The Architectures of Babel

This volume contains all contributions pertaining to the second edition of «I Dialoghi di San Giorgio», organized by the Giorgio Cini Foundation on the topic: The Architectures of Babel. Linguists, semiologists, philosophers, sociologists, scientists and poets discuss on the role of languages in cultural, ethnic and religious integration or clash. Starting from contemporary examples, scholars  interpret Babel diaspora as a resource that replaced the impossible ideal of one unique language with the fruitful alternative of translation.
The issue under discussion is the mutation of languages, which today seem more and more syncretisms of words, graphs, numbers, images, rather than verbal systems. And, against the effects of «globalised society», scholars try to understand how languages can increase the value of cultural specificity, how they can favour new knowledge structures, how they can play a role in preserving, while promoting, cultural differences.