1 - 10 of 11 results for: ITALIAN

An introduction to the study of literature in Italian, especially short prose fiction and poetry. Attention will be given to building a vocabulary and critical tool-set for the interpretation of literary texts from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period. Taught in Italian. Prerequisites: ITALLANG 22A or equivalent (2 years of Italian)

In this course we will view and discuss 9 beloved & critically acclaimed Italian films, primarily from the 1980's and 90's, including "Cinema paradiso," "Il postino," "Mediterraneo," and "La vita e bella." This course is especially intended for returnees from the Florence program who want to maintain and develop their spoken Italian. A film screening time will be scheduled during the first week of class. Taught in Italian. Prerequisites: ITALLANG 21 or equivalent (4 quarters of Italian)

The mafia has become a global problem through its infiltration of international business, and its model of organized crime has spread all over the world from its origins in Sicily. At the same time, film and fiction remain fascinated by a romantic, heroic vision of the mafia. Compares both Italian and American fantasies of the Mafia to its history and impact on Italian and global culture. Taught in English.

The focus of this interdisciplinary course is on the arts, literature, fashion and philosophy of Quattrocento Florence, where autobiographical and historical writing, enhanced by the visibility of clothes and other `wordly goods' (the objects that are tangible manifestations of a culture), established a narrative tradition of individual and social self-definition. The poetic search for spiritual beauty collaborates with the display of excessive consumption and elaborate clothes in adorning the ideal female image, while the emergence of the vulgar language as a narrative medium accompanies the rise of contemporary works in classical Latin. By analyzing the apparent contradictions of this dynamic period, the course brings to life the society of Renaissance Florence. The course meets ten times and includes a Renaissance ball, with a lecture/demonstration of costumes, manners and dance. Taught in English, no pre-requisites.nNOTE: First class will be October 5, 2016; no class Sept. 28, 2016

How does modern fiction, aided by modern philosophy, give the lie to Descartes' famous "I think therefore I am"? And how does writing convey the desire for a different, perhaps stronger, integration of mind and body? Does the body speak a particular truth that we must learn to hear, that the mind is not always connected to? How do modern metaphors for the mind-body connection shape our experience? These questions will be explored via the works of major French and Italian writers and thinkers, including Pirandello, Calvino, Camus, Houellebecq, Sartre, and Agamben.

A history of literary theory for entering graduate students in national literature departments and comparative literature.

Discussion of one contemporary or historical text from the Western philosophical tradition per quarter in a group of faculty and graduate students. For admission of new participants, a conversation with H. U. Gumbrecht is required. May be repeated for credit. Taught in English.