Prof. Montini's reseatrch addresses the pragmatic and stylistic aspects of the research. Following Moffitt's recent formulation of populism as a political style rather than as an ideology, the role and the rhetorical strategies of populist female leaders will be explored, selecting a few case studies from the recent past to the present.

Prof. Mariani deals with the issue of post-truth in relation to ethnic minorities in North America, intended either as a means of subjugation or as a marker of political divides between generations, with a focus on the spread of misinformation among and about indigenous and diasporic communities in the Trump/COVID era. A historical review of the ways Americans came to dominate and condition indigenous lives through the construction of an "imagined/imaginary" American Indian will lead to an exploration of the ways in which American Indian writers and activists have tried to "speak truth to power."

Prof. Ranzato undertakes the classification and analysis of a number of audiovisual narratives from a linguistic and translational point of view. Taking its cue from the title of a 2020 article in The Economist that asked: "Does it matter if The Crown fictionalizes reality? It is more truthful than the story the royals told", her research will investigate aspects related but not limited to: 1) "real" people as fictionalized characters in films and TV series; 2) political and scientific discourses in audiovisual fiction; 3) modes and techniques of registering "the truth": documentaries and mockumentaries; 4) censorial interventions on screen translations and adaptations aimed at manipulating the original authors' perspective of the truth. 

Prof. Cordiner, a scholar of the French national fact, will interrogate the production and the reception in France of discourses of post-and counter-truths in terms of an identity reaction to the perceived standardization/hegemonization of (theoretical and applied) knowledge coming from the Anglo-Saxon world. Without any justificatory intent toward aberrant pseudo-explanations, he will investigate the possibility of a kind of legitimization of the conspiracy as an instinctual reflex of preservation of a national as well as individual cultural character that is perceived as being in decline.

Faith, Truth, Propaganda, and Art: these are the axes around which the research on the French intellectuals, who embraced the communist project and aligned themselves with the cause of the socialist bloc, revolves. From the Belomorkanal to Lysenkoism, through the trials of 1936 and 1948, Soviet mythology gained widespread and unconditional credence among many French artists. Not only did they publicly defend it, but they also drew inspiration from it for their creative endeavors. In the poetic realm, figures like Aragon, Éluard, Tzara, Unik, and many others, after a fruitful period of engagement with the historical avant-gardes, chose to enlist both themselves and their work in the service of the overarching, national, and universal interest that they believed to be embodied by the French Communist Party and the Soviet Union. What drove them to this, neither obvious nor easy, decision? Certainly not personal gain, nor the need for a new church, as some reductionist interpretations often suggest. Rather, it was the generous visionary power of the socialist ideal—the modern Humanism that they believed to have been realized in the real or presumed triumphs of Stalin’s USSR. This radiant future promised not only earthly happiness but also the elevation of poetry into praxis. From this stemmed their naive blindness to exaggerated falsehoods, edifying narratives, romantic kitsch, or industrial science fiction passed off as positive, tangible truths. Yet, much like the chivalry of the feudal era, it also gave rise to an admirable moral integrity, a keen sense of honor and sacrifice, and above all, a rediscovery of the communal value of belonging and the distinctly social—even popular—meaning of art. The truth of this fantastical narrative, nourished by self-intoxication, hope, fear, and desperate pride, is to be sought in its aesthetic outcomes: in the "Red Legend," which reinterprets the themes and stylistic devices of the "Golden Legend," adapting them to the modern world, its contradictions, and aspirations. In the infamous climate of triumphant fascism and the no less toxic atmosphere of the Cold War, the socialist post-truth was a historically valid response—if not a just one, then certainly a beautiful one—to the monstrosity of the real world. It was not the superior critical realism promoted by official doctrine but rather a renewed surrealism, more intense and authentic because it was shared and embedded in reality. In the enchanting power of imagery, the mobilization of consciences through rhyme and song, the sincerity of inspiration, and the honesty of craft lies the virtuous redemption of propaganda’s deceptions, doctrinal oversimplifications and excesses, vulgarities, and even the crimes of political praxis. This aesthetic serendipity of the communist mirage, with the appropriate critical distance, deserves to be rediscovered and appreciated. The high and militant lyricism of Aragon, followed by the fantastical and pseudoscientific verses of Dobzynski, will provide demonstrations of this claim, grounded in the belief that the criterion of truth in poetry is not the representation of reality but the projection of desire.

Prof. McIntyre will tackle the current philosophical debate on chat-bot generated literary texts. The recent appearance of ChatGPT and other Large Language Model (LLM) AI platforms threatens to overwhelm the information sphere with disinformation, fake news, and plagiarism, thus plunging us even deeper into the "post-truth" era. Overlooked, however, is the deep philosophical question of whether any novels or other forms of fiction generated by LLMs might nonetheless be meaningful. Would an AI-generated novel be worth reviewing? Could it withstand or even repay the close scrutiny of literary criticism? Would it necessarily be considered a "post-truth" narrative? If Derrida's deconstructionist model is correct in arguing that the meaning of a text is not exhausted by the intent of its author - and in some sense is created or at least negotiated by the relationship that each reader has with a text - is it possible that just as with AI-generated art or music, LLM generated works of fiction might open a new door to artistic evaluation? 

Dr. Dehdarirad's research addresses the ways post-truth strategies are represented and challenged in contemporary US fiction. More specifically, he focuses on the "encyclopedic" mode of writing or Tom LeClair's concept of "system novels" as possible means to reflect on (and raise awareness in) issues linked to science denial, the environmental crisis, and injustice from a more-than-human perspective. Such ana analysis will hopefully help us assess the formal evolution of postmodernist formal strategies connected to ecological issues.

Dr. Ciambella will investigate the pragmatic space of fake news, especially those that communities of users can easily access via social media (e.g., links, posts, tweets, etc.), drawing on Charles S. Pierce’s (How to Make Our Ideas Clear, 1878) and other scholars’ pragmatic theory of truth (e.g., William James, John Dewey, and neo-pragmatic theories of truth), and recent explorations of post-truth products within the frameworks of pragmalinguistics and pragmastylistics, This analysis has a dual objective. First, it seeks to corroborate the idea that fake news is inherently a product of the post-truth era, or at the very least, that its rapid spread has been significantly fueled by phenomena associated with the post-truth age – such as the erosion of trust in traditional information sources, the rise of emotionally charged and polarizing content, and the increased reliance on personal beliefs over objective facts. Second, this analysis aims to explore and identify key pragmatic and structural features common to fake news. By doing so, it hopes to provide media users with practical tools and insights that will enable them to recognize and critically assess misleading or false information in the media landscape, helping them navigate an environment increasingly saturated with disinformation and manipulated narratives.

Dr. Balestrino's contribution to this project revolves around the forms of truth(s) and authenticity of autobiographical texts, specifically investigating the genre of autofiction as an ideological site of imbrication of facts, their fictional representation, and their subsequent politicization. These reflections raise relevant questions about the position and the role of the author – and of authority – in these works and in the context in which they were produced.

Dr. Traina addressees the issue of post-truth in relation to ethnic minorities in North America, intended either as a means of subjugation or as a marker of political divides between generations. A thorough analysis of contemporary works by Vietnamese American writers will shed light on how "diasporic post-truths" may be inscribed into a larger discourse that has its roots in the history and legacies of the war in Vietnam.

Dr. Talebian deals with the issue of post-truth in relation to ethnic minorities in North America, intended either as a means of subjugation or as a marker of political divides between generations, with a focus on the spread of misinformation among and about indigenous and diasporic communities. A selection of contemporary novels and memoirs by Canadian Aboriginal writers will serve to investigate how specific aspects of their culture, language, and rituals have been redefined in the posttruth age, as well as the impact of the proliferation of fake news among this community.

Dr. Valleriani tackles the classification and analysis of a number of audiovisual narratives from a linguistic and translational point of view. Taking its cue from the title of a 2020 article in The Economist that asked: "Does it matter if The Crown fictionalizes reality? It is more truthful than the story the royals told", her research will investigate aspects related but not limited to: 1) "real" people as fictionalized characters in films and TV series; 2) political and scientific discourses in audiovisual fiction; 3) modes and techniques of registering "the truth": documentaries and mockumentaries; 4) censorial interventions on screen translations and adaptations aimed at manipulating the original authors' perspective of the truth.

Dr. Arminio's research delves into the ways post-truth strategies are represented and challenged in contemporary US fiction. An investigation of the production and reception of a number of cross- media biofiction from the standpoint of Bourdieu's theorization of the literary field and Walsh's rhetorical understanding of fictionality will be useful to understand the ways in which a systematic blurring between fact and fiction can negotiate epistemic authority while encouraging a critical attitude towards narratives.