Republics of Letters is a peer-reviewed, digital journal dedicated to the study of knowledge, politics, and the arts, from Antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on the early modern period. Articles are organized by forum, each of which, unlike special issues in print journals, will continue to accept new material over time. All articles are freely accessible.
Stalin’s famous question concerning the number of divisions footed by the Vatican has often been chided for its short-sightedness. Granted, the Swiss guards in their technicolor costumes may not amount to a clear and present danger for any totalitarian despot.
There is a sense in many humanities departments across the country that Theory is dead. The news was not announced by a Nietzschean madman, nor did it spread from one university to the next in a panic wave. The death of Theory, if confirmed, was rather an inglorious one, a back alley affair involving tenure letters, firings at university presses, and a certain fatigue.
