Literary Cultures in/and Italian Studies

The article opens by considering how contemporary Italian Studies scholarship is situated in relation to the long-standing dominance of literary culture as a major disciplinary concern, and the persistence of traditionally conceived canons, questions, and methods. The authors discuss how the scope of literary research has expanded in recent years and become more enmeshed with sociological, political, and ideological enquiry. They review how previous definitions of literary cultures and practices have been refreshed with new theoretical and interdisciplinary approaches, and through transnational dialogues and collaborative modes of research. A diachronic survey discusses key innovations both in the study of canonical or ‘high culture’ literary phenomena–such as Dante, Leopardi, or Futurism –, and in engagements with previously overlooked writing in popular genres or media, or by socially marginalised authors. It concludes by reflecting on how literary studies is both critiqued and defended within current debates over the standing of humanities research within and beyond the academy.