Dr. Susanna Zellini | Associated Researcher
Home Institution
:
Universität Padua
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Position
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Postdoctoral researcher
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Disciplines
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Philosophy
,
Esthetics
,
German studies
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Biography
Dr. Susanna Zellini is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of German Studies at the University of Padua (Italy) and an affiliated researcher at the Centre Marc Bloch. She also co-coordinates the Permanent Nietzsche Seminar (SPN, Rome), one of the main research groups on Nietzsche in Europe. Between 2021 and 2023, she worked at the European Commission and the European Research Council (ERC) in Brussels, managing a research project on the idea of education in Europe and on "academic freedom." In 2020, she obtained a Ph.D. in Philosophy and German Literature (summa cum laude) through a joint supervision program between the Universities of Padua and Stuttgart. Her research areas are philosophical aesthetics, classical Critical Theory, German literature, and the history of Bildung, particularly the question of its relevance to the European debate on education.
Languages: Italian (mother tongue), German (fluent), French (fluent), English (fluent), Dutch (good).
Researchtopic
PhD committee: Marco Rispoli (University of Padua, supervisor), Claus Zittel (University of Stuttgart, supervisor), Luca Crescenzi (Istituto di Studi Germanici), Axel Pichler (University of Stuttgart).
Institution of thesis
Supervisor
Projects
Membership and participation in research projects:
Since 2023: Collaborator at the ERC-Consolidator project "BildungLearning", under the supervision of Quentin Landenne, at the UCLouvain Saint Louis – Brussels. https://www.centreprospero.be/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/BildungLearning.pdf
Since 2023: Co-funder and member of the “Seminar for Critical Theory of Education” (STCB), University of Padua, Italy. https://www.hegelpd.it/hegel/
Since 2021: Member of the research project “Le radici mediterranee dello spirito Europeo”, Istituto di Studi Germanici, Rome, https://spiritomediterraneo.com/.
Since 2019: Co-coordinator and senior member of the Seminario Permanente Nietzscheano (SPN), Istituto Italiano di Studi Germanici, Rome, https:// seminarionietzsche.wordpress.com
Since 2015: Member of the International Nietzsche Research Group Stuttgart (INFG), SRC Text Studies, University of Stuttgart, https://www.srcts.uni-stuttgart.de/forschung/infg/
Towards a Critical Theory of education. Reimagining Bildung with the Frankfurt School
My research project analyzes the current debate on higher education, within the context of the Bologna Process, from the perspective of classical Critical Theory.
Over the past two decades the European debate has increasingly moved away from the German and European tradition of "Bildung" – as self-cultivation based on the principles of freedom and independence. Rather, it has increasingly shifted towards a neoliberal conception of education subordinated to society and market needs. In recent years the relationship between these two educational traditions seems to have solidified into a rather simplistic opposition, neglecting the philosophical-historical background that has influenced its development. My research addresses this omission. It aims not only to theorize the historical-philosophical transformation of these two traditions, but also to provide conceptual models for rethinking a concept of education that goes beyond their simplistic opposition.
For this purpose classical Critical Theory serves as a particularly relevant reference point. Through comparing different educational traditions, such as the European and the American, it elaborates conceptual models which are particularly significant for the current debate: Bildung/Halbbildung (Adorno), instrumental reason/critical reason (Horkheimer), non-repressive/repressive civilization (Marcuse). The project develops in two parts:
- It reconstructs a Critical Theory of education via a comparative study of the texts of Adorno, Horkheimer, and Marcuse on the theme of Bildung.
- It shows the relevance of Critical Theory for the current European debate on education, both as an interpretative key and as a concrete reference for future development.
Combining philosophical and institutional analysis, the project aims to build a shared space for discussion that bridges the gap between academic and institutional realms, in order to ground a more comprehensive research on the future development of a European education.
Publications
Authored books:
- Zellini, S. (2024): Ästhetik der Form. Sprachkritik, Musik und Stil bei Nietzsche und Adorno, De Gruyter, Berlin
Edited Books:
- Zellini, S., with P. Babbiotti (eds.) (2023): "Nietzsche e lo stile", Rivista di filosofia, Il Mulino, Bologna
Articles in Peer Reviewed Journals:
- Zellini, S., with V. Pinto (2023): “The 'Academic Difference': reimagining academic freedom in European liberal democracies”. In: Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education (PTHE) Journal, 5, no. 2, pp. 289–328
- Zellini, S. (2022): “Neue Form zu finden. Sprache und Musik in Nietzsches frühen Schriften”. In: Jahrbuch Nietzscheforschung, 29, pp.3–20
- Zellini, S. (2019): “Nietzsche, die homerische Frage und die Dialektik der Aufklärung”, in: Nietzsche-Studien, 48, pp.1–25
- Zellini, S. (2016): “Wittgenstein und das Wissen zwischen zwei Lichtern: Wissenschaft und Erfahrung”, Eikasía Revista de filosofia 71, pp.251–263
Book Chapters:
- Zellini, S., “The negative utopia”, Global History of Utopias, G.Ferraro, J.E.Franco (eds.), Universidade Aberta, 2024 (forthcoming)
- Zellini, S. (2022): “Eduard Hanslick”, in: Nietzsche's philosophers Handbook, ed. by Francisco Arenas-Dolz, Eleonora Caramelli, Francesco Cattaneo, Gianluca Garelli, De Gruyter, Berlin (forthcoming)
- Zellini, S. (2022): “Johann Gottfried Herder” in: Nietzsche's philosophers Handbook, ed. by Francisco Arenas-Dolz, Eleonora Caramelli, Francesco Cattaneo, Gianluca Garelli, De Gruyter, Berlin (forthcoming)
- Zellini, S., “Stil und Fotografie in Benjamins Einbahnstraße” in: Fotografische Differenz, H.R. Sepp (ed.), Libri Nigri, Verlag Traugott Bautz, Nordhausen, 2022, pp.154-175
- Zellini, S. (2018): “Wittgenstein, Mach e il senso comune”, in: Pietro Gori (ed.), Ernst Mach tra scienza e filosofia, ETS Pisa, pp.129-150
- Zellini, S. (2017): “Questioni di stile. Nietzsche e Adorno”, in: Gabriella Pelloni, Claus Zittel (eds.), Poetica in permanenza, Studi su Nietzsche, ETS, Pisa, pp.263-280
European Commission's Reports and Articles:
Zellini S., Crosier D., Siglas E., Kremo A., Fiore E. Antonello D., Towards Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education in Europe, Eurydice Report, European Commission, 2022.
- Zellini S., Crosier D., “we need to talk about…academic freedom”, in: Eurydice Focus on Articles, European Commission, 2021.
Review Essays:
- Zellini, S., “Mario Distaso. Marcuse, Adorno. Percorsi fra estetica e politica”, Studi Germanici, 2024, vol.25, no 1 (forthcoming)
- Luca Crescenzi / Carlo Gentili / Aldo Venturelli, Alla ricerca dei „buoni europei“. Riflessioni su Nietzsche. Bologna: Pendragon 2017, Nietzsche-Studien, 2023, vol.52, no.1, 2023, pp.391-401
- Luca Crescenzi / Carlo Gentili / Aldo Venturelli (Hg.), Letteratura e identità europea. Per una storia dei ‚buoni europei‘. Rom: Istituto Italiano di Studi Germanici 2018, Nietzsche-Studien, 2023, vol.52, no.1, 2023, pp.391-401
- Marco Brusotti / Michael McNeal / Corinna Schubert / Herman Siemens (Hg.), European / Supra-European. Cultural Encounters in Nietzsche’s Philosophy. Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter 2020, Nietzsche-Studien, 2023, vol.52, no.1, 2023, pp.391-401
Translations:
- German-Italian: Bastian Strinz, ""L'innocuo auto-osservatore". Al di là del bene e del male come modello poetologico di riferimento nelle prime prose di Robert Walser", in: "Estetica Studi e ricerche" Bologna 2019
- German-Italian: Giulia Baldelli, "Picchi e lucertole: Nietzsche a confronto con la tradizione dell'epigramma in "Vocazione di poeta"", in: Gabriella Pelloni e Claus Zittel (eds.), Poetica in permanenza, Studi su Nietzsche, ETS, Pisa 2017
- French-Italian: C. Chabert, "Il sé, il soggetto, il dolore", in Rivista di Psicoanalisi, Raffaello Cortina, Milan 2015