ABSTRACT
Voci italiane, designed to complement other volumes in the series Routledge Modern Language Readers, is a textbook intended for intermediate and advanced learners of Italian. It presents students who desire to progress along the language proficiency spectrum with a series of calibrated and thought-provoking readings in contemporary Italian fiction and non-fiction. The Reader exposes learners to the authentic language of 21st-century authors whose voices and work reflect as well as partake in the diverse sociocultural fabric of today’s Italy. Their writings offer a unique opportunity to explore and learn from different voices and modes of expression which embody, interpret or antagonize dominant narratives in contemporary society. All of the readings presented in this textbook promote a deeper engagement with Italian culture, a culture that strives and struggles to encompass and coordinate different languages. From linguistic to corporeal, from gendered to political, from literary and musical to ethnic languages, Italian cultural polyphony forms a chorus of different voices that illuminate the plural and ever-changing character of society. From a conceptual perspective, the Reader aims to express the idea that societies host a heterogeneous body of linguistic and social realities.
