University Calendar

No charge, but tickets are required. Visit the Alexander Kasser Theater Box Office or peakperfs.org.

Shaul Bassi, Associate Professor of English and Director of The International Center for the Humanities and Social Change at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, will discuss the history and present situation of the Ghetto of Venice, where a cosmopolitan Jewish community has lived since the early 16th century. Having contributed the word “Ghetto” to the global vocabulary, this site has been a very vibrant international hub and a point of dissemination of Jewish culture for Jews and non-Jews alike. The facts of the Ghetto will be compared to Shakespeare's fictions, to consider parallels, prejudices, echoes, and resonances. The Merchant of Venice will be discussed as an example of how the Ghetto can draw on its rich legacy to provide topical lessons for the present time and as an artistic achievement that has paved the way for the area’s future as a living art center.

Art & Society is a discussion series that explores the vital role of the arts in illuminating contemporary social and political issues. Mr. Bassi’s discussion provides historical and cultural context for Compagnia de’ Colombari’s production of The Merchant of Venice, presented by Peak Performances in the Alexander Kasser Theater at Montclair State University.

Shaul Bassi is the author of Shakespeare in Venice: Exploring the City with Shylock and Othello (with Alberto Toso Fei, Elzeviro 2007) and Shakespeare's Italy and Italy's Shakespeare: Place, “Race”, and Politics (Palgrave Macmillan 2016). He was the coordinator of the cultural projects related to the 500th anniversary of the Ghetto in Venice (1516-2016).  The idea of staging The Merchant of Venice in the Ghetto for the first time in history was inspired equally by his passion for Shakespeare and his commitment to the Jewish past, present, future of Venice, where his family has lived since the 18th century.

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