Background
Pier Forni was born on October 16, 1951 in Veneto, Italy.
Pier Massimo Forni attended Universita degli Studi in Venice, Italy, during 1970 - 1971.
After that he studied at the Universita degli Studi in Pavia, Italy, where he received Laurea in Lettere e Filosofia (cum laude) in 1974.
Finally, he earned Doctor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1981.
After that he studied at the Universita degli Studi in Pavia, Italy, where he received Laurea in Lettere e Filosofia (cum laude) in 1974.
Pier Massimo Forni attended Universita degli Studi in Venice, Italy, during 1970 - 1971.
Finally, he earned Doctor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1981.
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1996
(A leading intellectual and scholar considers the causes a...)
A leading intellectual and scholar considers the causes and nature of the moral crisis in America today and offers ways in which families, individuals, and politicians can improve the country by adhering to basic principles of civility.
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1999
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312302509/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(The acclaimed author of The Choosing Civility returns to ...)
The acclaimed author of The Choosing Civility returns to the subject of common decency and thoughtful behavior. Many of us find ourselves confronted with rudeness every day and don't know how to respond. From the intrusive cell-phone user who holds loud conversations in public to the hostile highway driver who cuts one off with a quick swerve of his car, politeness seems to be on a downward spiral, surprising us at every turn. P.M. Forni, the author of Choosing Civility, has the answer. He knows that rudeness begets rudeness and, in The Civility Solution, shows us what to do when confronted with bad behavior by being assertive as well as civil.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015DYKGQ/?tag=2022091-20
2010
(How do we turn off the noise of daily life, turn on our b...)
How do we turn off the noise of daily life, turn on our brains, and begin to engage in that fundamental human activity known as thinking again? In twelve short chapters, the author gives readers a remedy for the Age of Distraction, an age fuelled by social networking overload, compulsive texting and an omnipresent stream of mobile calls.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FDVSGWK/?tag=2022091-20
2012
Pier Forni was born on October 16, 1951 in Veneto, Italy.
Pier Massimo Forni attended Universita degli Studi in Venice, Italy, during 1970 - 1971. After that he studied at the Universita degli Studi in Pavia, Italy, where he received Laurea in Lettere e Filosofia (cum laude) in 1974. Finally, he earned Doctor of Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1981.
Pier Massimo Forni's numerous published writings on Italian literature include "Forme complesse nel Decameron" (1992) and "Adventures in Speech: Rhetoric and Narration in Boccaccio's Decameron" (1996). Forni held visiting appointments at several U.S. universities including the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Virginia, and the University of California at Davis. In Italy, he lectured at the University of Venice, the University of Naples, and the University of Florence, among others. He was a former Fellow of Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence.
In 1997, he co-founded the Johns Hopkins Civility Project, whose aim was to assess the significance of civility, manners and politeness in contemporary society. He was also co-director of "Reassessing Civility: Forms and Values at the End of the Century", an international symposium which took place at Johns Hopkins University in March 1998. Forni was to become the director of The Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University — which he founded in 2000. He frequently lectured and conducted workshops on the rewards of fostering a culture of civility in today's workplace and the connections among civility, ethics, and quality of life.
In 2002, Forni published the best-seller "Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct." Since then the book has acquired the status of a little classic within the American civility movement. His second book on civility, "The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude" (2008) provides examples on how to respond effectively and civilly in different day-to-day rude encounters. He contributed to a chapter on ethics and international protocol in the "Convention Industry Council International Manual" (2005).
His article "The Other Side of Civility" appeared in the November 2005 issue of the Johns Hopkins magazine. "Why Civility Means Business: A Memo to the B-School Dean" was published in the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of One, the magazine of the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. In 2009 the Association of Image Consultants International awarded him the Image Makers Merit of Industry Excellence Bravo Award, which counts among its past awardees Oprah Winfrey, Michael Bloomberg, and Target Stores.
Forni's work has inspired civility-based initiatives around the United States, such as those in Duluth, Cleveland Heights, Howard County, Hershey, Oshkosh, and Lake Charles. Among the academic institutions which selected "Choosing Civility" for their common reading programs are Grand Rapids Community College, Lynn University, Occidental College, Southern Utah University, Muskingum University, the University of West Georgia, Frank Phillips College, Spelman College, and Monroe Community College.
Forni's work has been mentioned by numerous publications including The New York Times, The Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and Forbes magazine. He was interviewed on several high-profile radio and televisions shows, including the ABC's World News Tonight, CBS Sunday Morning, The Gayle King Show, BBC's Outlook, and Oprah. Forni's contribution to the civility movement that started in the United States at the turn of the millennium is featured in Benet Davetian's "Civility: A Cultural History" (2009). In a profile which appeared in 2008, Smithsonian magazine stated that P.M. Forni "will be remembered as one of the greatest generals in our nation's struggle for civility." Pier Massimo Forni died on December 1, 2018 in Towson from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 67.
(How do we turn off the noise of daily life, turn on our b...)
2012(A leading intellectual and scholar considers the causes a...)
1999(The acclaimed author of The Choosing Civility returns to ...)
2010Pier Massimo Forni uses the notion of rhetoric as a guiding principle for a critical assessment of the "Decameron." He explores the discursive tools with which the narrators connect the contents of their stories to their audience's environment, and goes on to argue that the book is significantly marked by Boccaccio's habit of exploring the narrative potential of rhetorical forms.
By showing how the "Decameron" marks a new stage in the development of vernacular realism, Forni also charts a new course in Boccaccio criticism. Viewing the cultural and rhetorical context of the medieval masterpiece from a fresh perspective, he offers intriguing insights into the functioning of Boccaccio's narrative.
Quotations:
“In recent years I have approached the notions of civility, manners, and politeness. In my current work, I study those notions from historical, anthropological, psychological, and sociological points of view.”
“Courtesy, politeness, manners and civility are all a form of awareness,” Dr. Forni wrote. “Being civil means constantly being aware of others and weaving restraint, respect and consideration into the very fabric of this awareness.”
“One day, while lecturing on the Divine Comedy, I looked at my students and realized that I wanted them to be kind human beings more than I wanted them to know about Dante,” he wrote. “I told them that if they knew everything about Dante and then they went out and treated an elderly lady on the bus unkindly, I’d feel that I had failed as a teacher.”
Quotes from others about the person
He was the embodiment of civility. He was so gentle and pleasant and curious. He used to say, when recruiting someone for the faculty, you want someone who is smart and nice, and he was that — lovely, thoughtful and considerate.
Pier lived with his wife Virginia, known opera singer.
