I read with gusto Randy Malamud’s piece, particularly the suggestion of nudologia (boredology) as the new disciplinary descriptor (“One big yawn? The academics bewitched by boredom”, Features, 14 July). In Italian the word “nudo”, contrary to Polish, is not related to nausea but translates as “naked”. Perhaps the term is apt to capture Heidegger’s view of boredom as facilitating “a journey towards authenticity”. Alternatively, nudology as reflective of the endless forms of the bare human body might be the best antidote to boredom. I would suggest that scholarship’s “dirty” secret has nothing to do with celebrating dullness, as argued in the piece – quite the opposite!
Anna Notaro
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee
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