Man vs. Sea: the American imagination and the sea

Description

The Associazione Italo Americana FVG / American Corner Trieste presents “Man vs. Sea,” an English-language conference exploring the powerful relationship between humankind and the sea in the American imagination.
The event is part of the official Barcolana Cultura – Eventi a Terra program and will take place on Tuesday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the American Corner Trieste. Admission is free and open to all.
The event also has the patrocinio dell’Università degli Studi di Trieste – DISU, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici.
The conference will explore three works that have profoundly shaped the way Americans—and audiences around the world—have imagined the sea:

• Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, the epic nineteenth-century novel of Captain Ahab’s obsessive pursuit of the great white whale;
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the celebrated story of an old Cuban fisherman’s struggle against a giant marlin;
• Jaws, the iconic 1975 film directed by Steven Spielberg, which transformed the image of the sea in popular culture.

From the vast and mysterious ocean of Moby-Dick, to Hemingway’s intimate struggle between man and nature, and finally to the terrifying waters of Jaws, these works offer very different visions of humanity’s fascination with—and confrontation with—the sea.
The conference will be presented by Prof. Leonardo Buonomo, Full Professor of Anglo-American Literature at the University of Trieste.
Prof. Buonomo teaches and researches American literature and culture and holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from the University of California, San Diego.
His research focuses particularly on nineteenth-century American literature, transatlantic cultural relations, Italian-American literature, and American popular culture. He is the author of several books, including Immigration, Ethnicity, and Class in American Writing, 1830–1860: Reading the Stranger and Henry James Writes New York: Identity, Masculinity, Authorship. He has also edited works on Henry James and early Italian-American literature.
Prof. Buonomo has served as President of the Henry James Society and is currently President of the Italian Association of North American Studies (AISNA).
The Associazione Italo Americana FVG / American Corner Trieste will also participate in additional free events in Borgo Cavana during the Barcolana celebrations, bringing American literature, music and culture into the heart of the city.
Friday, October 10 – 5:15 p.m.
Reading of Seafaring Tales
A bilingual reading celebrating stories and literature inspired by the sea.
Borgo Cavana- via del Sale
Friday, October 9 – 8:30 p.m.
Trieste Ukulele Club – Mini-Concert & Sing-Along
A lively mini-concert with the Trieste Ukulele Club, followed by a sing-along inviting the public to join in and make music together.
Borgo Cavana - Casa della Musica
All events are free of charge.
The Associazione Italo Americana FVG / American Corner Trieste invites the public to join these events and celebrate the sea, literature, music and the international spirit of Trieste during Barcolana 2026.

Organized by:

Associazione Italo-Americana, Trieste