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Boccaccio’s Human Comedy: Reading the Decameron Today with Dr. Joseph Luzzi

Boccaccio’s Human Comedy: Reading the Decameron Today with Dr. Joseph Luzzi


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Boccaccio’s collection of 100 short stories, the Decameron, has long been celebrated for its bawdy humor and open exploration of sexuality in stories that include a hardened criminal on his death bed tricking a gullible priest, an arrogant horse dealer who falls into a sewer after being duped by a prostitute pretending to be his sister, and a group of enterprising nuns who discreetly employ a gardener to satisfy their carnal urges. Join Joseph Luzzi, the Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature at Bard College, as he explores the profound undercurrents swirling beneath Boccaccio’s entertaining narratives, including such key issues as how to rebuild a world devastated by pandemic, the role of women as readers in Europe’s new literary culture, and the creation of the “Renaissance” itself through the reanimation of long-lost pagan and classical traditions. 

Joseph Luzzi received his Ph.D. from Yale University and is a Professor of Comparative Literature and Faculty Member in Italian Studies at Bard College, where he has taught since 2002 after being a visiting faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania. A frequent contributor to publications including the New York Times, TLS, and Chronicle of Higher Education, he is the author of 5 books, including "My Two Italies," a New York Times Editors' Choice selection and "In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love," a Vanity Fair “Must-Read” selection. His work has been translated into multiple languages and his many awards include a Yale College Teaching Prize, Dante Society of America Essay Prize, and Wallace Fellowship at Villa I Tatti, Harvard's Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. In 2017 he was named Cittadino Onorario/Honorary Citizen in Acri, Calabria, his Italian parents' birthplace. His next book is "Botticelli's Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance," which will be published by W. W. Norton. Professor Luzzi is the founder of the Virtual Book Club, an online community of readers dedicated to exploring some of the best books ever written. Learn more at JosephLuzzi.com.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

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