italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies
I am looking for texts in nineteenth-century Italian literature that
allude directly or indirectly to the research of and debate between
Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta over the origins of electricity,
namely, whether there was such a thing as "animal electricity" (Galvani
the biologist argued that there was) or whether eletricity was merely a
physical force (as Volta the physicist argued). In Frankenstein, Mary
Shelley was influenced by Galvani's contention that living beings
generated electricity from which she extrapolated that electricity could
bring life to inanimate matter. Another way to pose my question is: are
there versions of the Frankenstein legend or similar stories in the
Italian tradition? Pinocchio, a story of inanimate matter that comes to
life, might come to mind as a response to this new science but I am
interested, rather, in texts that focus more specifically on the science
underlying such a change.
I am interested in any genre. I will pass on information to colleagues
who are interested in the topic, if I receive responses off list.
Thanks, DL
--
Dennis Looney
Assistant Dean, Humanities
Associate Professor of Italian
CL 1328
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh PA 15260
412-624-6264
412-624-6263 fax
[log in to unmask]
www.pitt.edu/~frit
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