An investigation of love in Italian literary texts from the Middle Ages to the present, through a combination of novels, poems, short stories, treatises, essays, and films. Themes of the course will be: What is love in the Italian literary tradition? What constitutes Italian sexual conduct? What is the role of women in love relationships after Romanticism? How is gay and lesbian love perceived and represented in literature? What is the role of psychoanalysis in the development of the idea of love in the twentieth century? Does religion (and particularly the Catholic Church) still have an impact in amorous interactions and in the discourse on love? The course will be taught in English. It carries 3 credits and counts for the Major and Minor in Italian or Italian Studies. Cross
listing 01:560:355.
Required Text:
Authors and film directors include: Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, Ariosto, Tarchetti, Verga, Pratolini,
Pasolini, Bolognini, Scola, Ozpetek, Ferrante
Grading Requirements:
Written activities include: two papers (20% each), one midterm, and one final examination (20%
each).Class participation is strongly encouraged and will count (together with the oral presentation) 20%
toward the final grade. The course is capped at 45 students. This will allow lively class discussions, plus
one oral presentation on a selected primary or secondary source.
