Vocaboly.com

[Pat Cerrai]

You just wouldn't believe the rubbish that Italian academics are
getting paid for producing. It's about time they closed the whole sad
show down. Worth a look -- at www.justbookreviews.net. It's an ongoing
project and so far the academics include Lavinia Merlini Barbaresi,
Francesco Gozzi, Carla Dente Baschiera, Marcella Bertuccelli Papi,
Riccardo Ambrosini, John, Morley, Maurizio Gotti ( on language of
corruption, would you believe it! Related to the late New York
racketeer John?). Give us more...

JUST Book Reviews is conducting an ongoing survey of publications by
senior members of modern languages faculties at Italian universities,
beginning with the University of Pisa. Sadly, results are proving to
be consistently, though perhaps not surprisingly, negative.

The survey follows on naturally from our recent publication of Martin
Putz's German language history repeats itself. It alleged, among other
things, allocation of tenured posts in German at the University of
Pisa on the basis of criteria other than merit, a notoriously
widespread and longrunning practice in Italian academia.

Our survey is also intended to satisfy specific reader curiosity about
the standards of publications by those who have, consciously or
unconsciously, been active or passive accomplices in almost two
decades of unresolved job discrimination against foreign-language
lecturer colleagues working alongside them. The issue has received
much publicity in the international press and the University of Pisa
has been specifically singled out by the European Commission as one of
six model centres of such discrimination. For more on this, see
Domenico Pacitti's classic articles on Italian university corruption
in JUST Response.

Our editorial team has endeavoured to be, as always, fair and
objective in its assessments whilst at the same pulling no punches
where deserved. Results are often predictably colourful and should
make for entertaining reading.

You are cordially invited to send your comments, corrections and
suggestions for further appropriate books you would like us to review
in this section to The Editor of JUST Book Reviews at
justbookreviews@justresponse.net.