The ‘horizontal culture’: a dress rehearsal in time of pandemic

Abstract

In February 2020 a new book was published in the Saggi tascabili Laterza editorial series, titled La cultura orizzontale, written by Giovanni Solimine and Giorgio Zanchini. It aims at analysing the changes occurred and occurring in cultural activities after the digital revolution and the advent of the so-called onlife condition. In particular, the authors have observed these phenomena from the point of view of the net generation. If, on the one hand, the book publishing had a very bad timing – just before the worsening of the pandemic and the Italy lockdown – on the other hand the timing was perfect, as a new scenario, which could not be even imagined some days before, suddenly put to test whatever is described in the book. The transition to ‘horizontal culture’ has speeded up in a way that in a situation of normality would have needed years of attempts and experiments. The essay analyses the book contents in light of what has happened in the last months.