Serial Fiction in the Western World: History and Theory

This volume explores the long and intricate evolution of serial forms, presenting them as one of the cornerstones of Western culture. The first part traces the archaeology and early mainstream of serial narration: from antiquity to the medieval romance, from the first Baroque culture industry to the feuilleton, photographic reproduction, pulp fiction and the cinematic serials of the 1930s. The second section moves into the later twentieth century and the contemporary world, examining comics, post-television seriality, B-movies, video games and the new forms of online serialisation. The final part turns to today’s myths, analysing the serial dimension in fiction and advertising, music and the arts, architecture, fashion and design. Across these trajectories, seriality is interpreted not merely as a specific mode of cultural production, but as a basic anthropological model and, at the same time, as a foundation of the processes underpinning modern and current consumer society.

Giovanni Ragone has been Full Professor of Media Studies at Sapienza University of Rome.

Antonio Rafele is currently serving as Professor of Media Studies at the University of Rome La Sapienza and as a Research Fellow at the University of Paris La Sorbonne.