Introduction to the historical development of Italian culture from the Middle Ages to the present, with an emphasis on critical analysis of literary and visual texts in relation to the politics and societies of the Italian peninsula, and an ultimate goal of advancing student’s critical and linguistic skills.

Taught in Italian. Introduction to the historical development of Italian culture from the Middle Ages to the present, with an emphasis on critical analysis of literary and visual texts in relation to the politics and societies of the Italian peninsula, and an ultimate goal of advancing students’ Italian linguistic and critical skills. A modular course co-taught by Italian Studies faculty members with different disciplinary backgrounds, Italian Studies 105 provides continuity within the diversity of approaches adopted and objects of study under examination. The city serves as the prism through which we will view cultural objects and historical moments in the history of the Italian peninsula, including the rise of the city states and political theory in early modern Florence; the importance of the papacy and the flowering of the visual arts in Renaissance and Baroque Rome and Venice; the southern question as viewed from Naples; and the colonial period as viewed from Asmara, capital of modern Italy’s former colony (1890-1941), Eritrea. Three faculty members teach this course. One of them is the lead faculty member (Professor Rhiannon Welch, a specialist in modern Italian literature, film, and critical theory), who teaches the first and last weeks of the class as well as several modules, and attends classes during the semester to ensure continuity and consistency. The other two are Professors Mia Fuller, a specialist in urban architectural history and cultural anthropology, and Henrike Lange, a specialist in Renaissance art history and architecture. The course is taught exclusively in Italian, with primary and secondary readings in Italian and English. Short written assignments (300 words) in Italian will be due weekly, and discussion in class will be lively. The final assignment will be a long paper (2500 words) also written in Italian.

Taught in Italian.

Prerequisite: Italian 101 or placement assessment.

http://italian.berkeley.edu/undergraduate-program/language-study-and-placement/

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Requirements class fulfills