The call for papers promoted by the journal “Aristana. Cultures and Architectures of the Mediterranean” directed by Marco Cadinu, is open and dedicated to the theme “The City and Its Double: The Cemetery”.

The Napoleonic edict of Saint Cloud in 1804 is commonly considered the birth of the modern cemetery in Europe. The Enlightenment ideals of rational organization of society and the city found resonance in a regulation that substantially modified the funeral customs of not only Christian Europe. The transition from burial inside churches to burial outside city walls represented, on the one hand, a return to an ancient tradition, but on the other hand, it marked a rupture that was interpreted differently across the varied European panorama. This call for contributions aims to assess the innovations of this transition into modernity by comparing them diachronically with historical funeral traditions and synchronically with developments in “Western” countries, where both an Anglo-Saxon model and a Latin model were emerging.

It also proposes to examine potential differences between cemeteries in major urban areas and those in smaller centers, as well as between different models and the broader heritage.

Furthermore, the intention is to explore the recent developments in these places in light of Philippe Ariès’s thesis that death is the greatest taboo in our Western society. Can it be said that the cemetery is the tangible expression of a society’s vision of death?

Another point of reflection suggested by the title of the call for contributions arises from the fact that Italian cities often find a reflection of themselves in cemeteries on a smaller scale. For example, the ancient cores of cemeteries evoke historic city centers, while the modern rows of niches in columbariums resemble urban outskirts. What prospects for redemption does contemporary design offer for these places?

Furthermore, one cannot overlook the fact that cemeteries are repositories of artistic and even literary works, with centuries-old exercises on the fundamental themes of death and separation. Beyond rhetorical exercises, what original stories can be told?

And what about technology? How has the technologically-driven society engineered a practice, communal burial, that holds significant symbolic and spiritual value?

We believe that the proposed theme lends itself to multidisciplinary reflections and approaches to study, in order to capture the complexity of the organized communal burial, a topic that has shaped humanity and its time since its beginnings.

We thank in advance all scholars who wish to contribute to this endeavor.

The City and Its Double: The Cemetery

IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for abstract submission: 30/09/2023

Notification of abstract acceptance: 30/10/2023

Deadline for submission of scientific contributions, formatted according to the editorial guidelines: 30/01/2024

Peer review process: by 30/03/2024

Publication of contributions: by 30/06/2024

Scholars have the option to directly propose a complete article if deemed relevant and significant to the journal’s theme. It will still undergo a revision process.

For the abstract and article submission guidelines, please visit the following link: ABSTRACT EDITORIAL GUIDELINES and ARTICLE EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

For information and submission of abstracts and articles, please write to redazionearistana@fondazioneoristano.it