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Italian Futurism Explored: “Parole in Libertà” and F.T. Marinetti with Dr. Kristin Stasiowski

Italian Futurism Explored: “Parole in Libertà” and F.T. Marinetti with Dr. Kristin Stasiowski


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti roared onto the Italian literary scene with his 1912 manifesto in which he coined the term “Parole in Libertà,” or “words in freedom.” What began as a genre-busting commentary on the aesthetic of visual language soon transformed into a cultural, artistic, and political movement known broadly as “futurism.” 

Artists such as Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, and Giacomo Balla joined Marinetti to glorify every aspect of modern technology from the speeding dynamism of cars, planes, and trains, to the industrial mechanisms that would lift Italy from its agricultural roots and agrarian history. The past, he claimed, was not what would bring Italy and Italians to global prominence: “We want no part of it, the past,” he wrote. 

The way forward for Italy's young, passionate futurists was in declaring a radical break from the “dead” art and literature of yesterday to found a new nation. It was this ideology that inspired Marinetti and Benito Mussolini’s interests to align and would lead to a friendship that would indeed alter the future of modern Italy. 

Led by an expert in Italian literature and culture, Kristin Stasiowski, Ph.D., this interactive seminar will introduce participants to the historical figure of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti through an in-depth discussion of the literary, historical, and political contexts in which he operated and offer a glimpse into the way that his poetic movement shaped a nation. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased understanding of the history of Italian futurism.

Kristin Stasiowski, Ph.D. is the Assistant Dean of International Programs and Education Abroad for the College of Arts and Sciences and is also an Assistant Professor of Italian Language and Literature in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages at Kent State University. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in Italian Language and Literature and has taught Italian language, literature, cinema, history, and culture in both Florence, Italy, and at Kent State. She recently published a chapter entitled "A Divine Comedy for All Time: Dante's Enduring Relevance for the Contemporary Reader" in Italian Pop Culture: Media, Product, Imageries. Rome, Italy: Viella Editrice s.r.. Her current research is focused on Dante, Boccaccio, and the modern poet Clemente Rebora.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

Customer Reviews

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C. (Maisons-Laffitte, FR)
Discovering Italian Futurism

Once again, Dr. Stasiowski enlightens us with another expertly-researched and -presented subject. I believe she only scratched the surface of this fascinating topic, and I'm eager to learn more about it.

S
S. (Seattle, US)

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Customer Reviews

Based on 2 reviews
100%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
C
C. (Maisons-Laffitte, FR)
Discovering Italian Futurism

Once again, Dr. Stasiowski enlightens us with another expertly-researched and -presented subject. I believe she only scratched the surface of this fascinating topic, and I'm eager to learn more about it.

S
S. (Seattle, US)

Guest did not leave comment