The craft of reading, the necessity of writing. Some reflections on reviews of Italian literature.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2499-6637/29521Keywords:
academic review, Italian literature, research assessment, Italian studies, scholarly journalsAbstract
This essay addresses the decline of literary reviewing within the field of Italian studies, highlighting how structural, academic, and cultural factors have progressively diminished the space and relevance of this genre. The author identifies key causes, including the exclusion of reviews from national research assessment criteria (ASN and VQR), excessive teaching demands, and the fragmentation of the Italian literature field. In an increasingly competitive and dispersed academic landscape, reviews appear less appealing than other forms of publication deemed more “useful” for career advancement. Nevertheless, the author reflects on the epistemological importance of reading and critically engaging with others’ work, emphasizing the potential role of academic journals in revitalizing the genre through careful selection of topics, reviewers, and formats.
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Non esistono più le stroncature di una volta, trad. it di Andrea Sparacino, «Internazionale», 19 agosto 2023, https://www.internazionale.it/notizie/2023/08/19/critica-letteratura (versione originale The death of the hatchet job. / Critics are getting less cruel. Alas, «The Economist», 21 luglio 2023, https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/07/21/critics-are-getting-less-cruel-alas).
Carlo Dionisotti, recensione a Vittorio Cian, Un illustre nunzio pontificio del Rinascimento: Baldassar Castiglione, «Giornale storico della letteratura italiana», a. CXXIX, fasc. 1, 1952, pp. 31-57.
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