The idea of the sensus communis is something of a crossroads for many cultural issues and practices in eighteenth-century Europe. It was at the heart of aesthetic, moral, political, religious, educational and legal concerns. Conceived as an inner sensibility or a sense of belonging to a community under the aegis of a set of common values, the sensus communis was one of the main themes of the investigations into human nature of 18th-century authors such as Shaftesbury, Voltaire, Vico, Hume, Kant, Herder and others. At the same time, it inspired a whole series of cultural operations that referred to the idea of a collective taste that cultural operators sought to encounter, stimulate and educate.
From this perspective, the idea of the sensus communis not only further defines the modern idea of the individual, but also sheds light on the heterogeneous genres and new cultural practices that emerged in the eighteenth century, on the then dominant notions of audience and ‘cultural industry’, and on the emergence of an unprecedented philosophy of the ‘spectator’.
The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2024.
Contributions are welcome in Italian, English and French.
Articles should not exceed the following number of characters (including spaces and footnotes) 50,000.
Contributions must be submitted online via the journal’s website: https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/ds/about/submissions
Authors are also asked to indicate their university or institution of affiliation.
Contributions will be peer-reviewed on a double-blind basis.
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Issue 10/2025 of “Diciottesimo Secolo” contains three additional sections:
• Miscellaneous articles
• Notes and discussions
• Book reviews
Contributions to the “Miscellaneous articles” section are subject to double-blind peer review.
Articles should also include an abstract (max. 1,500 characters, including spaces) and five keywords.
The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2024.
The length of the texts must not exceed the following number of characters (including notes and spaces):
Articles: 50,000
Notes and Discussions: 25,000
Book Reviews: 10,000.
Authors are also asked to indicate their university or institution of affiliation.
We welcome contributions in Italian, English and French.
