The scientific journal Studia Polensia, published by the Department of Italian Studies of the Faculty of Humanities of Pula/Pola, Croatia, is seeking articles for the 2024 issue. The journal publishes theoretical, research and methodological articles in Italian, English and Croatian languages in the fields of Humanities, Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary research. The journal follows Open Access politics for all of its content. By submitting an article to the journal, the author implicitly accepts its publication under the license Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). The Authors retain their copyright of the work. Papers to be considered for publication must represent an original work and should not have been previously published. All articles are subject to evaluation by the Editorial Board. Once approved, the Editors will send the article to two anonymous reviewers. The journal follows a double-blind peer review process. Both of the reviews have to be positive to consider the paper for publication. Authors guarantee that the paper is not under the review process by another publisher or in press. If accepted for publication, the authors give permission to the journal to publish it.

Thematic block of the issue – the number 13

As the 2024 issue is the 13th a thematic block will be dedicated to the number 13. It is well known the power of superstition, and how much this is related to the number 13, especially when the fatal number falls on Friday. Triskaidekaphobia, as the meaning given to the number, has different origins: biblical, historical (templars), and in the modern world even the title of a cult horror movie of the '80s. Christian tradition refers to the Last Supper when Jesus and his 12 apostles were together on Thursday evening, while on Friday, Jesus was crucified. In Scandinavian mythology, there are 12 gods, while Loki is the 13th, and is the god of deception and cunning. From history, the most cited fact is the date of October 13, 1307, a Friday in fact, when the French king Philip IV the Fair ordered the arrest and execution of the Templars (who were a highly esteemed symbol of Christianity in the known world). In the '80s the cult horror movie Friday 13th made cultural history with Jason Voorhees and his serial killing with the hokey mask and machete. The movie franchise counts 12 slasher sequels, television series, novels, video games and merchandise. Today, there are elevators and passenger lines in airplanes, missing the number 13.

There are also positive meanings of the number. In Norse mythology, Fridays and the number 13 were associated with the goddess Frigg, the symbol of love, matrimony and fecundity. The number was considered lucky due to its connection with the lunar and menstrual cycles in a solar year, which highlights the importance of fertility for Norse culture and traditions. To mention that when Christianity acquired power and authority, among other things also condemned this belief, exactly like Friday and the number 13. In the world, especially in Asia, the number 13 is considered a lucky number. About personal beliefs, an example is Taylor Swift whose date of birth is December 13th, and who used to draw the number 13 on her hand before concerts. All these are just some examples of the meanings people and cultures, in different times and in different parts of the world, give to the number 13.

For the thematic block, the journal welcomes articles in the fields of Humanities, Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary research with a focus on the number 13.

The paper should not exceed 8000 words and should include an abstract of max. 250 words in the language of the article and in English (if the article is written in Italian or Croatian). The journal also welcomes reviews of books and conferences. Reviews should be from 1000 – 3000 words.

Every published article will be assigned a DOI number. The issue will be published in December 2024.

Author(s) can submit articles that do not follow journal guidelines, but if accepted for publication after the double peer review, the author(s) have to conform their article to the journal guidelines.

Please, send your articles with the author(s) name(s) and surname(s), affiliation, e-mail and where possible ORCID number, before April 26, 2024, to: studia.polensia@unipu.hr, or to roberta.matkovic@unipu.hr.

Publishing is free of charge for the authors.

Journal site in English: https://ffpu.unipu.hr/studia-polensia/en - a downloadable Template with editorial norms is available

Journal site in English: https://ffpu.unipu.hr/studia-polensia/en/about_the_journal

Journal site in Italian: https://ffpu.unipu.hr/studia-polensia/it/presentazione