Galileo and Literature
Galileo e la letteratura
Published on Monday, July 03, 2023
Abstract
The aim of this call is to draw attention to two specific issues of historical, literary, and philosophical research. On the one hand, the objective is to explore how Galileo considered and used literature; on the other, to observe how past and current writers and intellectuals have tested and enriched their knowledge with Galileo’s teachings.
Announcement
Context
Galilæana, issue 1-2024. Call for papers. edited by Massimo Bucciantini
Publication date: May 2024.
Journal section: Focus [section policies | make a submission]
Arguments
The aim of this call is to draw attention to two specific issues of historical, literary, and philosophical research. On the one hand, the objective is to explore how Galileo considered and used literature; on the other, to observe how past and current writers and intellectuals have tested and enriched their knowledge with Galileo’s teachings.
To what extent did Galileo cultivate his interest in literature and what kind of literature was he passionate about? How much did his attention to literary aspects affect his way of writing philosophical and scientific works? To what degree do the diffusion and success of a book depend on the literary and rhetorical choices made by its author? As Galileo leaves the known paths and the traditional certainties, he identifies “speech” and “digression” as the privileged space for the representation of a new way of thinking. However, when we talk of “Galileo and literature”, we do not intend to limit our investigation to him. The horizon is much wider. In the past, many scholars have shown that Galileo’s discoveries have inundated and modified our image of literature in many different ways. In the 17th and following centuries, poets and intellectuals have been nourished in their works by the Italian scientist’s writings. How did it happen? To what degree has recalling Galileo made it possible to build a link between science and literature? John Donne and Giovan Battista Marino, and later Giacomo Leopardi, Ippolito Nievo, François Ponsard, or in the 20th century Bertolt Brecht, Primo Levi, Italo Calvino: they are the first names that may come to mind. But not the only ones. Just the best-known.
Themes:
- Galileo as a reader of literature.
- Galileo’s use of words and literary forms in his writing.
- Galileo as the “communicator” of the new science.
- To what degree did Galileo’s celestial discoveries modify our image of literature?
- How present is Galileo in contemporary literature and what does it mean to refer to him as a scientist and humanist?
Submission guidelines and review process
Proposals must be sent via the journal website https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/
before November 30th, 2023
- The English language is the recommended submission language, along with the Italian language. Submissions in the major European languages may be considered for double-blind peer review as long as the author(s) commit to providing an English translation of their work if it is accepted for publication.
- The journal Editors-in-chief have a preliminary say in whether to admit or reject the anonymized submission, based on the article's adherence to Galilaeana scientific scopes and aims.
- Preliminarily accepted articles undergo a double-blind peer-review process by at least two experts in the field. Only up to one of the experts may be a member of the journal's Scientific committee.
- The outcome of the peer-review process is binding. Should the opinions be incompatible, the editors will seek a third review.
- Upon receiving the reviewers’ reports, the Editors-in-chief decide whether to further pursue publication of the manuscript (either requesting the author revise and resubmit their manuscript, accepting, or rejecting it). The decision letter sent to the authors will be accompanied by the expert reviewers’ reports within 12 weeks from the submission date.
The submission file must include:
- Title (both in the submission’s language and in English)
- Contact person (will be removed by the journal’s editorial team for anonymity purposes)
- English abstract (ca. 150 words)
- Keywords (three to five are recommended)
- Article body (max 12.000 words, including footnotes. Longer papers may be considered by prior arrangement with the Editors-in-chief).
- References
Scientific committee
- Irene Baldriga (Sapienza Università di Roma)
- Andrea Battistini (†)
- Domenico Bertoloni Meli (Indiana University, Bloomington)
- Filippo Camerota (Museo Galileo)
- Maurice Clavelin (Université Paris-Sorbonne)
- Maurice A. Finocchiaro (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
- Paolo Galluzzi (Museo Galileo)
- Owen Gingerich (†)
- Enrico Giusti (Università degli Studi di Firenze)
- Miguel Angel Granada (Universitat de Barcelona)
- John L. Heilbron (Berkeley, University of California)
- Mario Helbing (Independent scholar)
- Roberti Iliffe (University of Oxford)
- Michel-Pierre Lerner (Observatoire de Paris)
- Pamela O. Long (Independent Scholar)
- Carla Rita Palmerino (Radboud University, Nijmegen)
- Isabelle Pantin (École normale supérieure, Paris)
- Giuseppe Patota (Università degli Studi di Siena)
- Adriano Prosperi (Scuola Normale Superiore)
- Eileen Reeves (Princeton University)
- Jürgen Renn (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin)
- Thomas B. Settle (†)
- Dario Tessicini (Università degli Studi di Genova)
- Maurizio Torrini (†)
- Albert Van Helden (Rice University, Houston)
- Nick Wilding (Georgia State University, Atlanta)
Subjects
- Science studies (Main category)
- Society > Science studies > History of science
- Mind and language > Thought > Intellectual history
- Mind and language > Language > Literature
- Periods > Early modern
- Periods > Modern
Date(s)
- Thursday, November 30, 2023
Keywords
- Galileo Galilei, literature, science, philosophy, history, scientific language, dissemination,
Contact(s)
- Giovanni Campolo
courriel : giovanni [at] battitoriliberi [dot] it
Reference Urls
Information source
- Massimo Bucciantini
courriel : massimo [dot] bucciantini [at] unisi [dot] it
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Galileo and Literature », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Monday, July 03, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1bip