2022 Spring ITALIAN 205 001 SEM 001

Spring 2022

ITALIAN 205 001 - SEM 001

Proseminar I: Italian Literary Studies

Literary Theory/Literary History

Barbara Gwen Spackman

Jan 18, 2022 - May 06, 2022
Mo
02:00 pm - 04:59 pm
Class #:30108
Units:2to4

Instruction Mode: In-Person Instruction

Offered through Italian Studies

Current Enrollment

Total Open Seats: 10
Enrolled: 5
Waitlisted: 0
Capacity: 15
Waitlist Max: 3
No Reserved Seats

Hours & Workload

3 to 9 hours of outside work hours, and 3 hours of student-instructor coverage of course materials.

Other classes by Barbara Gwen Spackman

Course Catalog Description

This course introduces the study of Italian literature in its historical scope, while presenting the range of research interests represented on the Italian Studies faculty. Required of all Master of Arts candidates.

Class Description

The Proseminar serves as the core course for the Italian Studies graduate program, and aims to provide students with a foundation for humanistic study as it is practiced in the U.S. To that end, we will read a series of foundational theoretical essays, focused on a set of key words that are themselves metonymies for major theoretical approaches. This spring, those key words will be “ideology,” “gender,” “rhetoric,” “affect,” and “animal.” Theorists read will include Ahmed, Althusser, Barthes, Berlant, Butler, Culler, De Lauretis, Derrida, Freud, Halberstam, Holsinger, Jakobson, Marx, Ngai, Sedgwick, Singer, Williams, and Wolfe. The aim of the course is to learn how to generate questions from theoretical texts that will, in turn, lead us to refine and complicate our reading strategies. To that end, our readings in theory will be complemented by readings in literary texts drawn from several different periods in the Italian tradition. The literary texts will offer us the occasion to test the practices of reading and methodological approaches that emerge from our discussions of theory. Authors read will include Boccaccio, Petrarca, Stampa, Franco, Verga, Foscolo, and Ortese. Reading knowledge of Italiani is required. Students will be required to give two in-class presentations and to write two short 8-10 page papers. The course is required of M.A. students in Italian Studies, and recommended for Ph.D. students.

Rules & Requirements

Repeat Rules

Reserved Seats

Current Enrollment

No Reserved Seats

Textbooks & Materials

See class syllabus or https://calstudentstore.berkeley.edu/textbooks for the most current information.

Textbook Lookup

Guide to Open, Free, & Affordable Course Materials

eTextbooks

Associated Sections

None