Italian 301 - Liars/Jesters Italian Stage

This course explores the role of lies and practical jokes in Italian literary culture and the way the concept of humor has changed over time. We will investigate the intimate connection between power, religion, and laughter by reading some of the funniest and politically charged works. Our authors (Machiavelli, Goldoni, Pirandello, De Filippo, Fo) will take us through the streets of Renaissance Florence, eighteenth-century Venetian canals, as well as the improvised "factory theaters" of the 1970s.