The Flavors of Italy: A Celebration of Food and Culture with Dr. Joseph Luzzi
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It is family. It is home. It is identity. It is pride.
For centuries, going back to the Roman Empire, each Italian region has made inimitable contributions to global cuisine: from the succulent tomato sauces of the south, to the creamy risotto dishes of the north. Italy’s astonishing culinary traditions became as integral to Italian identity as the art of Michelangelo and the opera of Verdi. Join your expert, Dr. Joseph Luzzi, to discover how these recipes came about, how they have adapted and changed across generations and climates, and how cuisine plays into the larger cultural picture of Italy as a whole and as a diverse country with distinct differences. Also join in on discussions as to how Italian food has emigrated and changed as Italians uprooted their lives to locations all across the globe.
Inspired by the world’s love of Italian cooking, this unique, new presentation will be hosted by renowned Bard College Professor Joseph Luzzi, an award-winner teacher, author, and scholar on Italian culture. Through this deep exploration of Italian cuisine and its many fascinating stories, participants will truly understand the old Italian proverb, “a tavola non s’invecchia mai” – “at the table one never ages.” Just make sure you're prepared to leave hungry!
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.
60 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
Wonderful, mouth watering talk about the regionality, and personal memories of family favorite dishes.
I love Dr. Luzzi’s conversational way of sharing information. I feel like I am in his living room discussing the topics he talks about. His talk on Italian food was so personal and filled with his memories of taste, flavors, his family. Thank goodness in 2 weeks I shall be in Florence to indulge in “real food”. Grazie Molto Dr. Luzzi. I shall be signing up in the future for every course he teaches. Cinema Paradiso was magical.
This is the 2nd Context class I’ve taken, the first was packed with value and in-depth information. In comparison, Dr Luzzi’s class was abysmal, all but devoid of meaningful information and at times insulting. The class, listed as 90min duration, included a 45 minute “conversation”, poorly prepared with few slides, most of which were Dr Luzzi’s family photos. Class questions took up less than 15 min. Most of the names of dishes were rattled off in Italian with no English translation or word slides. Class content so skimmed the surface that it could be generalized to all peasant cultures that needed to use every bit of the animals they ate. Among other generalities, making blood sausage is far from exclusive to southern Italy. Dr Luzzi shared his inability to enjoy a meal in the American fast food culture, which focuses on monetary table turning, by citing an example of being given a table time limit in a NY restaurant. I have never been given a table time limit and have enjoyed many slow food meals in America. Dr Luzzi shared his family eating experiences with dishes prepared by his immigrant mother, recipes passed verbally through generations, use of fresh seasonal ingredients, the ability to measure ingredients by hand. All of this is also true of my 2nd generation Polish mother as I’m sure is true of mothers in many other cultures. It seemed like a major intent of this class was to hype Dr Luzzi’s books. I learned so little from this experience, I will avoid taking any more of Dr Luzzi’s classes.
I was so disappointed in context Travek because after paying my money - they never United me to zoom