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Italian Literature

ISILCL310 Contemporary Italian Literature

3 semester credits. This course is an introduction to contemporary Italian literature from Neorealism to the present time. Important topics include novels, short stories, essays, and poetry that will be read and discussed. As in all countries of the Western world, the post-war period in Italy was a time of enormous development, upheaval, and change that completely transformed Italian society. The worldwide impact of globalization of the last few decades has introduced economic and cultural challenges in Italy. The aim of the course is to analyze and understand how the process of transformation in Italian society has been reflected in the literary production.

ISILCL410 Contemporary Italian Literature (in Italian)

3 semester credits. This course is an introduction to contemporary Italian literature from Neorealism to the present time. Important topics include novels, short stories, essays, and poetry that will be read and discussed. As in all countries of the Western world, the post-war period in Italy was a time of enormous development, upheaval, and change that completely transformed Italian society. The worldwide impact of globalization of the last few decades has introduced economic and cultural challenges in Italy. The aim of the course is to analyze and understand how the process of transformation in Italian society has been reflected in the literary production. All readings, assignments and exams will be in Italian. Prerequisites: Four semesters of Italian language or equivalent.

ISILDF340 Dante Alighieri's Florence: Readings and Cultural Walks

3 semester credits. This course will examine excerpts of Dante Alighieri's greatest passages from the Divine Comedy and other works in relation to the space and history of Florence. Textual analyses will be performed, unpacking the dense symbolism and motifs reflective of the intellectual and moral climate during 14th century Florence. Students will visit churches, piazzas, and palaces within the city and will examine these locations in the context of Dante's life and surrounding controversy, the accusations and denunciations in his writings, the physical descriptions of the city, and the characters and historical figures present in his works. The classroom approach of this course is based on experiencing the city of Florence as the academic space for learning and engagement. Classes are not held in a traditional, frontal-style setting; each lesson is carefully mapped for curricular content and featured locations: lectures, observations, exercises, analysis, and reflections on presented topics are held in relevant sites that are accounted for in the academic planning, syllabus, and related course material. Coursework and submissions will be regularly assessed on the MyFUA platform through daily assignments in addition to exams, papers, and projects. Learning through the on-site classroom approach fosters a deeper understanding of the cultural environment of Florence and how it is related to the subject of study represented by the course, and allows the overall experience to contribute to the students' academic and personal enrichment.

ISILML305 Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio

3 semester credits. This course focuses on the important trio of fourteenth century Italian literature: Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, and Giovanni Boccaccio. A major emphasis of study is based on the texts of Dante's Vita Nuova and the Divine Comedy, Petrarca's Il Canzoniere, and Boccaccio's The Decameron. All three writers will be discussed in relation to the culture and society of their times.

ISILML405 Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio (In Italian)

3 semester credits. This course focuses on the important trio of fourteenth century Italian literature: Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, and Giovanni Boccaccio. A major emphasis of study is based on the texts of Dante's Vita Nuova and the Divine Comedy, Petrarca's Il Canzoniere, and Boccaccio's The Decameron. All three writers will be discussed in relation to the culture and society of their times. All readings, assignments and exams will be in Italian. Prerequisites: Four semesters of Italian language or equivalent.

ISILNN350 Neapolitan Novels: Elena Ferrante's Southern Italy

3 semester credits. This course is centered around Ferrante’s four-volume work known as The Neapolitan Novels: My Brilliant Friend (2011), The Story of a New Name (2012), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2013), The Story of the Lost Child (2015). Lectures will investigate the multifaceted universe of a friendship between two women, Lila and Lenů, from their childhood to adulthood. It also aims to shed light on the connections between their experiences and Southern Italy’s complex history and culture from the post-WWII war years to the present. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the course will examine the protagonists’ effort to break out of the circle of extreme poverty, illiteracy, and male violence. Amongst the themes addressed by this course through the study The Neapolitan Novels, students will explore issues such as post-war settlement in Italy and in the South, Italy’s Southern Question, the Neapolitan Camorra and its influence on the poor, the changing role of women during the Seventies, the “Economic Miracle,” terrorism during the “anni di piombo,” student movements in the late Sixties, Italian factory strikes throughout the Seventies, and technological advancements for computing machines.

ISILNN351 Neapolitan Novels: Elena Ferrante's Southern Italy

4 semester credits. This course is centered around Ferrante’s four-volume work known as The Neapolitan Novels: My Brilliant Friend (2011), The Story of a New Name (2012), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2013), The Story of the Lost Child (2015). Lectures will investigate the multifaceted universe of a friendship between two women, Lila and Lenů, from their childhood to adulthood. It also aims to shed light on the connections between their experiences and Southern Italy’s complex history and culture from the post-WWII war years to the present. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the course will examine the protagonists’ effort to break out of the circle of extreme poverty, illiteracy, and male violence. Amongst the themes addressed by this course through the study The Neapolitan Novels, students will explore issues such as post-war settlement in Italy and in the South, Italy’s Southern Question, the Neapolitan Camorra and its influence on the poor, the changing role of women during the Seventies, the “Economic Miracle,” terrorism during the “anni di piombo,” student movements in the late Sixties, Italian factory strikes throughout the Seventies, and technological advancements for computing machines. This class includes field learning hours. Field learning is a method of educating through first-hand experience. Skills, knowledge, and experience are acquired outside of the traditional academic classroom setting and may include field activities, field research, and service learning projects. The field learning experience is cultural; because it is intended to be wide-reaching, field-related content is not limited to the course subject but seeks to supplement and enrich academic topics. Students will have the opportunity to integrate theory and practice while experiencing Italian culture, art, and community within the Italian territory. Faculty will lead students in experiencing Italian culture through guided projects and field experiences as planned for the course. Field learning will be developed through classroom preparation, follow up projects, and guided learning outcomes. Field learning will provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and appreciate the multifold components of Italian Culture through direct experience. Field education will advance student learning as a relationship-centered process.

ISILTW360 Contemporary Tuscan Writers: Vichi, Nesi, Genovesi - Readings and Cultural Walks

3 semester credits. This course will introduce students to the work of three contemporary Tuscan writers: Marco Vichi, Edoardo Nesi, and Fabio Genovesi, who represent a new generation of novelists whose stories are set in Tuscany. In class, students will read, analyze, and discuss extracts from selected novels and short stories by these authors. The course will provide students with a general overview of the Italian historical context from the Sixties and Seventies to the present day, and introduce students to the social and political situation in Italy and Tuscany during the related periods. Students will learn about Florentine society during the post-war economic boom, examine the situation of the nearby industrial center of Prato and its textile factories, and experience the atmosphere and the contradictions of Forte dei Marmi, a trendy beach town located on the Tuscan coast. Cultural walks represent an important part of this course. Students will explore Florence and its surroundings and visit a number of locations mentioned in the books covered by the course. This course includes an Italian language component for intermediate language students. During each lesson, students will learn Italian vocabulary and usage relative to the topics discussed in class. The classroom approach of this course is based on experiencing the city of Florence as the academic space for learning and engagement. Classes are not held in a traditional, frontal-style setting; each lesson is carefully mapped for curricular content and featured locations: lectures, observations, exercises, analysis, and reflections on presented topics are held in relevant sites that are accounted for in the academic planning, syllabus, and related course material. Coursework and submissions will be regularly assessed on the MyFUA platform through daily assignments in addition to exams, papers, and projects. Learning through the on-site classroom approach fosters a deeper understanding of the cultural environment of Florence and how it is related to the subject of study represented by the course, and allows the overall experience to contribute to the students' academic and personal enrichment. Prerequisites: Two semesters of Italian language or equivalent.

ISILVP330 Vasco Pratolini's Florence: Readings and Cultural Walks

3 semester credits. Vasco Pratolini is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century in Italy and his writings embody the literary spirit of the city, its society, and its history during the years of Fascism and World War II. The course features poetic walks between the banks of Arno and several stops in Piazza Santa Croce and Piazza del Carmine, using the features of Pratolini's narrative to retrace several locations in Florence. The writer describes a geography of real and imaginary places in the city providing students with the opportunity to explore the city, discover the historical and traditional neighborhood, and be inspired by the writings and books by Pratolini as well as other Italian writers of the 1900s. This course includes an Italian language component for beginning language students. The classroom approach of this course is based on experiencing the city of Florence as the academic space for learning and engagement. Classes are not held in a traditional, frontal-style setting; each lesson is carefully mapped for curricular content and featured locations: lectures, observations, exercises, analysis, and reflections on presented topics are held in relevant sites that are accounted for in the academic planning, syllabus, and related course material. Coursework and submissions will be regularly assessed on the MyFUA platform through daily assignments in addition to exams, papers, and projects. Learning through the on-site classroom approach fosters a deeper understanding of the cultural environment of Florence and how it is related to the subject of study represented by the course, and allows the overall experience to contribute to the students' academic and personal enrichment.