Global Theories and Local Frameworks: Contemporary Periodical Studies in Serbia and Italy

Journal of Modern Periodical Studies, vol. 17, no. 1, edited by Jelena Lalatović and Dario Boemia

This special issue examines the development of periodical studies in two cultural and academic contexts often positioned at the margins of dominant Anglophone scholarship: contemporary Serbia and Italy. Its contributions investigate how institutional structures, disciplinary traditions and socio-historical conditions influence the reception, adaptation and reinterpretation of theoretical models circulating internationally.

Rather than treating theory as a framework simply transferred from established scholarly centres to peripheral contexts, the issue foregrounds a more reciprocal relationship between global approaches and locally situated research. Archival practices, digitization policies, access to collections and disciplinary boundaries all shape the questions scholars are able to ask, as well as the methodologies through which periodicals are studied.

The six case studies address different publications, historical moments and cultural formations. Together, however, they present periodicals as multidimensional media in which textual, visual and material forms interact. The articles consequently draw attention to multimodality, remediation and the relationships between mainstream publications, alternative print cultures and countercultural forms.

By placing Serbian and Italian scholarship in dialogue, the issue also challenges linear accounts of the development of periodical studies. It shows how distinct and sometimes delayed institutional trajectories can produce original methodologies and theoretical insights. Local case studies enrich and complicate global theories, while broader theoretical perspectives help articulate the linguistic, cultural, and historical specificity of individual periodical cultures.