dolfi., 2015
Non ho pretese di esaustività nel trattare il tema delle letture di Primo Levi ma cedo sia inter... more Non ho pretese di esaustività nel trattare il tema delle letture di Primo Levi ma cedo sia interessante indicare alcune delle opere a cui l'immaginazione dell'autore si è rivolta, tracce di libri di cui non abbiamo prove certe che siano stati letti, o influenze a cui la critica ha finora dedicato poca attenzione.
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Primo Levi Actes du Colloque International de Chambéry, Université Savoie Mont Blanc 25 et 26 mars 2015. Ed. Daniela Amsallem. 95-106, 2015
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Vi sono dei racconti di finzione di Primo Levi che sorprendentemente prese... more [bozza non definitiva]
Vi sono dei racconti di finzione di Primo Levi che sorprendentemente presentano dei punti di contatto con alcune delle più innovative proposte scientifiche della seconda metà del XX secolo, cioè quelle che sono state successivamente definite “scienze della complessità”. Uno degli assunti fondamentali delle scienze della complessità è che il tutto è più della somma delle sue parti e, pertanto, non è possibile agire direttamente su una delle componenti del sistema pensando di ottenere determinati cambiamenti nella sua organizzazione globale. In un certo senso, ciò vale anche per l'etica, perché essere soggetti etici nella società contemporanea vuol dire abbracciare la complessità e riconoscere che i valori di un sistema – in questo caso un sistema sociale – non sono mai stabili, bensì c'è bisogno di un nostro sforzo continuo per mantenerli vivi e validi, interagendo con il mondo che cambia e contribuendo a costruirlo. Levi riesce a far convergere scienze della complessità e letteratura proponendo una riflessione etica di estrema attualità. I racconti in cui ciò riesce al meglio sono Il servo e A fin di bene, entrambi parte della raccolta Vizio di forma, pubblicata nel 1971. Egli mostra a tutti come pensare in modo complesso: non parla di scienza agli scienziati, bensì sceglie un linguaggio che tutti adoperiamo, quello delle storie.
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Narrative Sequence in Contemporary Narratology. Eds. Raphaël Baroni and Françoise Revaz., Feb 2016
This brief contribution is aimed at the elaboration of some critical questions often addressed wi... more This brief contribution is aimed at the elaboration of some critical questions often addressed within the contemporary debate in narrative theory. In particular, we regard the task of defining narrative as an important preliminary path to be followed in order to reflect on broader issues concerning the role of narrative studies, both within the humanities and with respect to other disciplines (e.g. cognitive sciences, psychology, pedagogy, etc.). We reckon among the most important duties in the field a reflection on the epistemological grounds of narrative theory, because we think that many incompatibilities and frictions between terminologies, models and theories are often underestimated. It is important to the extent that such incomprehension may negatively affect the debate or even thwart acknowledgement of the specificity of the concepts used in narrative theory.
In the light of the considerations above, we are focusing here on the theoretical effectiveness of the classical/postclassical distinction and on the proposal of a different dichotomy (par. 2); on the definition of narrative sequence (par. 3); on the epistemology of the two different paradigms indicated by the objectivist/constructivist dichotomy (par. 4); on the evaluation of the pros and cons of the two paradigms outlined (par. 5).
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Conference Presentations by Federico Pianzola
The narrative domain keeps evolving, its boundaries are moving and new structures appear thanks t... more The narrative domain keeps evolving, its boundaries are moving and new structures appear thanks to linguistic and literary experimentations, deployment of new media, changes in cultural and cognitive affordances, etc. The contexts in which we use narrative are different from those of a century ago, the audience keeps evolving and so do the properties we encounter in discourse: modifications of the environment require adaptations, and neither the structures generating narrative nor the effects achieved in/through narrative can be packed in fixed forms and moved between contexts. Narratives occur and have occurred in a wide range of contexts across a huge time span because they adapted changing their components and structures. Aiming at adapting narratology to the changing landscape, I will show an attempt of applying the concepts of “narrative structure” and “narrative organization” to the analysis of some digital narratives, in the framework of an epistemology of complexity.
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I argue for the adoption of systems theory as a key for the interdisciplinary integration of conc... more I argue for the adoption of systems theory as a key for the interdisciplinary integration of concepts and theories dealing with the study of narrative. In particular, the focus is on a possible solution for the correlation of discursive forms to cognitive, aesthetic, and social functions of narrative, in the context of biographical research. Emphasis is given to the epistemological coherence of interdisciplinary dialogue, with the aim to foster a fruitful collaboration for the development of a broad systemic theory of narrative.
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Nowadays the increasing complexity and variety of narratives is challenging narratologists to rec... more Nowadays the increasing complexity and variety of narratives is challenging narratologists to reconsider many of the concept and tools elaborated so far, since their applicability and descriptive power is facing serious troubles due to some interesting changes in the semiosphere, like the popularity of transmedial narratives, the interactivity allowed by digital media and not least the growing audience's awareness of the strategies used to tell a story. Here I will argue that looking at narrative as a complex system can help to grasp the richness of this domain of research and also help to adapt to the changing landscape the most useful instruments elaborated by narratology. Looking at narrative as a complex system means conceiving narrative as a non-linear phenomenon: i.e., narrativity is a property emerging from the organisation of a system constituted by interdependent components interacting with the environment over time in non-linear ways. More specifically, I will claim that narrativity is an emergent behaviour of the system coupled to certain contexts, i.e. a property which is only present when the scope of the system under scrutiny is expanded so to include its environment as well. And in the case of narrative, the environment typically includes the audience.
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This is a presentation of the article "What Do We Need Theory For? A Pattern for Pluralism in Nar... more This is a presentation of the article "What Do We Need Theory For? A Pattern for Pluralism in Narrative Studies" with some comments on data visualization as a form of storytelling.
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Con il termine “antropopoiesi” si indica l'insieme dei diversi modi con cui l'uomo costruisce se ... more Con il termine “antropopoiesi” si indica l'insieme dei diversi modi con cui l'uomo costruisce se stesso socialmente e culturalmente; questa categoria include tutte le procedure, tecniche e simboliche, che permettono all'uomo di modificare e migliorare la propria “natura”. Il fabbro di se stesso è colui in cui convergono questi due aspetti dell'universo antropologico, creatura ibrida la cui specificità è di co-evolvere con le proprie creazioni, in un processo di formazione che coinvolge tecnica e natura senza che la prima prevalga sulla seconda. Ma nei racconti in cui sono create delle forme di vita artificiali, l’antropopoiesi riguarda anche tali creature: gli esseri umani sfruttano le macchine in sempre più ambiti della propria vita e i racconti di Levi sembrano suggerire che ciò renda necessario uno sforzo di comprensione della loro “natura” per poter vivere al meglio nella tecno-biosfera.
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Papers by Federico Pianzola
Scientific Study of Literature, 2019
Reading fiction is beneficial for various social skills, although reading has become less and les... more Reading fiction is beneficial for various social skills, although reading has become less and less popular with younger generations. This study investigated whether reading a chapter of a fictional story in virtual reality (VR) can make the reading experience more appealing and increase intention to read the story further. A between-subject experiment (N = 83) was conducted to compare the effect of a printed book and a VR reading environment on narrative absorption, empathy with fictional characters, and intention to read. The results show that VR enhances intention to read, via a serial mediation of transportation into the story world and affective empathy. These findings indicate that VR can be effectively exploited for promoting reading.
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preprint
Presence, flow, narrative absorption, immersion, transportation, and similar phenomena are studie... more Presence, flow, narrative absorption, immersion, transportation, and similar phenomena are studied in many different disciplines, mostly in relation to mediated experiences (books, film, VR, games). Moreover, since real, virtual, or fictional agents are often involved, concepts like identification and state empathy are often linked to engaging media use. Through a scoping review we identify similarities in the wording of various questionnaire items conceived to measure different phenomena, categorize items into the most relevant psychological aspects, and use this categorization to propose an interdisciplinary systematization. Then, based on a framework of embodied predictive processing we present a new cognitive model of presence-related phenomena for mediated and non-mediated experiences, integrating spatial and temporal aspects and also considering the role of the media design. Key processes described within the model are: selective attention, enactment of intention, and interoception.
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PlosONE, 2020
The end of deep reading is a commonplace in public debates, whenever societies talk about youth, ... more The end of deep reading is a commonplace in public debates, whenever societies talk about youth, books, and the digital age. In contrast to this, we show for the first time and in detail, how intensively young readers write and comment literary texts at an unprecedented scale. We present several analyses of how fiction is transmitted through the social reading platform Wattpad, one of the largest platforms for user-generated stories, including novels, fanfiction, humour, classics, and poetry. By mixed quantitative and qualitative methods and scalable reading we scrutinise texts and comments on Wattpad, what themes are preferred in 13 languages , what role does genre play for readers behaviour, and what kind of emotional engagement is prevalent when young readers share stories. Our results point out the rise of a global reading culture in youth reading besides national preferences for certain topics and genres, patterns of reading engagement, aesthetic values and social interaction. When reading Teen Fiction social-bonding (affective interaction) is prevalent, when reading Classics social-cognitive interaction (collective intelligence) is prevalent. An educational outcome suggests that readers who engage in Teen Fiction learn to read Classics and to judge books not only in direct emotional response to character's behaviour, but focusing more on contextualised interpretation of the text.
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Enthymema, 2018
Negli ultimi cinque anni vi è stata un'attenzione crescente per le teorie della complessità da pa... more Negli ultimi cinque anni vi è stata un'attenzione crescente per le teorie della complessità da parte di narratologi. La recente summa della narratologia mondiale Emerging vectors of Narratology (Hansen et al. 2017) contiene due saggi dedicati a questo tema e due volumi collettivi sono in pubblicazione. Questo articolo presenta le motivazioni di tale interesse per la complessità e traccia alcuni percorsi intorno a concezioni sistemiche della narrazione, dal Formalismo russo, ad una recente proposta di John Pier, fino a giungere alla narratologia cognitivista di seconda generazione.
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In the last five years the attention of narratologists for complexity theory has been growing. The recent most comprehensive collection of narratology, Emerging vectors of Narratology (Hansen et al. 2017), includes two essays on the topic and two other collective books are forthcoming. This article explores the motivation of such interest in complexity and puts forth some reflections on systemic conceptions of narrative, from Russian Formalism, to a recent proposal by John Pier, ending with second generation cognitive narratology.
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DigitCult, 2018
This paper focuses on Wattpad, a social reading platform on which people can add comments in the ... more This paper focuses on Wattpad, a social reading platform on which people can add comments in the margins of books. Analysing these comments enables the comparison between specific parts of the text and the effects they have on readers. We outline a new research programme, discussing both theoretical and practical issues in the study of Wattpad: from the identification of a methodology holding together reader response theory, cognitive literary studies, and computational text analysis, to the definition of a digital mixed method for the recognition of the linguistic and textual cues that trigger certain effects. We describe a dataset built by scraping the Wattpad website: preliminary statistics on the most commented books in the categories “Classics” and “Teen Fiction” are presented and discussed. To provide an example of the possible uses of the dataset, we introduce a simplified experiment with the sentiment analysis software Syuzhet. By comparing the “emotional arcs” produced in parallel by text and comments, we evaluate the approach and show the substantial differences between the intrinsic emotional valence of the text and the effects it produces.
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Books by Federico Pianzola
Book chapters by Federico Pianzola
Vi sono dei racconti di finzione di Primo Levi che sorprendentemente presentano dei punti di contatto con alcune delle più innovative proposte scientifiche della seconda metà del XX secolo, cioè quelle che sono state successivamente definite “scienze della complessità”. Uno degli assunti fondamentali delle scienze della complessità è che il tutto è più della somma delle sue parti e, pertanto, non è possibile agire direttamente su una delle componenti del sistema pensando di ottenere determinati cambiamenti nella sua organizzazione globale. In un certo senso, ciò vale anche per l'etica, perché essere soggetti etici nella società contemporanea vuol dire abbracciare la complessità e riconoscere che i valori di un sistema – in questo caso un sistema sociale – non sono mai stabili, bensì c'è bisogno di un nostro sforzo continuo per mantenerli vivi e validi, interagendo con il mondo che cambia e contribuendo a costruirlo. Levi riesce a far convergere scienze della complessità e letteratura proponendo una riflessione etica di estrema attualità. I racconti in cui ciò riesce al meglio sono Il servo e A fin di bene, entrambi parte della raccolta Vizio di forma, pubblicata nel 1971. Egli mostra a tutti come pensare in modo complesso: non parla di scienza agli scienziati, bensì sceglie un linguaggio che tutti adoperiamo, quello delle storie.
In the light of the considerations above, we are focusing here on the theoretical effectiveness of the classical/postclassical distinction and on the proposal of a different dichotomy (par. 2); on the definition of narrative sequence (par. 3); on the epistemology of the two different paradigms indicated by the objectivist/constructivist dichotomy (par. 4); on the evaluation of the pros and cons of the two paradigms outlined (par. 5).
Conference Presentations by Federico Pianzola
Papers by Federico Pianzola
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In the last five years the attention of narratologists for complexity theory has been growing. The recent most comprehensive collection of narratology, Emerging vectors of Narratology (Hansen et al. 2017), includes two essays on the topic and two other collective books are forthcoming. This article explores the motivation of such interest in complexity and puts forth some reflections on systemic conceptions of narrative, from Russian Formalism, to a recent proposal by John Pier, ending with second generation cognitive narratology.
Vi sono dei racconti di finzione di Primo Levi che sorprendentemente presentano dei punti di contatto con alcune delle più innovative proposte scientifiche della seconda metà del XX secolo, cioè quelle che sono state successivamente definite “scienze della complessità”. Uno degli assunti fondamentali delle scienze della complessità è che il tutto è più della somma delle sue parti e, pertanto, non è possibile agire direttamente su una delle componenti del sistema pensando di ottenere determinati cambiamenti nella sua organizzazione globale. In un certo senso, ciò vale anche per l'etica, perché essere soggetti etici nella società contemporanea vuol dire abbracciare la complessità e riconoscere che i valori di un sistema – in questo caso un sistema sociale – non sono mai stabili, bensì c'è bisogno di un nostro sforzo continuo per mantenerli vivi e validi, interagendo con il mondo che cambia e contribuendo a costruirlo. Levi riesce a far convergere scienze della complessità e letteratura proponendo una riflessione etica di estrema attualità. I racconti in cui ciò riesce al meglio sono Il servo e A fin di bene, entrambi parte della raccolta Vizio di forma, pubblicata nel 1971. Egli mostra a tutti come pensare in modo complesso: non parla di scienza agli scienziati, bensì sceglie un linguaggio che tutti adoperiamo, quello delle storie.
In the light of the considerations above, we are focusing here on the theoretical effectiveness of the classical/postclassical distinction and on the proposal of a different dichotomy (par. 2); on the definition of narrative sequence (par. 3); on the epistemology of the two different paradigms indicated by the objectivist/constructivist dichotomy (par. 4); on the evaluation of the pros and cons of the two paradigms outlined (par. 5).
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In the last five years the attention of narratologists for complexity theory has been growing. The recent most comprehensive collection of narratology, Emerging vectors of Narratology (Hansen et al. 2017), includes two essays on the topic and two other collective books are forthcoming. This article explores the motivation of such interest in complexity and puts forth some reflections on systemic conceptions of narrative, from Russian Formalism, to a recent proposal by John Pier, ending with second generation cognitive narratology.
A reflection on the epistemological foundation of narratology is very much needed today, since our theoretical activity is deeply influenced by its underlying assumptions. Terms, definitions, models, theories are never chosen and formulated in a neutral way, they always bring about some consequences in their application, in the development of a discipline, and in their adaptivity to the context. In particular, the differences between two basic epistemological paradigms are outlined, the objectivist and the constructivist one, bringing forth several arguments in favour of the latter.
In the present article I tried to highlight the rhetorical structure of the short story «San Giorgio in casa Brocchi». Relying on a methodology introduced by Francesco Orlando, I detected the rhetorical figures through which Gadda builds a symbolic plot that is intensifying and enriching along the whole narrative. The power of this short story is related strongly to the tight links existing between syntactical, semantical and narrative choices, hence only an evaluation considering the rhetorical function of every elements of discourse, and their interaction, can best grasp the complexity of narrative composition.
This website will contain all the information about my current research and publications: http://narrativeresearch.federicopianzola.me/
The subject of my dissertation are Primo Levi's fictional short stories. I am adopting a broad rhetorical perspective in order to explore the links between his fictional writings, autobiographical writings and essays. I am focusing on the interplay of myth and science, exploring how Hebrew and Greek myths are shaped and transformed in fictional contexts because of the encounter with Levi's many interests and communicative needs. During such investigation I realized that complexity science could be useful in two ways for the understanding of Levi's poetics and rhetoric: first, because it is a theme in some essays and fictional short stories from the 60s and 70s; second, in the rhetoric of fictionality, inasmuch as I argue that his fictional narratives shows some of the behaviours of complex systems (autopoiesis, emergence, feedback loop)."
The notion of «point of view» is fundamental in order to grasp the values and the worldview communicated by a narrative, to understand the different subjectivities that may dialogue in a story. Every narrative is transversally crossed by an implicit argumentation that is made effective and not intrusive thanks to the suitable context provided by the narrative itself. Alain Rabatel uses his competence as a linguist to give precious indications on how discourse properties may be signs of the argumentative strategies operating in a narrative."
Using tools derived from corpus linguistics, Toolan proposes some principles and techniques for a stylistic analysis which aims at the detection of textual elements that are responsible for reader's expectations and narrative prospection. A specific attention is given to one of this elements: the use of free indirect discourse. He wants to develop some criteria that allow a selection based only on lexical and sintactical data, in order to apply automated methods of searching to wide text corpora and test his theoretical."
historical context of humanities vs. resurgent fascism to formal remarks on literature, theatre, utopia, narrative, and other themes. Particular emphasis is given to a reflection on the dialectical and constructivist approach deployed by Suvin in his works.
explore the role of emotions in literature,
namely with respect to the excess of
pathos in different forms and times.
Pathos has been a fundamental aspect of
literature in every epoch. Great poetry
has always foregrounded its ability to
represent feelings, evoke intense and
vivid moods, and elicit readers’ emotions
and empathy. On the other hand, the
novel – the genre dominating literary
modernity – has been o!en accused of
indulging in sentimental excess, giving
too much space to melodramatic
expression. Indeed, in Western cultures,
there is a widespread suspicion towards
pathos, which has o!en been identified
as a shortcoming of literature. Great
books – according to a common implicit
assumption – can prompt reflection and
laughter, but not tears: pathos only
concerns lowbrow production.
The summer school is an opportunity to
engage in a reflection on issues related to
pathos in literature in the last few
centuries. Different perspectives will be
taken into account: specific literary
works, reader response theory, cognitive
narratology, transmedia adaptation, and
publishing history.
The program includes 5 seminars and
plenary talks by Karin Kukkonen –
specialised in eighteenth-century
literature and cognitive literary studies –
Françoise Lavocat – leading scholar on
the facts/fiction debate – and Paolo
Giovannetti – expert of poetry and
nineteenth-century Italian literature.
Participants will be involved in
dialoguing with scholars specialised in
different fields and they will work on
personal projects that will be presented
and discussed during plenary sessions.
Muovendo dalla presentazione delle biografie e dei contesti in cui si collocano, procederemmo alla lettura e commento di alcuni loro scritti, ad un confronto sul ruolo svolto da entrambi nella casa editrice Einaudi, e alla sperimentazione di metodologie didattiche per la promozione della letteratura.
Il programma include 5 seminari, le lezioni magistrali di Mario Barenghi – teorico, critico letterario e specialista di letteratura italiana moderna e contemporanea – e di Domenico Scarpa – curatore delle opere di Natalia per Einaudi – nonché la conclusione dei lavori affidata a Carlo Ginzburg. I partecipanti saranno coinvolti in un’esperienza di ascolto, analisi, riflessione, in costante dialogo con studiosi di differenti ambiti disciplinari e teorici. Inoltre, lavoreranno a dei progetti personali sotto la supervisione di un docente, i quali saranno presentati e discussi durante sessioni plenarie dedicate.
Muovendo dalla presentazione delle biografie e dei contesti in cui si collocano, procederemmo alla lettura e commento di alcuni loro scritti, ad un confronto sul ruolo svolto da entrambi nella casa editrice Einaudi, e alla sperimentazione di metodologie didattiche per la promozione della letteratura.
Il programma include 5 seminari, le lezioni magistrali di Mario Barenghi –
teorico, critico letterario e specialista di letteratura italiana moderna e
contemporanea – e di Domenico Scarpa – curatore delle opere di Natalia per Einaudi – nonché la conclusione dei lavori affidata a Carlo Ginzburg. I partecipanti saranno coinvolti in un’esperienza di ascolto, analisi, riflessione, in costante dialogo con studiosi di differenti ambiti disciplinari e teorici. Inoltre, lavoreranno a dei progetti personali sotto la supervisione di un docente, i quali saranno presentati e discussi durante sessioni plenarie dedicate.