Dr. Paul Gagliardi糖心传媒Marquette Hall, 252
MilwaukeeWI53201United States of America(414) 288-3474paul.gagliardi@marquette.eduMy primary fields of research are twentieth-century American cultural studies, drama and performance studies, labor studies, and film studies. And my research focuses on the intersection between economic calamity, theories of work and labor, and the performative art people produce during eras like the Great Depression. In my courses, I emphasize understanding the historical, social, and cultural context of texts, but also how our contemporary readings problematize literature. I also foster interdisciplinary dialogue between all fields in my courses, and support students with both their academic and professional goals.
My book, All Play and No Work: American Work Ideals and the Comic Plays of the Federal Theatre Project (Temple University Press, 2023), examines how select comedies produced by the federal government during the Great Depression portrayed complicated norms of working and labor. I argue that many plays actually subverted norms of traditional labor or promoted alternate forms of working to audiences during the 1930s. My writing on the Federal Theatre Project and other subjects, such a confidence artists, has appeared in such outlets as Journal of American Drama and Theatre, Middle West Review, and Howlround. I鈥檓 currently working on several projects, including the portrayal of confidence schemes in The Righteous Gemstones and the cultural mythology of Slyvester Stallone鈥檚 early films.
All Play and No Work: American Work Ideals and the Comedies of the Federal Theatre Project. Temple University Press. November, 2023.
鈥�Haunted City: Three Centuries of Racial Impersonation in Philadelphia.鈥� Rev. of Christian DuComb鈥檚 Haunted City: Three Centuries of Racial Impersonation in Philadelphia. Theatre History Studies. 3021, Volume 40. 218-221.
"Salesman of the Year: Season One of Fargo and the Legacy of the Confidence Artist in the Midwest.鈥� Middle West Review. Volume 5, Number 2, Spring 2019.
Office Hours
Fall 2024
Teaching Schedule
Fall 2024
