Spring 'Trouble Begins' Lecture Series Begins May 4
Elmira, NY (05/02/2022) — The spring 2022 The Trouble Begins Lecture Series presented by the Center for Mark Twain Studies (CMTS) begins at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 4 at Quarry Farm and will continue each Wednesday through May. The lectures are free and open to the public and recordings of the lectures will be posted to the CMTS website.
The first lecture, "Found in Translation: Mark Twain's Italian Humor" will be presented by Fred L. Gardaphe, Professor of English and Italian/American Studies, Queens College, City University of New York and the John D. Calandra Italian/American Institute.
Gardaphe is a Fulbright Fellow and past president of the Italian American Studies Association, MELUS, and the Working Class Studies Association. He is currently working on a study of humor and irony in Italian American culture, which is the basis for this talk where he will explore humor toward Italy and Italians coming to America.
Often those seeking to control people beyond using the law will turn to humiliation as a weapon of mass reduction and distorted identities. Humiliation can reveal the prejudices and biases of those making fun of the new arrivals to the country. In his lecture, Gardaphe reviews Italian references in Mark Twain's works and poses that Twain's ironic approach to Italy and the Italian people is different from most U.S. American writers of his time.
The free Trouble Begins Lecture Series is open to the public. The spring lectures will be in the Barn at Quarry Farm and will continue on Wednesdays throughout May.
The 2022 Spring Trouble Begins Lecture Series Schedule:
- Wed., May 4: "A Yankee in Kennedy's Court: The Humorous American Story and the Mark Twain Prize" by Fred L. Gardaphe, Queens College/CUNY and the John D. Calandra Italian/American Institute.
- Wed., May 11: "A Yankee in Kennedy's Court: The Humorous American Story and the Mark Twain Prize" by Charline Jao, Cornell University.
- Wed., May 18: "A Copyright Ignored? Mark Twain, Mary Ann Cord, and the Meaning of Authorship" by Timothy J. McFarlin, Samford University - Cumberland School of Law.
- Wed., May 25: '"Our One Really Effective Weapon': Mark Twain and Humor as a Social Tool" by Elizabeth Cantalamessa, University of Miami.
About The Trouble Begins Lecture Series
In 1984, the Elmira College Center for Mark Twain Studies initiated a lecture series, The Trouble Begins at Eight lecture series. The title came from the handbill advertising Mark Twain's October 2, 1866 lecture presented at Maguire's Academy of Music in San Francisco. The first lectures were presented in 1985. By invitation, Mark Twain scholars present lectures in the fall and spring of each year, in the Barn at Quarry Farm or at Peterson Chapel in Cowles Hall on Elmira College's campus. All lectures are free and open to the public.
Media Attachments
Image comes from Mark Twain’s “Italian Without A Master,” first appearing in Harper’s Weekly for January 2, 1904.