Italian Language Week: Utopia Possibilities and Necessity in Renaissance Italy
Renaissance utopias imagined worlds that did not exist, but might have.
Renaissance utopias imagined worlds that did not exist, but might have. We shall examine the relationship between utopian thought and possibility in Renaissance Italy, asking what kind of possibility a utopian world represented for writers and readers, and how the imagined alternative could reshape their understanding, and ours, of the actual world. We shall consider utopia not simply as an ideal society, but as an inquiry into what could be otherwise. Cristina Perissinotto is Full Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Ottawa. Her research focuses on the intersections of literature, philosophy, and politics, with particular interest in Italian cultural studies, utopian thought, and narrative theater.
CHD 420
Friday, October 23, 2026 at 3:15 p.m. to Friday, October 23, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. (Calgary time)
Last checked: 2026-10-07T17:06:04.750Z