Details

EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “How to Win Friends and Influence People – Italian Style!: Baldassare Castiglione and the “Sprezzatura” of Renaissance Courtly Life”
Presented by Dr. Kristin Stasiowski
with Additional Commentary by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Join Dr. Kristin Stasiowski, Ph.D for a lively conversation about Baldassare Castiglione—the quintessential Italian Renaissance “influencer!” A diplomat, soldier, courtier, and humanist philosopher, Castiglione was the author of the well-known treatise on morality and etiquette entitled “The Book of the Courtier” (Il Cortegiano). Perhaps the most entertaining “how to” guide for those aspiring to a life at court, Castiglione outlines—with erudition and insight—all of the many ways in which someone could best handle the intricacies and intrigues of palace life in order to become a prince’s most capable and adored admirer. Written very much in the style of Dale Carnegie’s  “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” Castiglione offers a meditation on life in the Renaissance princely court as well as a keen psychological study on human behavior and power dynamics in groups that leads readers through an outline of how to climb the ladder of success both in their personal and public lives. This in-depth talk will introduce you to one of the Renaissance’s towering intellectual figures and teach you how to embody his idea of “sprezzatura” so that you too can have it all—Italian style!

The webinar will include a 45-minute lecture followed by 15-minutes of Q&A.

Please note:

• Your participation is confirmed once you have purchased your ticket. You will receive the Zoom link to join the presentation circa 30 minutes before the start time.
• VIDEO RECORDING of the webinar will be available for unlimited streaming at your convenience for 7 days after the event.

Lecturer

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.