I am a PhD candidate in Italian Literature at the Department of Romance Studies and Classics, Stockholm University. Address: Department of Romance Studies and Classics Södra huset B Room 462
Incontri: Rivista europea di studi italiani , 2023
This article delves into the narrative formal devices used to represent reality as deeply entangl... more This article delves into the narrative formal devices used to represent reality as deeply entangled—e.g. as the result of actors and events that are always closely interdependent—and argues that modernism’s innovation of narrative forms paved the way for contemporary posthumanist fiction. Building on Levine’s and Caracciolo’s new formalisms, I examine Gadda’s modernist novel That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana (1957) and VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy (2014) with the intention of showing how both authors’ use of network-like forms prompts a sense of uncertainty which ultimately exposes human fallibility and marginality. In doing so, I intend to contribute to the field of New Formalism and display the value formal strategies can have in conveying a non-anthropocentric conceptualization of life.
Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), 2022
In recent years, a variety of humanistic fields—Literature, Cinema, History and (even) Law—have s... more In recent years, a variety of humanistic fields—Literature, Cinema, History and (even) Law—have shown an exponential growth of interest in environmental and animal-related issues. The anthropocentric system has been put into question, and narratives having the environment or animals (which have always had a marginal role) as their main focus have become pivotal elements that allow us to observe the world in a new light. In this panel, we aim to discuss animal characters and non-human creatures, in Twentieth-Italian Literature (1900 – Today). We warmly accept contributes that debate interdisciplinary studies, throughout every literary genre, on animals and the environment (Ecocriticism, Animal Studies, Posthumanism, New Materialism, inter alia), as an incentive for comparison between different perspectives for a better understanding of animals and the environment in Contemporary Italian Literature.
The Society for Pirandello Studies 2019 Conference: ‘“Maledetto sia Copernico!”: Pirandello and r... more The Society for Pirandello Studies 2019 Conference: ‘“Maledetto sia Copernico!”: Pirandello and revolutions in contemporary science, philosophy, epistemology and aesthetics’
Italy and Post-anthropocentric Studies. Nonhumanity in Italian Literature (1900-Today), 2022
In the “Appendix” to his short novel “La Pietra Lunare” (1939), Tommaso Landolfi jokingly cut-up ... more In the “Appendix” to his short novel “La Pietra Lunare” (1939), Tommaso Landolfi jokingly cut-up passages from Leopardi's “Zibaldone” as a self-commentary to the novel, whose theme is that of the "slaughter of illusions" carried out by Modern reason against natural and ancient ways of living. In the novel, the young protagonist will be led by Gurù, a sensual girl who will turn out to be a were-goat, into a sabbath with orgiastic traits during a night of full moon, where he will be initiated into lunar and diabolic cults. It will be argued that the initiation, and the consequent animal metamorphosis of the protagonist, both represent a liberation from the yoke of rationality, in order to seek a return to the natural animality suggested by the passages of the “Zibaldone”. In particular, the long scene of the sabbath, which occupies about half of the novel, will be compared to the famous “Night of Valpurga” of Goethe's “Faust”. The shared instruments of liberation from rationality will be identified, as well as the role that animals, especially devilish ones such as cats and goats, play in the process and in the initiatory context. The animal metamorphosis will be understood as a potential socio-cultural emancipation, and entry into the erotic world where the order of the world is subverted. Is the human-animal hybrid then a future prospect or a recovery of the past?
Incontri: Rivista europea di studi italiani , 2023
This article delves into the narrative formal devices used to represent reality as deeply entangl... more This article delves into the narrative formal devices used to represent reality as deeply entangled—e.g. as the result of actors and events that are always closely interdependent—and argues that modernism’s innovation of narrative forms paved the way for contemporary posthumanist fiction. Building on Levine’s and Caracciolo’s new formalisms, I examine Gadda’s modernist novel That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana (1957) and VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy (2014) with the intention of showing how both authors’ use of network-like forms prompts a sense of uncertainty which ultimately exposes human fallibility and marginality. In doing so, I intend to contribute to the field of New Formalism and display the value formal strategies can have in conveying a non-anthropocentric conceptualization of life.
Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), 2022
In recent years, a variety of humanistic fields—Literature, Cinema, History and (even) Law—have s... more In recent years, a variety of humanistic fields—Literature, Cinema, History and (even) Law—have shown an exponential growth of interest in environmental and animal-related issues. The anthropocentric system has been put into question, and narratives having the environment or animals (which have always had a marginal role) as their main focus have become pivotal elements that allow us to observe the world in a new light. In this panel, we aim to discuss animal characters and non-human creatures, in Twentieth-Italian Literature (1900 – Today). We warmly accept contributes that debate interdisciplinary studies, throughout every literary genre, on animals and the environment (Ecocriticism, Animal Studies, Posthumanism, New Materialism, inter alia), as an incentive for comparison between different perspectives for a better understanding of animals and the environment in Contemporary Italian Literature.
The Society for Pirandello Studies 2019 Conference: ‘“Maledetto sia Copernico!”: Pirandello and r... more The Society for Pirandello Studies 2019 Conference: ‘“Maledetto sia Copernico!”: Pirandello and revolutions in contemporary science, philosophy, epistemology and aesthetics’
Italy and Post-anthropocentric Studies. Nonhumanity in Italian Literature (1900-Today), 2022
In the “Appendix” to his short novel “La Pietra Lunare” (1939), Tommaso Landolfi jokingly cut-up ... more In the “Appendix” to his short novel “La Pietra Lunare” (1939), Tommaso Landolfi jokingly cut-up passages from Leopardi's “Zibaldone” as a self-commentary to the novel, whose theme is that of the "slaughter of illusions" carried out by Modern reason against natural and ancient ways of living. In the novel, the young protagonist will be led by Gurù, a sensual girl who will turn out to be a were-goat, into a sabbath with orgiastic traits during a night of full moon, where he will be initiated into lunar and diabolic cults. It will be argued that the initiation, and the consequent animal metamorphosis of the protagonist, both represent a liberation from the yoke of rationality, in order to seek a return to the natural animality suggested by the passages of the “Zibaldone”. In particular, the long scene of the sabbath, which occupies about half of the novel, will be compared to the famous “Night of Valpurga” of Goethe's “Faust”. The shared instruments of liberation from rationality will be identified, as well as the role that animals, especially devilish ones such as cats and goats, play in the process and in the initiatory context. The animal metamorphosis will be understood as a potential socio-cultural emancipation, and entry into the erotic world where the order of the world is subverted. Is the human-animal hybrid then a future prospect or a recovery of the past?
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system has been put into question, and narratives having the environment or animals (which have always had a marginal role) as their main focus have become pivotal elements that allow us to observe the
world in a new light. In this panel, we aim to discuss animal characters and non-human creatures, in Twentieth-Italian Literature (1900 – Today). We warmly accept contributes that debate interdisciplinary studies,
throughout every literary genre, on animals and the environment (Ecocriticism, Animal Studies, Posthumanism, New Materialism, inter alia), as an incentive for comparison between different perspectives for a better understanding of animals and the environment in Contemporary Italian
Literature.
system has been put into question, and narratives having the environment or animals (which have always had a marginal role) as their main focus have become pivotal elements that allow us to observe the
world in a new light. In this panel, we aim to discuss animal characters and non-human creatures, in Twentieth-Italian Literature (1900 – Today). We warmly accept contributes that debate interdisciplinary studies,
throughout every literary genre, on animals and the environment (Ecocriticism, Animal Studies, Posthumanism, New Materialism, inter alia), as an incentive for comparison between different perspectives for a better understanding of animals and the environment in Contemporary Italian
Literature.