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The article aims to reconstruct the personality and the thought of Melchiorre Cesarotti (1730-1808) through the analysis of his scientific and moral works. In these texts it is possible to recognize the elements of a doctrine inspired by Rousseau's philosophy, based on the autonomy of intellect and sentiment. Following this idea Cesarotti developed: 1) an empirical conception of science, for which the "truth" is a production of human intelligence, articulated in a historically determined theory; 2) an intersubjective moral doctrine, constituted of a set of rules produced by the empathic encounter between subjects. While accepting the principles of radical individualism, Cesarotti feared, however, the consequences of this theory. Indeed, 1) scientific empiricism dissolves the reassuring unity of views among scientists, transforming science into an anarchic laboratory of opinions. 2) Ethical subjectivism provokes a radical rejection of the principle of authority, subverts the traditional forms of affective life and, at the same time, of public, social and economic norms. Cesarotti, partly inspired by Voltaire's doctrine, partly remaining well anchored in tradition, elaborated a philosophical proposal capable of inhibiting the extreme humanistic and individualistic instances of the Enlightenment, integrating them into a philosophical vision based on the idea of absolute order. In conclusion, the article shows through the comparative study of scientific and moral works a renewed profile of the writer, traces a direction for a new path of research, which can offer a complete reconstruction of Cesarotti's intellectual and political biography.

Wie sind die Entwicklungen der Gender Studies vor dem Hintergrund ihrer Historie zu verstehen? Die Beiträger*innen des Bandes diskutieren diese Frage in drei thematischen Blöcken: Biografische Reflexionen treffen auf politische, künstlerische sowie wissenschaftliche Interventionen und stellen so das Potential der Disziplin heraus. Die einzelnen Beiträge entsprechen Schlaglichtern, die sowohl Dis- als auch Kontinuitäten der Diskurse beleuchten. Die dadurch entstehenden Synergieeffekte bestätigen die Notwendigkeit eines entgrenzenden Dialogs im Fach, transdisziplinär wie transnational.

Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron is a collection of one hundred stories told by a group of people during the initial outbreak of the Black Death in Italy in 1348. Though the work has been interpreted as an escapist piece, this limits its overall value. Through the inclusion of the frame that surrounds the fictional tales, Boccaccio establishes the importance of the plague to the meaning of the work as a whole. Many of the stories that Boccaccio tells attack the immorality of those in positions of authority. These critiques provide a social commentary that addresses the failures of his society and those that have greater authority within it. Furthermore, the Decameron provides a call to action to generate societal change in the wake of the Black Death. This paper argues that Boccaccio used the instability caused by the Black Death as a means of causing societal change. Through his condemning critique of those in positions of authority, he called for more just leadership from secular and religious leaders. Through a thorough analysis of the work, this paper considers the societal changes that occurred as a result of the plague and connects the overall message to the opportunity presented to Boccaccio. PART OF SESSION 4C. SICKNESS AND DEATH: Comment: Tom Taylor, Seattle UniversityChair: Alyson Roy, University of Idaho Ben Hecko, University of Portland, undergraduate student"Plague and Progress: An Analysis of Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron and Reform during the Initial Outbreak of the Black Death" Anika Esther Martin, Eastern Washington University, undergraduate student"The 'English Bath': English Sweating Sickness and the 1529 Continental Outbreak" Patricia A. McManigal, Boise State University, undergraduate student"The Holodomor: The Trickle-Down effect of Political and Economic Choices" Brian O'Riley, Eastern Washington University, graduate student"The Klondike Gold Rush and the Dead Horse Trail"