Objectives and operations
Our project envisages a series of objectives and operations to achieve a full enhancement and valorization of TL beyond the current state of the art, which can be summarized as follows: older studies are mostly factual accounts and only tentatively interpretative; more recent studies, instead, tend to focus on TL from the point of view of the anti-Establishment positions of its authors within a mainly British cultural and ideological context. Also, critical work on TL is decidedly hampered by the fact that it is currently only available: 1) in the original edition held by several research libraries, often listed as a rare book in a special collection, as at Pisa’s “Scuola Normale Superiore” and at the Keats-Shelley House in Rome; 2) in the facsimile version published by Salzburg University Press (1978); 3) as a pdf version in online repositories such as Google Books or Archive.org. Importantly, no available version presents any scholarly apparatus (including introductions, notes and selected bibliography).
Addressing these problems, the project aims to return TL to the research community and the broader public as a multidimensional resource, so that its significance and potential can instigate further, innovative developments.
The project’s starting point is that of producing an annotated, searchable, and freely available online text. Its primary aim is to establish a scholarly, reliable, and contextualized version of TL. This will enable researchers fully to valorize this periodical and its literary-cultural, socio-political, and historical resonances and implications. It will also provide a starting point for the project’s various activities of people-centred participation fostering sustainable and inclusive modes of understanding of cultural heritage.
As detailed in the Project Development section, our project comprises the following lines of activity:
The project’s starting point is that of producing an annotated, searchable, and freely available online text. Its primary aim is to establish a scholarly, reliable, and contextualized version of TL. This will enable researchers fully to valorize this periodical and its literary-cultural, socio-political, and historical resonances and implications. It will also provide a starting point for the project’s various activities of people-centred participation fostering sustainable and inclusive modes of understanding of cultural heritage.
As detailed in the Project Development section, our project comprises the following lines of activity:
1) Editing TL: producing the electronic edition;
2) Exploring TL: analyzing contents and contexts;
Specifically:
1) The transcription of the issues will be based on the first printed edition. The resulting electronic edition will comprise: the full text of TL; annotations to the text; a general Introduction; introductions to each issue; a selection of relevant contextual materials (letters and diaries; excerpts from other contemporary periodicals; bibliography, etc.)
2) The work of transcription and subsequent coding of the four issues of TL will constitute a starting point for in-depth investigations of the periodical as a whole and not, as has been the case so far, selected portions or thematic lines. This will include researching archives for new data on the Pisan Circle and its Anglo-Italian and European connections, annotation and contextualization of the texts in relation to historical events, biographical facts, bibliographical references, and data on publication history.
3) Operations for disseminating TL will be spread over the two-year period as an integral part of the project, and not an adjunct or final phase. All the activities comprised in this line are informed by the principles of “Cluster 2” of the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024, “Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society”, which aims at “tap[ping] into the full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative sectors and industries” (p. 8). They are also in line with the promotion of cultural heritage at the core of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which includes “Tourism and Culture 4.0” (M1C3, pp. 103-113) among the interventions of Mission 1 (Digitisation, Innovation, Competitiveness and Culture) and sees them as key sectors for Italy. These operations comprise a varied range of activities, including online presentations of the project; the creation of a website with information on the project, but also intended for the use of the non-academic community in order to disseminate knowledge regarding TL and provide resources for the wider public, and for teachers (to be made available on the SOFIA Platform) and learners; online and in-presence experiences (presentations, seminars, exhibitions, virtual and real tours etc.) to mark the bicentenary of TL and the Pisan circle.
Besides expert knowledge in Romantic-period literature and Anglo-Italian cultural relations, all the members of the research team bring to the project specific skills in editorial work, archival research, and comparative literary and cultural studies.
The production of the Electronic Edition will benefit from the expertise of the LabOA team, at the University of Florence, who will instruct and guide the research team in the early phases of transcription and coding. The Edition will then be developed in collaboration with the editorial team of Romantic Circles Electronic Editions (RCEE). Preliminary contacts have been established with the Chief Editor, Prof. Michele Speitz (Furman University, US). More details are indicated in the section on Project Development.
Moreover, the research team relies on a solid network of national and international specialists, available for informal advice and guidance during the project, in the following areas: textual and editorial matters (Keir Elam, Carlo M. Bajetta, Lynda Pratt, Tim Fulford); the Cockney school of Percy Shelley and Leigh Hunt (Greg Kucich; Jeffrey N. Cox; Tim Webb); Anglo-Italian matters (Lilla Maria Crisafulli; Maria Schoina, Will Bowers, Nick Halmi, Nick Havely); Digital Humanities and public engagement (Francesca Benatti, Nicola Watson). Specialists in other disciplines (Italian, German or French literature; early nineteenth-century history; comparative literature) will be consulted in relation to specific materials and questions.
Finally, contacts have been made with the following key institutions related to Anglo-Italian cultural relations: The British Council (Rome); The British School in Rome; Gabinetto Vieusseux (Florence); The British Institute (Florence); The Uffizi Galleries (Florence); and Keats-Shelley House (Rome). They have confirmed their interest in collaborating with the project (see Applications).
Ultimo aggiornamento
29.02.2024