March 15, 2010

UCSB Italian Studies Professor Co-Edits New Online Scholarly Journal

California Italian Studies, a new peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal, has been published exclusively online by University of California's e-Scholarship and the California Digital Library. The journal, which debuted on March 1, was co-edited by Claudio Fogu, associate professor of Italian Studies at UC Santa Barbara, and Lucia Re, professor of Italian and women's studies at UCLA.

The 2009-10 inaugural volume contains two issues, and features more than 50 research articles, critical essays, translations, works-in-progress, and interviews, many of which appear in both English and Italian. In addition to text and images, the California Italian Studies journal also includes video clips and music. It can be found at http://escholarship.org/uc/ismrg_cisj. The journal will be published annually, with each volume addressing a different theme related to Italian studies, and with different co-editors choosing the content.

The first issue in Volume 1 provides a critical topography of the relationship between Italy and the Mediterranean across time

–– from the Middle Ages to present day –– and across disciplinary traditions. It includes discussions of Italy's multiple cultural interactions with Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Croatia; articles on Italian cinema; video interviews; and previews of works in progress.

The second issue contains critical essays on topics ranging from the Watts Towers in Los Angeles to futurist Italian artist Fortunato Depero's years in New York City to domestic violence in early modern Italy. The second issue also contains the first English translation of novelist and poet Arrigo Boito's complete collection of short stories, and some previously unknown documents regarding journalist and short story writer Italo Calvino's father and the Italian police.

An interdisciplinary effort, the journal was launched by a group of UC scholars from each of the 10 campuses. Together, these scholars represent many of the world's leading authorities on Italian culture, history, geography, and politics.

"The thematic model is a great way to intersect different perspectives around time and space," said Fogu, who is also director of the Italian program at UCSB. "The choice of making access to the journal free and open to all is particularly important to us, for it highlights one of the important traditions in Italian studies –– the permeability between academic research and society at large."

About UC Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a leading research institution that also provides a comprehensive liberal arts learning experience. Our academic community of faculty, students, and staff is characterized by a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is responsive to the needs of our multicultural and global society. All of this takes place within a living and learning environment like no other, as we draw inspiration from the beauty and resources of our extraordinary location at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.