Readings and Viewings:

Dante Alighieri, Inferno (Bantam, trans. Mandelbaum)
Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (Cambridge, ed. / trans. Skinner and Price)
Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy (Cambridge)
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities (Harcourt Brace, trans. Weaver)

Other readings, including Dacia Maraini's Darkness, are contained in a Course Packet available at I.T. Copy (512 W. MLK Blvd; at Nueces; phone: 476-6662)

Films: The Bicycle Thief (De Sica), Bread and Tulips (Soldini)

Italy occupies a prominent place in European culture, history, and thought. This course, focusing on a broad range of major Italian achievements, movements, and events from the Middle Ages to the present, comprises four multidisciplinary units: 1) in "Medieval Italy: Sinners and Saints" we will discuss Dante's Inferno, Boccaccio's Decameron, religious writing, and lyric poetry; 2) "Renaissance Italy: Heaven on Earth" will consider art history (from Giotto to Michelangelo), humanism (Petrarch), political thought (Machiavelli) and science (Galileo); 3) for "The Nation and Its Discontents," which treats Italy's rise to self-determination from unification through W.W. II and its aftermath, we will examine Romanticism (Leopardi) and the Risorgimento (Carlo Levi, Gramsci), futurism (Marinetti), fascism, and neorealism (De Sica); 4) literature (Calvino, Maraini), politics, and film (Soldini) will guide our discussion of contemporary Italy. Taught in English and cross-listed in European Studies, this course is intended for all students interested in Italy, including Italian majors (ITC 360 counts toward the major). There is no final examination.

Assignments and Computation of Grade:

Attendance Policy: No student who misses more than 6 classes (3 weeks) for any reason can complete the course with a passing grade.

"The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY."

1. MEDIEVAL ITALY: SINNERS AND SAINTS

8/30: Introduction to course

9/4: Faith and Eros: Francis of Assisi, Compiuta Donzella, Guido Cavalcanti, Cecco Angiolieri, and Dante Alighieri (Packet)

9/6: Dante's Inferno, cantos 1-4; see http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu; Duggan, History 31-46

9/11: Inferno 5-12 (emphasis on 5, 10); Decameron 4.5, "Lisabetta" (Packet)

9/13: Inferno 13-19 (emphasis on 15, 19); Decameron 6.10, "Frate Cipolla" (Packet)

9/18: Inferno 20-27 (emphasis on 19, 26-27); Decameron 1.1, "Cepperello" (Packet)

9/20: Inferno 28-34; Study Questions Due

2. RENAISSANCE ITALY: HEAVEN ON EARTH

9/25: Giotto, Masaccio, and Leonardo (packet); see http://www.wga.hu/

9/27: History 46-59; Raphael, Michelangelo (packet)

10/2: Blanton Museum visit

10/4: Film Clips: Dante's Inferno (1935); Petrarch: "Ascent of Mont Ventoux" (packet)

10/9: Petrarch (poems) & Gaspara Stampa (packet); Machiavelli, The Prince 1-61

10/11: Prince 61-99; Galileo Galilei (packet)

3. THE NATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS

10/16: Suor Maria Celeste (packet); Enlightenment (History 60-86) and Romanticism (Leopardi in packet)

10/18: Exam 1

10/23: Risorgimento: United Italy? (History 87-170); Levi ("Southern Question") and Gramsci ("transformism") (packet)

10/25: History 171-204; Futurism (packet); see http://www.futurism.org.uk/

10/30: Fascism and Neorealism (History 205-55); clip from La vita è bella (Benigni)

[Tuesday, 7:30 pm on 10/30, in FAC 327: view Bicycle Thief]

11/1: Discuss Bicycle Thief; "Masters of Neorealism" (packet)

*** Begin to explore topics for your research presentation

4. CONTEMPORARY ITALY

11/6: Clips from Icicle Thief (Nichetti) and We All Loved Each Other So Much (Scola); History 255-94

11/8: Eco, "Abduction in Uqbar" and "readers' reports" (packet); Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities (1-69)

11/13: Invisible Cities 70-118

11/15: Invisible Cities 119-65

11/20: "feminist cultural literature" (packet); Dacia Maraini, Darkness (packet): "Viollca" (14-27), "Walls of Darkness" (63-70), "Who Killed Paolo Gentile?" (131-38), and "Shadows" (152-62)

(11/22: Thanksgiving Holiday)

11/27: Abstract and Annotated Bibliography Due; Research Symposium I

11/29: Research Symposium II

[Monday, 7:30 pm on 12/3, in FAC 327: view Bread and Tulips]

12/4: Discuss Bread and Tulips

12/6: Exam 2

THERE IS NO FINAL EXAMINATION