On Thursday, Nov. 19, the Italian Studies program kicked off their first-ever lecture series with Dr. Massimo Ciavolella, professor in the Department of Italian at UCLA, on views of love and erotic desire in Medieval culture.
In his virtual lecture, Dr. Ciavolella explained that while love of God or Christ was considered a noble trait, love or desire of another person was largely considered a pathological ailment. This love sickness did not have a known cure, but there seemed to be ways to lessen its impact through medical practices of the time, such as the use of odd instruments to melt away the image of desire from the brain, and of course, bleeding.
More Fall 2020 Lectures
5 p.m. Nov. 24 on Zoom
“(E-)Life is (not) Strange”: Video Game-Based Foreign Language Learning in Higher Education
Featuring: Dr. Simone Bregni, associate professor and chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Saint Louis University.
Currently, some commercially available video games can help students better understand and communicate in foreign/second Languages. Some particular video games can also effectively deliver cultural content. Others, the so-called serious games, are specifically designed by academics to assist and enhance learning in a variety of fields, such as languages, the humanities, the natural sciences and social sciences. This presentation will demonstrate the advantages of task-based problem solving, agency, and total body response that such games afford. No previous gaming experience necessary!
5 p.m. Dec. 2, Zoom
The Renaissance, Florence and the Medici
Featuring: Dr. William Landon, professor of History and Geography at Northern Kentucky University
The Italian Renaissance began in Florence in the late 14th century, re-introduced to Europe the notions of constitutions, voting rights, and what we might call civic engagement. But we also find far more dangerous concepts: the struggle between tyranny and liberty and the struggle for the very soul of Florence. This is the case of “The Pazzi Conspiracy” (April 1478), a spectacular assault against the young Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence cathedral. While his brother was killed, Lorenzo survived and later became Italy’s most prominent statesman, but his rise came at a price: the erosion of republican liberty in Florence.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 