Reading and composition course based on works by Italians and foreigners about Italy and its culture and by Italians about their distinctive experiences of other cultures as tourists and emigrants. Works studied will be primarily chosen from among fiction and non fiction narratives, both originally in English and translated into it. R5A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition Requirement and R5B satisfies the second half.

“Translingual authors–those who write in more than one language or in a language other than their primary one–are the prodigies of world literature. By expressing themselves in multiple verbal systems, they flaunt their freedom from the constraints of the culture into which they happen to have been born.” Steven G. Kellman, Switching Languages (University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln: 2003), ix. Many of us are translingual speakers and writers, especially here at UC Berkeley, a place where many cultures and languages dwell. But what happens when literary writers– historians, poets, novelists– decide to switch languages and, by doing so, embrace another one in their creative work? Why do they decide to embark on such a difficult task? What is the driving force behind their radical act of crossing linguistic and cultural constraints? What is the result for us as readers? How can we analyze/understand these contributions? In this R5A, even though we will mainly explore the complexity of language's movements by reading literary works from various translingual writers, we will also look into other types of translingual text such as movies and lyrics (e.g., songs by Karima 2G, Epoque). Ultimately, we will ask, what is our relationship with our own language(s)? As we explore the movements of language and the writing of translingual writers in the Italian context, we also will reflect and write critically about our experience as translingual speakers and writers. This course fulfills the first half of the University’s Reading and Composition requirements and focuses on fostering students’ writing and critical thinking skills. Texts, films, and songs will be chosen from the following list: Jhumpa Lahiri, In Other Words Amara Lakhous, Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio (trans. Ann Goldstein) Igiaba Scego, My Home Is Where I Am (trans. Aaron Robertson) Igiaba Scego, The Color Line: A Novel (trans. John Cullen) Kym Ragusa, The Skin Between us Uba Cristina Ali Farah, Little Mother (trans. Giovanna Bellesia-Contuzzi) Claudia Durastanti, Strangers I Know (trans. Elizabeth Harris) Pier Paolo Pasolini, The Street Kids (trans. Ann Goldstein) Amelia Rosselli, Locomotrix: Selected Poetry and Prose of Amelia Rosselli (trans. Jennifer Scappettone) Andrea Segre, Shun Li and The Poet Luchino Visconti, Rocco and his Brothers Emanuele Crialese, Terraferma Gianfranco Rosi, Fire at Sea

Requisites

• Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills