In collaboration with the McGill University, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures – Italian Studies, the Italian Cultural Institute of Montréal presents: Re-examining the Long “1950s”: The (Un)Making of the Contemporary Italian Cultural Identity, 9
The objective of the project is to lay the foundation for a reinterpretation of the “long 1950s” as a key phase in the elaboration of the cultural erasures, marginalizations and distortions which constitute the unacknowledged but fundamental underside of contemporary Italian identity. Bringing this underside to light has ethical and political, as well as cultural implications: a deeper and more complex understanding of post-WW II Italy is an essential step in developing a fresh insight into some long-standing and frustrating impasses in contemporary Italian society with respect to issues of class, gender, religious and political ideology, etc.
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Re-examining the Long “1950s”: The (Un)Making of the Contemporary Italian Cultural Identity, 9 : “Le storie non sono che asce di guerra da disseppellire” Gli anni ’50 secondo Wu Ming by Maurizio Vito, Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, The University of Oklahoma
The presentation will develop three basic themes: the renewed interest in contemporary Italian fiction for the genre of the historical novel; the importance of the historical novel as a cognitive tool; and the way in which contemporary digital technologies make it possible to turn the process of research and composition of the narrative in a collective endeavour of ethical and political significance. In the second part of his presentation, Vito will reflect on the idea that the past needs to be approached as a set of possibilities and that from that perspective the 1950s are especially rich in material. He will conclude with an assessment of the predicament of historical consciousness in contemporary Italian culture.
Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 1200 Dr. Penfield, Wednesday March 29, 2017 – 6:30 pm Presentation will be in English – Free admission
Maurizio Vito holds a degree in Pedagogical Sciences at the University of Verona, a Master in Italian Literature at the University of Pittsburgh and then a PhD at the University of California Berkeley in Italian Studies. He was Professor and Visiting Lecturer at several universities including: University of Oklahoma, University of Arizona, University of California and the Wesleyan University. Throughout his career he has published several articles and Reviews, as well as books: Italian collective narratives. The author-function in the XXI century, and Earth and Sea: Metaphors and Politics in Conflict, Arachne Publisher, Rome, 2012 and is currently working on a translation project entitled “New Italian Epic., Literature, oblique look, back to the future.”
His research field ranges from contemporary Italian literature, the epic and the Renaissance studies. Maurizio Vito is currently professor of Italian language at the University of Oklahoma.
For more info: https://thelongfifties.wordpress.com/
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