Developing emotional intelligence and empathy through the Applied Shakespeare Project

This special issue of Lingue e Linguaggi, entitled Developing Emotional Intelligence and Empathy through the “Applied Shakespeare” Project, explores the potential of Shakespeare’s dramatic language as a resource for the development of emotional intelligence, empathy, and transversal competences in contemporary educational and social contexts. Developed within the framework of the PRIN 2022 research project Applied Shakespeare: Developing New Educational Models for Transversal Competences and Life-Skills, the volume investigates how Shakespeare’s plays can function not only as literary texts but also as interdisciplinary tools for experiential learning, social engagement, and practice-based research. Bringing together scholars working in the fields of Shakespeare studies, pedagogy, theatre practice, linguistics, psychology, adaptation studies, and music, the issue reflects the interdisciplinary methodology that characterizes the Applied Shakespeare project. The essays examine a wide range of activities and contexts, including secondary school education, prison theatre, healthcare environments, podcasting, musical adaptation, intermedial performance, and audience engagement. Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between Shakespeare and socio-emotional learning, highlighting how performance-based and intermedial approaches to Shakespeare can foster emotional awareness, collaborative learning, self-regulation, ethical reflection, and community building. The volume also emphasizes the methodological value of research-by-practice, where artistic experimentation becomes an interpretative and analytical tool rather than a mere form of dissemination. Taken together, the contributions collected in this issue demonstrate the continuing relevance of Shakespeare as a dynamic site of interdisciplinary research capable of connecting the humanities with contemporary educational, social, and cultural challenges.