On the 40th anniversary of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s death, the Italian Cultural Institute in London hosts a symposium to commemorate him and his work: “L’interruzione del senso è più totale del senso stesso” – Language, sign and meaning in the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975)
The event is organised and chaired by the University of Reading’s own Dr Federico Faloppa as part of the “Italian Language Week in the World.” It will focus on Pasolini’s language and reflections on language, covering in a very accessible way topics which are extremely relevant in the foundation of Pasolini’s artistic work, but which are sometimes neglected when discussing his intellectual legacy.
The literary promotion of a language and the cultural status of its speaking community are a constant concern in Pasolini’s work, since his first collection of poems “Poesie a Casarsa” (1942). Rosa Mucignat (King’s College) will shed a light on Pasolini and Friulian poetry, politics, and the people, by exploring Pasolini’s use of the Friulian language not only as poetic tool, but also in terms of political awareness, identity and belonging.
Dr Federico Faloppa of the University of Reading
By reflecting upon “L’interruzione del senso è […] più totale del senso stesso”. Strategie di eccesso, indicalità e conoscenza sensoriale nei film di Pasolini, Donatella Maraschin (London South Bank University) will question Pasolini’s idea of cinema as a written language of reality, which by a sensorial approach to signs enables viewers to see things from the point of view of truth.
Language as translation of signs, and the translation of Pasolini’s poetry will be addressed by poet and translator Cristina Viti, who will introduce the audience to some peculiarities in Pasolini’s poetical work, between tradition and innovation.
Federico Faloppa will challenge Pasolini’s “folle fiducia nella lingua” (Walter Siti), by focusing in particular on Pasolini’s reflections around the “Nuova questione della lingua” and the poet’s disillusionment from the late Sixties onwards.
Federico Faloppa is Assistant Professor in Italian Studies at the University of Reading, where he teaches modules on the history of the Italian language, discourse analysis, and Italian intellectuals in the 20th century, with a particular focus on Pier Paolo Pasolini. His main research interest is the representation of otherness in language.
Donatella Maraschin is Senior Lecturer at London South Bank University, where she is the director of the BA in Multimedia Journalism. She has extensively published on the intersections between mainstream cinema, including Pasolini’s, and the practice and concerns of Visual Anthropology.
Rosa Mucignat is Senior Lecturer in Comparative Literature at King’s College London. She teaches and researches on 18th and 19th century European novel, travel writing, forms of shorter narrative, and she has published on Pasolini’s works in Friulian.
Cristina Viti is a translator and poet whose published work includes translations of Guillaume Apollinaire, Dino Campana, Elsa Morante, Erri De Luca and Amelia Rosselli.
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