Wednesday Talk: September 9, 10am-12pm – hybrid

Speaker: Domenico Pietropaolo, Drama and Italian, U of T

Title: “The Colours of Harlequin: Costumes, Cultural Adaptability, and Popular Culture”

Abstract: Harlequin is by far the most famous character of the Italian commedia dell’arte tradition. His most distinctive features are his polychromatic costume and his ability to adapt to diverse social, ideological and economic contexts. Over the centuries Harlequin has made himself at home in many areas of popular culture, and his appearance has been variously interpreted an icon of poverty, enterprising bricolage, innocent gaiety, exotic romance, multicultural inclusivity, rebelliousness, and political disunity.  My purpose in this talk is to explore the ways in which the colours of Harlequin have been used to construct the social imaginary, in the context of marketplace culture, early education, commodity aesthetics and political discourse. Some of the cultural products with which Harlequin’s costume is associated find us passive consumers, content with the shallow and momentary pleasure that his bright colours can give us, while others may stimulate us to deep reflection and imaginative engagement.

Bio: A professor emeritus of Italian and Drama at the University of Toronto and a senior fellow of Massey College, Pietropaolo’s main research interests are Medieval and eighteenth-century studies, production dramaturgy, the relationship between science and aesthetics, and Christianity and culture. His published research includes books on Dante Studies in the Age of Vico, The Baroque Opera Libretto (co-authored with M.A. Parker), Semiotics and Pragmatics of Stage Improvisation, The Commedia dell’Arte, Semiotics of the Christian Imagination, and Harlequin in Marketplace Culture, as well as numerous articles in performance and literary history. At the U of T he has served in various administrative capacities, including that of Director of the Graduate Centre for Study of Drama, Chair of the Department of Italian Studies, Director of the Iacobucci Centre for Italian Canadian Studies, Director of the Kelly Library and Archives, and Principal and Vice-President Academic of the University of St. Michael’s College.

The link to register is https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/eDaxTdGE3n

The deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon.  The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.