Ruskin To-Day is an informal organisation that exists to celebrate the life and ideas of the artist, critic and social reformer John Ruskin (1819-1900). It brings together the activities of the many different societies, academic institutions and individuals who share an interest in Ruskin and in the many different aspects of his work. This website serves as a noticeboard to draw attention to the many Ruskinian events that take place across the world.
Visitors to this website may like to know more about one of the latest centres dedicated to Ruskin studies:
FoRS is a research centre of the Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. It was officially founded in June 2022 and builds on the tradition of Ruskin research that the University has sustained over more than twenty years. It has promoted conferences, exhibitions and publications of international standing on topics related to Venice, Italy and beyond. The FoRS Advisory Board reflects the breadth of Ruskin’s own interests, comprising scholars working in many fields of study, from European and North American literatures to translation studies, to aesthetics, the history of art and architecture, the history of restoration and conservation, and archaeology. FoRS provides a space for the exchange of ideas and data, for cooperation and dissemination of work on themes of common interest both within Ca’ Foscari and with the international network of cultural, educational and scholarly institutions whose interests relate to Ruskin’s many-faceted work.
Inspired by the title, “Fors Clavigera, Letters to the Labourers and Workmen of Great Britain”, which Ruskin gave to the monumental epistolary work he wrote and published monthly from 1871 to 1884 – the Centre privileges multi- and inter-disciplinary perspectives, promoting wide-ranging cultural activities aimed not only at scholars and students, but the broader audience he himself tried to engage. It focuses on concerns that came to the fore within the European and transatlantic cultures of the nineteenth century, but also responds to the demands and the challenges of the present time. Among its themes are the legacy of classical cultures, the traditions of modern literatures, the history of art and architecture, theories of restoration and heritage conservation, representation as a tool for interpretating experience, active and confrontational participation in social life, environmental, economic and social issues with special reference to the role of cultural institutions in urban life including that of Venice and other cities.
The Centre organizes reading sessions, conferences, seminarsand workshops on Ruskin’s works, including those which are lesser known, but in so doing it inevitably addresses controversial questions concerning art and nature, the environment, conservation, religion, society and the economy. Research outcomes are presented in seminars and meetings promoted by the FoRS Centre, which will also publish new critical editions and translations of works by Ruskin.
FoRS’ director is Emma Sdegno (esdegno@unive.it)
FoRS’ website is at https://www.unive.it/pag/46300
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