The Library continues to expand its collections with a selection of new titles acquired in February and March 2026. The works presented here reflect several particularly dynamic research lines: the relationship between literature and social history, the centrality of linguistic and translation practices, renewed attention to medieval texts in critical editions, and a focus on modern and contemporary writing shaped by memory, conflict, and experimentation. All volumes are available through Minerva.
French Studies
The new acquisitions in French Studies revolve around the relationship between literature, history, and writing practices, with particular attention to the social dimension and the construction of memory.
The twentieth century is represented by Le feu by Henri Barbusse and Dora Bruder by Patrick Modiano, two works which, despite their differences in form and context, explore writing as a means of bearing witness to and reconstructing historical trauma. In dialogue with this perspective, Le peuple à l’écrit by Nelly Wolf examines how French literature—from Flaubert to Virginie Despentes—represents “the people” and their access to expression.
German Studies
The German Studies acquisitions focus on two main axes: linguistic variation and writing as a cultural and medial practice.
From a linguistic perspective, volumes such as Einführung in die germanistische Linguistik by Karin Pittner and studies in dialectology (Dialekt in Gesellschaft und Schule, Dialekte im sozialen Raum) offer a nuanced exploration of the relationship between language, society, and institutions, foregrounding processes of variation, perception, and standardization.
In the literary and cultural domain, Typografie als Übersetzen by Andreas Dittrich proposes an original reflection on writing as a visual and translational practice through the work of Ilse Aichinger and Otl Aicher, while Die Literatur der Wolgadeutschen opens a perspective on minority literatures and cultural identity within the German-speaking world.
English Studies
The new acquisitions in English Studies are marked by a strong interest in the history of translation and the construction of the literary canon.
The series A Cultural History of Translation (vols. 1–6) provides a wide-ranging and layered reconstruction of translation practices from antiquity to the present, establishing itself as a key reference for translation studies in a long-term historical perspective.
On the literary side, novels such as The World My Wilderness by Rose Macaulay and Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni open up reflections on modernity and the legacies of colonialism in the Anglophone world.
Slavic Studies
The Slavic Studies acquisitions bring together linguistics, literature, and geopolitical context, with particular attention to the contemporary period.
Languages in Conflict and War examines the role of languages in contexts of tension, focusing on Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, and offering useful tools for understanding the dynamics between language, identity, and power. From a literary perspective, Dialoghi by Velimir Khlebnikov introduces readers to the experimental language of the Russian avant-garde, while Poesia russa: 1990–2023 provides an up-to-date overview of recent poetic production.
