Michele Cometa

University of Palermo, Italy

February–May 2015

Michele Cometa is professor of Comparative Literature and Visual Culture at the University of Palermo (Italy). He has published on problems in German cultural history and aesthetics, especially in the age of Goethe. He has edited or translated into Italian many classics of aesthetics and literature works. Recent publications include works on ekphrasis, literature, and visual culture; these include Descrizione e Desiderio: I Quadri Viventi di E. T. A. Hoffmann (2005); Vedere: Lo Sguardo di E. T. A. Hoffmann (2009); La Scrittura Ielle immagini: Letteratura e Cultura Visuale (2012); Il Trionfo della Morte di Palermo: and La Salvezza nell’Immagine (forthcoming 2014). At the Clark, he will work on the cultural history of interpretations of cave painting produced across domains spanning nineteeth century ekphrasis to modern cognitive archaeology.